An RBC Training Ground event in Lethbridge seeks to identify athletes with the potential to make it to the Olympic Games. (Photo: Canadian Olympic Committee)

By David Opinko

Lethbridge event to scout future Olympians

Mar 4, 2025 | 1:19 PM

If you think you have what it takes to make it to the Olympics, the time to prove yourself is coming up.

RBC Training Ground is hosting a tryout event at the University of Lethbridge (U of L) on Saturday, March 15, 2025.

RBC Marketing Manager Sam Effah says people with any level of experience across a variety of athletic endeavours are welcome to attend.

“We’re looking to see all Olympic potential,” says Effah. “It’s a really great program that gives athletes the opportunity to test their speed, strength, endurance, and power. It really could be any athlete who is on that path towards making a Team Canada Olympic team.”

Those who are identified as having potential will be entered into a program where they can receive mentorship from Olympic athletes and coaches, as well as financial assistance.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

Effah is a two-time Canadian champion sprinter. He won a gold medal in the 200-metre dash at the 2009 Canada Games.

He says he knows from experience that attending high-level boot camps and the elite facilities that many Olympians use can be expensive, and he wishes RBC Training Ground was a thing when he was getting started.

The top 100 athletes will be invited to a national finals event. Among those, the 35 best will be identified as future Olympians.

One example of a local success story is Sarah Orban.

Orban was a member of the U of L Pronghorns women’s soccer team and the track and field team. She went to the 2017 edition of RBC Training Ground, hoping to get noticed for either of those two sports.

Instead, Effah says Orban showed serious potential in two entirely different areas.

“She was actually a track athlete, but she was identified in both cycling and rugby. She tried rugby and it wasn’t for her. She tried cycling – she had never jumped on a bike, keep that in mind – and this past summer, so Paris 2024, she made the Olympic Team,” says Effah.

Orban ended up finishing fourth in the women’s team pursuit at the 2020 Games and eighth in 2024.

RBC Training Ground is open to people aged 14 to 25 and it is free to participate.

You can learn more about the event, as well as register for it, on RBCTrainingGround.ca

For local news delivered daily to your email inbox, subscribe for free to the Lethbridge News Now newsletter here. You can also download the Lethbridge News Now mobile app in the Google Play and the Apple App Stores.