Canada’s official Olympic talent search is hitting the city of Yellowknife for the first time on Saturday.
Sam Effah, a Canadian two-time 100 metre sprint champion, including Olympic gold, and an ambassador of the RBC Training Ground program, said there are many ways athletes can get involved.
“Whether that means being an Olympian or getting accelerator funding or you’re on the pathway to Team Canada,” Effah said, there are a lot of different ways athletes can ‘make that opportunity happen.”
Effah took time to speak with True North FM about the program and explained that since its inception in 2016, the initiative has helped 21 program alumni reach the Olympic Games.
The training ground brings together aspiring athletes (age 14 to 25) with champion athletes, who will be available to offer advice or even just talk with youth who want to know more about the program, said Effah.
The program brings Effah together with fellow ambassador Eden Wilson, who is a Métis athlete training for the 2026 Olympics. Wilson is a Team Canada bobsleigh brakeman from Region 3 Alta.
The program looks at all of the athletes who participated in the training ground events. There are 20 across the country. Organizers then choose the top 100 athletes to come to the National Finals event.
“This is an event where athletes will test their speed, their strength, power and endurance, all in one place,” explained Effah.
This fall, the Nationals will take place in Vancouver.
After the national finals in Vancouver, the top 35 athletes will be selected for funding and a mentorship from an Olympians athlete.
The program is now in its tenth season and has seen lots of aspiring athletes.
“We’ve seen athletes come back, not once, not twice, but like three times and the third time they’ve got the funding, they deserve,” said Effah.
Effah explained that an exciting new initiative called The RBC Training Ground Athlete Accelerator just started this year.
It is a funding and support opportunity for RBC Training Ground participants who are currently facing financial barriers to high-performance sport.
The initiative offers athletes a chance to get educational development and internship support.
“If you need the funding support after the event, all you have to do is just fill up the survey, share your experience share some of the barriers that you have,” explained Effah.
Gavin Broadhead, an Olympic athlete and former hockey player from Hay River N.W.T., came to a training ground practice and went on to win the Nationals in 2018.
“It’s really possible. I think, sometimes people may not see people who look like them, or are in the sports or with the same background that they have, but it’s great because the program really sees all those with a lot of potential,” said Effah.
Wilson is a former show jumper on horses turned bobsleigh athlete.
Effah got into sports because of the opportunities that sports opened up, but said that it’s not just about getting to the Olympics. It’s about engaging with sports, engaging with a community of athletes and seeing where it can go.
“All of a sudden, I jumped into track, I was very late, I was in grade 12,” recalled Effah.
Although Effah didn’t get his start from the training ground program, he explained that he would have loved the opportunity to.
“What path” the training Ground can lead to is a kind of open field.
“And It’s also just a chance to have fun, meet people, meet an RBC Olympian and get some advice,” Effah added.
“You could be matched with a sport that you never knew you were good at,” Effah explained.
“We have tons of sports, not just summer or winter sports, there are 15 sports from bobsled to kayak, to rowing all the way to speed skating,” added Effah.
The event is free and there are two ways athletes can sign up. They can go to RBC trainingground.ca and choose a wave, where they would do an hour of testing at the Multiplex gym. Or athletes can just come out on the day of
This year, Training Ground also began hosting what they call a women’s hour.
The first hour of every event is reserved for women to give them the opportunity to compete in an environment where they can feel more safe.
The RBC Training Ground will take place on Saturday May 24, from 10:30 a.m. to about noon at the Multiplex Gym and Ed Jeske Arena on Kam Lake Road in Yellowknife.
