Search for next generation of Olympic talent comes to Sudbury

The Canadian Olympic Committee’s official talent search, RBC Training Ground, was in Sudbury on Sunday.

The program is open to athletes ages 14-25.

“The function of this program is to kind of look for athletes who are currently with some sports and see if their physical characteristics will then apply over to other sports, as well,” said Ben McKellar, a sport scientist with the Canadian Sport Institute.

“So the function of the event is kinds identifying those athletes and then seeing how they can progress within other sports.”

More than 60 athletes had measurements taken and were given the opportunity to show their core speed, power, strength and endurance.

Olympic talent scouts from 11 Olympic sports were on hand looking to identify new talent for development.

“Their numbers will be compared and there will be a final national qualifier where there will be a lot of our national sporting organizations present where they will recruit for different sports,” said Brittany MacLean alana everson, an Olympic swimmer bronze medallist.

Hockey player Nicho Labrecque said he was interested to see how he compares to other athletes in Canada. (Alana Everson/CTV News)

“There are people within this very room that have been giving out pamphlets (to) come to try this sport (and) come to take advantage of this.”

Athletes said they welcome the unique opportunity to gain insight into their abilities.

“Just interested to see how I compare to other athletes in Canada, just to see where my fitness level is,” said Nicho Labrecque, a hockey player.

Taylor Brown travelled to Sudbury from North Bay to take part.

“I think it's a great opportunity to kinds come out here and like figure out what sports you are capable of,” said Brown, a volleyball player.

Officials said the program has been running for nine years and has found and funded 13 Olympians -- including seven medallists -- and put hundreds of athletes into the Canadian Olympic talent pipeline.

o    Download our app to get local alerts on your device

o    Get the latest local updates right to your inbox