17-year-old Ryker Harris, who is a slalom canoe/kayak racer from Huntsville, is set to return to the RBC Training Ground National Final for the second year in a row. The RBC Training Ground is the Canadian Olympic Committee’s official cross-country talent search.
Harris was among more than 3,000 athletes from a wide range of sports who participated in free local qualifier events across the country earlier this year. At events athletes, whose ages range from 14-25, perform core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts.
Participants aim to either find the sport that they are most suited for, or earn a funding boost in their existing sport based on their raw physical abilities.
The top 100 athletes from across the country deemed to have great Olympic potential will now compete in the RBC Training Ground national final which will occur on Oct. 3, 2026 in Toronto. From there, 35 athletes will earn funding, a spot in the national development program with one of 16 partner National Sport Organizations, and an accelerated path to the Olympics.
“Ryker has embraced the pursuit of high-performance goals and has shown clear improvement across canoe, kayak, and kayak cross events this season,” said James Cartwright, Senior High Performance Manager & Coach Development at Canoe Kayak Canada. “He participated in several international races in Europe, consistently progressing toward the top third of the field in his U16 age group. We’re excited to see him compete at the RBC Final”
Harris finished 16th in the MC1 event at the Junior World Championships.
During the RBC Training Ground National Final, athletes’ speed, power, strength and endurance will once again be tested against sport-specific, high-performance benchmarks under supervision of program sport partners. An athlete’s anthropomorphic measurements (height, wingspan, etc.), sport-specific testing that happened during regional qualifiers, and competitive sport history also play a role in who is selected for funding.
The finalists will be joined by RBC Training Ground alumni and several Olympic medalists.
The 35 athletes selected for funding will be announced in the weeks following the final. The funding is administered by the participating National Sport Organization bringing the athlete into its system, and is used for things like coaching, transportation, travel, equipment and nutrition.
“I’m super excited to compete for the second time and I’m ready for redemption,” Harris said in his national final acceptance registration. “The funding of being an RBC athlete would allow me to pay for my travels to competition events and training camps, giving me a higher level of coaching.
The complete list of finalists is available on the RBC Training Ground website.
About The Program
RBC Training Ground is a nation-wide talent identification and athlete-funding program dedicated to finding and supporting the next generation of Canadian Olympians. Since its inception in 2016, the program has tested 23,000 athletes at free local events across Canada, while also offering flexible virtual opportunities to participants unable to attend qualifiers in person. In 2026, more athletes registered for RBC Training Ground than in any other season.
Eleven RBC Training Ground graduates competed for Team Canada at the recent Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games: an exciting culmination of a decade of finding and funding future Olympians. Since its inception in 2016, RBC Training Ground has identified potential in over 23,000 athletes and helped 28 Canadian athletes become Olympians across four different Olympic Games. These alumni have contributed an impressive total of 14 medals to Canada’s Olympic legacy.
A new season of RBC Training Ground will be launching in early 2027. Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for a complete schedule and details.
