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Some of Canada’s brightest Olympic hopefuls travelled to Ottawa on October 22 to compete in the RBC Training Ground National Final in hopes of being one of 30 athletes named as an RBC ‘Future Olympian.’ The top 100 athletes invited to attend were greeted by well-known Canadian Olympians who spent the weekend mentoring and encouraging them, including Penny Oleksiak, Kelsey Mitchell, Sarah Nurse and Pierce LePage.
Meeting their heroes was a dream come true for the competitors, aged 14 to 25, who hail from across the country. For some, it was their first time travelling without their parents. Taiki Crocket, 14, from Edmonton, Alberta, said the solo trip was a huge opportunity for him. “My parents were a little nervous, but it’s been great here in Ottawa,” he said.
When asked who he was most excited to meet, the name came quickly: “Penny Oleksiak! She went to the Olympics when she was very young and ideally that’s what I’d like to do as well. It would be cool to be able to learn from her,” Crockett said, noting he’s specifically interested in finding out how top athletes manage their food intake to stay in peak performance and how they train at home.
As the 100 finalists sprinted, cycled and jumped their way through the four testing stations, they were cheered on by their fellow competitors, representatives from Canada’s National Sport Organizations (NSOs) and their Olympic mentors. Oleksiak said it was an opportunity she did not want to miss. “I’m really excited for them. This is opening up such a big door for these athletes to come and test their skills and see what sport they can be best suited for, so I think it’s a really awesome opportunity for them. And it’s also an opportunity for me to meet other athletes – future Olympians – people who are probably going to be on Team Canada eventually,” she explained.
Courtesy: House of Common studio / James Park
Oleksiak said mentorship played a huge role for her in 2016 when she was being mentored by three of her fellow swimmers on the relay team. “They really taught me how to carry myself when I’m at a senior-level meet or world-level meet and they taught me how to act and keep my nerves down. Mentorship is a huge thing that everyone should take advantage of. If someone wants to pull me aside here and ask me questions, I’m going to be there,” Oleksiak said.
Evan MacInnis, national technical director of RBC Training Ground, said providing a mentorship aspect to the event was high on the priority list. “There are a number of gold medallists just hanging out – it’s incredible. I don’t know where else you would see this. And it’s so inspiring for the kids who are coming to Ottawa from B.C. all the way over to Newfoundland; there’s somebody here from each province. To get to meet these Olympians in person is special,” MacInnis said.
He notes that as the athletes get to know the Olympians throughout the weekend, they’ll be able to understand a little better their specific journeys, the sacrifices and the dedication required to stay level through the ups and downs of high-performance sport.
For Ella McKinley, 18, from Aurora, Ontario, her childhood dream of meeting Oleksiak became a reality at the event. “I grew up watching Penny at the Olympics, so it’s just surreal meeting her in real life. Having the opportunity to meet someone who you consistently watch as a woman in sport for your entire life is huge. You can see the hard work and the dedication in everything she does,” McKinley explained.
For one special mentor-mentee duo, the RBC Training Ground National Final was a full circle moment. Olympic gold medallist Kelsey Mitchell competed in RBC Training Ground in 2017 which opened her eyes to Track Cycling, a sport she had never considered. She was awarded funding through the program to help her transition to this new sport, and later went on to win Gold at the Tokyo Olympics. Years prior, Mitchell met Cassidy Rhodes – now 18 and a University of British Columbia (UBC) student – at a local Edmonton gym. “I used to train Cassidy and her hockey team at First Line Fitness in Sherwood Park and I remember her being one of the hardest working girls in the group. I definitely saw something special in her,” Mitchell said.
She encouraged Rhodes to consider trying out at an RBC Training Ground qualifying event. “She was the first one to put the bug in my ear,” said Rhodes, “and then after watching her at the Olympics and doing phenomenal, of course, I started looking into RBC [Training Ground] and the other athletes. It’s crazy to see her here and she actually remembers me!”
When asked what it means to her to have mentors like Mitchell at the National Final, Rhodes was resolute. “It means everything, truthfully. Getting to meet people that have been in the same situation, like Kelsey Mitchell, shows that there is a way, like, ‘If I did it, you can do it, too.’ It really drives you to do better and it opens up a door. It gets rid of this wall of ‘them verses me’ and it intertwines and makes me think I could be them,” Rhodes explained.
A kinesiology student and hockey player at UBC, Rhodes is looking forward to asking the Olympians about what motivates them and if that has changed over their careers. “Finding out how they think and what got them there is what we need to know if we want to get to that same level.”
For Mitchell, RBC Training Ground has been a life-changing experience, as it will be for the next 30 RBC ‘Future Olympians’ to be named on December 5th during a TSN broadcast special. “This is the experience of a lifetime here this weekend. I came to this and I bought into the entire experience. I trained for it, I was focused on any sport that would take me and I got the opportunity. I went all in. My advice to the athletes would be, any opportunity you get, take it and go all in. Enjoy the experience, meet new people, enjoy competing against the best in Canada and one day you may be able to represent Canada on the international stage,” Mitchell said.
Courtesy: House of Common studio / James Park
Pierce LePage, an RBC Training Ground alumnus and a Decathlete who represented Canada at the Tokyo Olympics, agrees that the opportunities offered through the program have been far-reaching. Named an RBC Future Olympian in 2016, he was assigned track star Sam Effah as his mentor, whom he developed a friendship with that lasts today. “I’d see him every day at the track, we’d talk and he’d guide me in how international competitions work, how sponsorships work and just going through events and the mental stuff. He was super good to me. It’s like I got a friendship and a mentor for life,” LePage explained.
His advice for athletes coming up the ranks is this: “You’re here for a reason. You’re here because you’re good enough. What you’ve done leading up to this has been enough. You don’t have to do anything different, just do what you’ve always done and I’m sure you’ll get on top.”
Oleksiak adds, “Take every opportunity you can. Just being here is impressive. Have a lot of fun with it. I think if you’re having fun with something, you’re going to put in 110 per cent effort, so have fun and enjoy yourself. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Enjoy it and embrace the process.”
Follow @RBCTrainingGround on Instagram for more exciting updates and be sure to tune in on December 5th for a special RBC Training Ground National Final broadcast on TSN, which will air following the Toronto Raptors game.
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