Harris was among more than 2,500 athletes (aged 14-25) from a wide range of sports who participated in free local qualifier events across the country in 2025, performing core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts. Participating athletes aim to either find the sport for which they are most suited, or earn a funding boost in their existing sport based on their raw physical abilities.

The top 100 deemed to have great Olympic potential will now compete in the RBC Training Ground national final on Saturday November 1, 2025 in Vancouver. Thirty five athletes from the final will earn funding, a spot in the national development program with one of fifteen partner National Sport Organizations, and an accelerated path to the Olympics.

“Overall Ryker has embraced the pursuit of high-performance goals and has shown clear improvement,” said Emily MacKeigan, Senior Manager, High Performance Operations at Canoe Kayak Canada. “On the water he participated in several international development races in Europe this season, consistently progressing toward the top third of the field in his Under 16 age group. Ryker also won an impressive silver medal at the 2025 national championships in the Men’s Canoe event (open age group).”

While accepting his spot in the National Final, Harris was asked to explain what moving on in the talent search would mean. He wrote: I was having lunch with my dad at provincial Championships when I learned (I made the national final), it was such a good feeling to have hard work recognized. RBC future Olympian funding would help with hiring coaches and training overseas in Olympic settings, as an elite athlete.

During RBC Training Ground National Final testing, athletes’ speed, power, strength, and endurance will 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 (conducted following the qualifier stage) and competitive sport history also play a role in who is selected for funding.

The finalists, who will have transportation hotel and food covered by RBC, will be joined at the Final 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. Participating sports include Biathlon Canada, Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, Canoe Kayak Canada, Climbing Canada, Cycling Canada, Field Hockey Canada, Freestyle Canada, Luge Canada, Rowing Canada, Rugby Canada, Speed Skating Canada, Volleyball Canada, Football (Flag) Canada, Ski Jumping Canada and Wrestling Canada – all looking to identify new talent for development. 

The complete list of 100 finalists is available at RBCTrainingground.ca in the community / news section.

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Gevaert was one of more than 2,500 athletes (aged 14-25) to participate in RBC Training Ground this year, an annual cross-country talent search run in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and regional Canadian Sport Institutes. Only 100 athletes were invited to the final, held in Halifax on Nov. 2. Only 30 of the finalists were selected for funding.

RBC Training Ground sees athletes from a wide range of sports perform core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts from thirteen different Olympic sports to find the sport for which they are most suited.

An athlete’s anthropomorphic measurements (height, wingspan, etc), sport-specific testing (conducted following the qualifier stage) and competitive sport history also play a role in who is selected for funding.

The complete list of 30 athletes selected for funding is available at RBCTrainingGround.ca

“Some of the athletes who participate in RBC Training Ground are looking to reenergize or boost an Olympic dream in a sport they are already participating in,” said Evan MacInnis, Technical Director, RBC Training Ground. “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.”

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 Canada Skeleton; Canoe Kayak Canada; Climbing Escalade Canada; Cycling Canada Cyclisme; Freestyle Canada, Luge Canada; Rowing Canada Aviron, Rugby Canada; Speed Skating Canada; Volleyball Canada, Flag Football Canada; Squash Canada; and Wrestling Canada.

Wrapping up its 9th 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 16,000 athletes at free local events across Canada, while also offering flexible virtual opportunities to participants unable to attend qualifiers in person. Since its inception, more than 3,000 have been identified by NSO partners as having Olympic potential.

Twenty-one RBC Training Ground alumni have competed at three Olympic Games, and together they’ve brought home a collective fourteen medals – including seven at the recent Paris 2024 Summer Games. Program alumni Krissy Scurfield and Avalon Wasteneys are among the most recent medal winners, bringing home silver for Team Canada. Program alumni Kelsey Mitchell (track cycling) and Marion Thénault (freestyle ski) are also among the medal winners, both of whom had never tried their Olympic sport before showing up at an RBC Training Ground event.

A new season of RBC Training Ground will be launching in January 2025. Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for a complete schedule and details.

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Huntsville’s Tyler Gevaert, a 16-year-old slalom kayaker and Huntsville High School student, and Gravenhurst’s Will Nunnenmacher, a 15-year-old climbing athlete at Bracebridge Muskoka Lakes Secondary School, were identified as having Olympic potential. They will now compete with the top 100 prospects from across the country in a series of physical tests to earn funding and an accelerated path to the Olympics.

Gevaert will look to follow in the footsteps of fellow Muskoka Kayak School paddler Owen McKay, who earned funding through the program in 2022.

