In 2023, the program welcomes four new
sport partners and expands its reach to Indigenous
communities
TORONTO, Jan. 10,
2023 /CNW/ - Today, RBC is proud to announce the
return of RBC Training Ground with its continued mission to
discover Canada's athletic talent.
The program welcomes four new sport partners and will also host
dedicated testing events for Indigenous athletes – offering more
opportunity for young athletes to pursue their Olympic dreams.
In addition to the 17 free qualifying events for athletes aged
14-25 across the country, RBC Training Ground is hosting custom
testing events for North American Indigenous Games (NAIG)
provincial delegations, including Alberta and Saskatchewan, as they prepare for NAIG 2023.
These efforts build upon RBC's sponsorship of NAIG 2023, where more
than 5,000 Indigenous athletes, coaches and team staff from over
756 Indigenous Nations, will gather in Kjipuktuk (Halifax) to celebrate sport and culture.
"We recognize that Indigenous athletes in Canada experience barriers to participating in
sport. We hope that by bringing RBC Training Ground to regional
NAIG events, we're making it easier for Indigenous athletes to
chase their Olympic dreams," said Shannon
Cole, Vice-President, Brand Marketing, RBC. "We truly
believe in the power of sport to unite and inspire our communities,
and we look forward to working with new sport partners and
communities to continue to develop the next generation of Team
Canada."
"We are pleased to welcome RBC as a major partner of NAIG 2023,"
said Brendon Smithson, CEO, NAIG
2023 Host Society. "The Games help Indigenous youth to realize
their collective potential of their bodies, minds and spirits.
We're appreciative of RBC's commitment to help improve the quality
of life, and overall health and well-being of Indigenous athletes,
individuals and communities."
RBC Training Ground is an athletic talent identification program
dedicated to finding and funding Canada's future Olympians. Thirteen athletes
who were discovered and funded through RBC Training Ground have
competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic
Games and Beijing 2022 Olympic
Games, with seven becoming Olympic Medallists. Among them are
program alumni Jerome Blake (Silver
Medallist in Athletics – Relay 4x100m), Kelsey Mitchell (Gold Medallist in Track Cycling
– Women's Sprint) and Marion Thénault (Bronze Medallist in
Freestyle Skiing – Mixed Team Aerials), the latter two of whom did
not have experience in their Olympic sport before attending an RBC
Training Ground event. RBC Training Ground was developed in
partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian
Olympic Foundation, with support from the Canadian Olympic and
Paralympic Sport Institute Network.
"RBC Training Ground has proven to be a valuable incubator for
Team Canada," said Eric Myles, Chief
Sport Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee. "Alongside our
sport partners, we are so proud to be part of this incredible
program. It's important that more athletes from Indigenous
communities get the opportunity to compete on the national and
international stage, and we're looking forward to watching this
next generation of athletes pursue their Olympic dreams."
"We're incredibly proud to work with partners like RBC who so
intrinsically share our Olympic values," said Jacqueline Ryan, Chief Brand and Commercial
Officer of the Canadian Olympic Committee and Chief Executive
Officer of the Canadian Olympic Foundation. "By extending the RBC
Training Ground opportunity to more Indigenous communities across
the country, it's proof that our partners are equally committed to
the Team Canada Impact Agenda goal of making sport inclusive and
barrier-free so more young people can play and stay in sport. We
can't wait to kick off another year of this inspiring program!"
At each qualifying event this year, participants will perform
speed, strength, power, and endurance benchmark testing in front of
National Sport Organizations (NSO) partners. New NSO partners
Boxing Canada, Climbing Escalade Canada, Triathlon Canada and
Wrestling Canada Lutte join longstanding partners like Cycling
Canada and Rowing Canada to discover athletes for their national
teams. Following the National Final later this year where 100
hopefuls will compete, the top 30 athletes will be selected as RBC
Future Olympians to receive funding, mentorship, and other
resources to pursue their Olympic dreams.
Since its inception in 2016, RBC Training Ground has tested
12,000 athletes across Canada,
with more than 1,600 athletes being identified by National Sport
Organizations as having Olympic potential – many in a sport they
had never considered. The list of National Sport Organization
program partners in 2023 is available here. Registration and the
most up-to-date event information for all local RBC Training Ground
events is available at RBCTrainingGround.ca.
For more than 25 years, RBC has been committed to the
reconciliation journey, working with Indigenous Peoples and
communities through specific initiatives designed to generate
genuine and meaningful change. Our annual partnership report – A
Chosen Journey – celebrates Indigenous successes and affirms our
commitment to the Indigenous community. Since 2009, A Chosen
Journey has demonstrated our long history of partnering with
Indigenous communities across Canada.
About RBC
Royal Bank of Canada is a
global financial institution with a purpose-driven, principles-led
approach to delivering leading performance. Our success comes from
the 95,000+ employees who leverage their imaginations and insights
to bring our vision, values and strategy to life so we can help our
clients thrive and communities prosper. As Canada's biggest bank and one of the largest
in the world, based on market capitalization, we have a diversified
business model with a focus on innovation and providing exceptional
experiences to our 17 million clients in Canada, the U.S. and 27 other countries. Learn
more at rbc.com.
We are proud to support a broad range of community initiatives
through donations, community investments and employee volunteer
activities. See how at rbc.com/community-social-impact.
About the Canadian Olympic
Committee
The Canadian Olympic Committee believes sport has the power to
transform Canada. Through the Team
Canada Impact Agenda and together with our partners, the COC is
committed to making sport safe, inclusive and barrier-free so more
young people can play and stay in sport. Learn more at
olympic.ca.
SOURCE RBC