Kamloops athletes have a chance to be recognized this weekend with the RBC Training Ground Regional Qualifying event on Sunday.
Sport Performance Coordinator for Pacific Sport Interior, Eryn Barrett says, the event has athletes compete in 4 exercises to assess power, speed, strength, and endurance.
“Athletes who meet or might exceed performance benchmarks set by the 13 or 15 national sport partners across the country, they might be invited to attend the RBC Training Ground provincial final.”
Barrett says, athletes then have a chance at getting funding.
“That’s a really, really big deal, and that’s a huge obstacle for many across the country, and I think internationally, when they’re chasing the dream.”
She says funding is key because many athletes in between amateur and national team levels often struggle with covering expenses.
“Theres funding when they make it to the national team level, but prior to that, and when you’re on the door step of it, it’s really ‘Bank of Mum and Dad’. So, there’s odd grants here and there, and then theres regional centres like ourselves that support that developmental and high performance athlete along the pathway, and we have travel grants, etc.”
The free event is from 8 a.m to 2 p.m tomorrow up at the TCC, and registration can be done at rbctraininground.ca.