“Tyler made a big performance gain throughout this past summer and secured a spot to compete in Men’s Canoe at the World Cup final in La Seu d’Urgell in Spain, and at the 2024 National Championships, he won a silver medal,” said Emily MacKeigan, senior manager of High Performance Operations at Canoe Kayak Canada. “He also did well in the RBC Training Ground testing, so we’re excited to see him get this chance to earn this support.”

Nunnenmacher competes in the relatively new Olympic sport of Speed Climbing.

“I was on the bus on my way back from school when I found out I’d made the final,” said Nunnenmacher, whose home gym is Climb Muskoka. “My mom texted me a screenshot of the email saying that I made it. I jumped up from my seat, started to dance and told all my friends. It felt amazing. As soon as I saw that I was accepted, a huge smile crept across my face and I felt that all my hard work is finally paying off.”

Nunnenmacher, who also trains twice per week with the performance team at Boulder Parc in Scarborough, will be one of the youngest competitors at the national final.

“Will caught our attention at the RBC Training Ground event in Whitby, and then had very promising in-person testing results on the wall as well,” said Libor Hroza, national coach with Climbing Canada. “He is the youngest male athlete who made our cut for this program, and we think he is at the perfect age to step up his game.”

Gevaert and Nunnenmacher were among 2,500 athletes (aged 14 to 25) from a wide range of sports who participated in free local qualifier events across the country. The athletes perform core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts to either find the sport for which they are most suited or earn a funding boost in their existing sport based on their raw physical abilities.

The top 100 deemed to have great Olympic potential will compete in the RBC Training Ground national final on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Thirty athletes from the final will earn funding, a spot on Team Canada with one of twelve partner National Sport Organizations, and an accelerated path to the Olympics.

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 sport 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.

The finalists, who will have transportation, hotel and food covered by RBC, will be joined at the Final by RBC Training Ground alumni and several Olympic medalists.

The 30 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.

Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton, Canoe Kayak Canada, Climbing Canada, Cycling Canada, Freestyle Canada, Luge Canada, Rowing Canada, Rugby Canada, Speed Skating Canada, Volleyball Canada, Football (Flag) Canada, Squash Canada and Wrestling Canada are all looking to identify new talent for development.

The complete list of 100 finalists is available at RBCTrainingground.ca.

Wrapping up its 9^th year, 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 16,000 athletes at free local events across Canada, while also offering flexible virtual opportunities to participants unable to attend qualifiers in person. Since its inception, more than 3,000 have been identified by NSO partners as having Olympic potential.

Twenty-one RBC Training Ground alumni have competed at three Olympic Games, and together they’ve brought home a collective fourteen medals – including seven at the recent Paris 2024 Summer Games. Program alumni Krissy Scurfield and Avalon Wasteneys are among the most recent medal winners, bringing home silver for Team Canada. Program alumni Kelsey Mitchell (track cycling) and Marion Thénault (freestyle ski) are also among the medal winners, both of whom had never tried their Olympic sport before showing up at an RBC Training Ground event.

A new season of RBC Training Ground will be launching in early 2025. Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for a complete schedule and details.

The post Two Muskoka Athletes Named Finalists In Olympic Talent Search appeared first on Muskoka411.

RBC Training Ground is a talent identification and athlete funding program designed to find young athletes with Olympic potential, and provide them with the resources they need to achieve their podium dreams.

With the belief that high performance sports should be accessible to all athletes that are talented, qualified, and have the will to compete, this program travels the country searching for athletes between the ages of 14 and 25 that will fuel the Canadian Olympic pipeline.

“Being selected as a finalist means the world to me,” said Tupling. “I feel as though my efforts, hard work, and potential were recognized. I’m super excited to give it my all.”

Tupling is one of 100 athletes who will compete in the final in early December.

The top 30 athletes will receive funding for training in their respective sport.

Tupling is a multi-sport athlete, and has competed in a variety of sports including gymnastics, basketball, hockey, cheer, rugby, cross country, track, powerlifting, flag football, and soccer.

Earlier this year, she won a bronze medal at the Allstar World Championship, in the International U19 Level 2 category, with her cheer team Power Cheer & Tumble Wrath.

Tupling – who is new to the sport of track cycling – is quickly rising amongst its ranks.

Cycling Canada first saw Tupling’s potential at the RBC Training Ground qualifying event in March, where they encouraged her to pursue the sport. Since then, she has earned the opportunity to train in their summer academy, at the prestigious velodrome in Milton – the only facility of its kind in the country.

It is through her new-found success with Cycling Canada that Tupling is hoping to secure a spot at the RBC Training Ground.

She has undertaken a rigorous training schedule to prepare for the final next month, in addition to her other sports commitments.

“I love sports and would do anything to make my dreams a reality.”

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