Suncor Energy: Petro-Canada’s Fuelling Athletes and Coaching Excellence (FACE(TM)) Program announces the Class of 2016

Special to the Post

Petro-Canada, a Suncor business, today announced the 2016 Fuelling Athletes and Coaching Excellence (FACE™) Program grant recipients. The FACE athletes from across Canada represent 39 different summer and winter sports in both individual and team events. Every year, PetroCanada selects fifty-two promising athletes from across Canada. These athletes and their coaches are awarded a $10,000 FACE grant to help them along their journey, with $5,000 going directly to the athlete and $5,000 to their coach. FACE grants are often used for training, equipment, coach education, and travel expenses for competitions.

“We’re honoured to support the dedication and hard work that Canadian athletes and coaches put into their sport while they work to become tomorrow’s Team Canada,” said Deborah Gullaher, vice president, Sales and Marketing, Suncor. “Congratulations to the Class of 2016, you are an inspiration to all Canadians.”

Developed by Petro-Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), and facilitated by their National Sport partners, the FACE Program supports up-and-coming athletes when they need it most: when they are striving to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, but don’t yet qualify for government funding. Since 1988, Petro-Canada has supported more than 2,700 Canadian athletes and their coaches by providing more than $10,000,000 in financial support.

“Thank you to Petro-Canada for their continued support of our country’s athletes and coaches. The funds they provide go a long way in helping offset the many expenses that come with being an up-andcoming athlete” said Chris Overholt, CEO, Canadian Olympic Committee. “With Petro-Canada’s help and generosity, Canada’s athletes will continue on their sporting journeys, fuelled to be the best they can be.”

“The FACE program continues to be an extremely valuable and much appreciated investment in athletes at the initial stage of their high performance sport careers,” said Gaétan Tardif, President, Canadian Paralympic Committee. “These grants provide valuable funding for athletes to pursue their dreams of one day representing Canada on the world stage, and will no doubt help create outstanding role models for all Canadians. Our thanks to PetroCanada for this incredible program in support of the Team Canada of tomorrow.”

FACE Summit 2016

In addition to providing financial support, FACE athletes and coaches are invited to an annual summit, co-hosted by Petro-Canada and CBC/ Radio-Canada. During the FACE Summit, this year’s athletes and coaches will learn from Olympians and Paralympians, as well as subject matter experts in the areas of media training, public speaking, and personal-brand development. The FACE Summit will be held in early November.

“As a past FACE athlete, it’s amazing to see that other athletes will continue to receive PetroCanada’s generous support now that they have renewed their partnership with the COC. They help make Canadian athletes’ dreams come true and for that, we will always be grateful.”

Hayley Wickenheiser, six-time Olympian, five-time Olympic medallist

The FACE Program supports up-andcoming athletes when they need it most: when they are striving to represent Canada at the Olympic or Paralympic Games, but don’t yet qualify for government funding. ”