Huntsville’s Owen McKay has been named a finalist in RBC Training Ground, the Canadian Olympic Committee’s annual cross-country talent search.
Over the past several months, more than 1,500 athletes from a wide range of sports participated in free local qualifier events across the country, performing core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts to find the sport for which they are most suited or accelerate their journey in their existing sport. McKay, who paddles with the Muskoka Kayak School, recently returned from an international competition where he recorded first-place finishes in both C1 and K1 events.
The top 100 deemed to have great Olympic potential will now compete in the RBC Training Ground national final in Ottawa on Oct. 22, with the chance of being one of 30 athletes to earn funding, a spot on Team Canada with one of nine partner NSOs, and an accelerated path to the Olympics.
Athletes will be joined at the National Final by RBC Training Ground alumni and Olympic medalists: Avalon Wasteneys (Rowing, Gold, Tokyo 2020); Jerome Blake (Athletics, Bronze Tokyo 2020); Kelsey Mitchell (Cycling, Gold, Tokyo 2020); Marion Thénault (Freestyle Skiing – Aerials, Bronze, Beijing 2022); and Pierce LePage (Athletics). Olympians Chloe Dufour Lapointe (Skiing); Justin Kripps (Bobsleigh); Justine Dufour Lapointe (Skiing); Marie-Philip Poulin (Hockey); Melissa Humana-Parades (Beach Volleyball); Miranda Ayim (Basketball); Penny Oleksiak (Swimming); and Valerie Maltais (Speed skating) will also be on hand to encourage participants.
As part of RBC’s commitment to finding the next generation of Olympic talent, transportation to Ottawa, hotel and food are all included for the invited athletes.
During RBC Training Ground National Final testing, athletes’ speed, power, strength and endurance will again be tested against sport-specific, high-performance benchmarks under the supervision of program sports partners. An athlete’s anthropomorphic measurements (height, wingspan, etc), sport-specific testing (conducted following the qualifier stage) and competitive sports history also play a role in who is selected for funding.
“RBC Training Ground is designed to help fill Canada’s Olympic sport talent pipeline and provide Next Gen talent with the high-performance sport resources needed to reach podiums,” said Evan MacInnis, technical director of RBC Training Ground. “Some of the athletes who participate in RBC Training Ground are looking to reenergize or boost an Olympic dream in a sport they are participating in. Others participate with the hope of being discovered and directed toward an Olympic sport they may have never considered. But they all rely on raw athleticism to impress our sport partners and compete for funding.”
The 30 athletes selected for funding will be announced following a nationally televised special documentary later this fall.
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. NSO partners include Bobsleigh Skeleton Canada; Canoe Kayak Canada; Cycling Canada Cyclisme; Freestyle Canada, Luge Canada; Rowing Canada Aviron, Rugby Canada; Speed Skating Canada; and Volleyball Canada.
The complete list of 100 finalists will be posted by Sept. 16 at RBCTrainingground.ca in the community/news section.
Now in its seventh year, RBC Training Ground is a nationwide 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 12,000 athletes at free local events across Canada with more than 1,600 being identified by NSO partners as having Olympic potential.
Thirteen RBC Training Ground athletes have competed at two Olympic Games, and together they’ve brought home a collective seven medals. Program alumni Kelsey Mitchell and Marion Thénault are among the medal winners, both of whom had never tried their Olympic sport before showing up at an RBC Training Ground event, only a few years before their Olympic debut.
A new season of RBC Training Ground will be launching in early 2023. Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for details.