Sherbrooke teen chosen during national search for new Olympians
Sherbrooke's Kasandra Savoie is the Quebec winner of RBC Training Ground. At just 15, Kasandra is the youngest winner in program history.
She joins Andrew Wood (Atlantic), Sarah Orban (Alberta) and Avalon Wasteneys (BC) in the RBC Training Ground Regional winner's circle.
RBC Training Ground is traveling from coast-to-coast looking for Canada's next Olympian. Over 1,300 young athletes have been tested so far in 2017, but only five will be named Top Performers and receive an acclimatization trip to the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Et le financement de RBC pour soutenir leur développement sportif. Ontario is the final stop on the program's 2017 national tour. Qualifying events begin in August and culminate with the regional final on October 14.
Hailing from Sherbrooke, Savoie is an accomplished track and field athlete currently the top ranked midget pole vaulter in the country - and also plays competitive hockey. She impressed judges with her speed and power, finishing top spot in the standing long jump, standing triple jump and six-second bike sprint. She also found her way into the top 10 on the 40m sprint and concept 2 dyno strength test.
"Kasandra's performance impressed all of the sport coaches here today," says Kurt Innes, Talent Development Director for CSI Pacific and RBC Training Ground technical lead. She was the best performer in three of the six different physical tests, and second in another. After the testing was all said and done, Kasandra had exceeded benchmarks from four different national sport organizations. It's an incredible feat for someone of her age, and relative stage of development. With continued hard work, and support from her family and the sporting community in Sherbrooke, Kasandra may some day wear the maple leaf and earn the privilege of representing Canada in one of these sports."
Savoie was an easy pick for power and speed based sports like athletics, cycling and rugby. But in the deliberation room, even scouts from some of the more technical sports like water polo and judo were open to pursuing her for further testing, due to her youth.
For Savoie, this is just the beginning of the journey. This week, coaches from the 11 participating NSOS will meet to review all of the participants' test results and contact those who are selected for sport-specific testing. Up to 50 athletes, including Savoie and the other top performers, will receive support and access to high-performance coaching, training and competition to achieve their Olympic dreams.