“I think I’ve learned a lot about myself in the last three years. It’s actually been quite a mental struggle for me since the last Olympics. I had all of this expectation that I put on myself. Now that I’m an Olympian, I should be this good. I should be doing this well in competitions. And there were, you know, a number of reasons why I was not doing that well. There were a couple of other things happening in my life that really crushed me mentally. I spent two full competition seasons, pretty much, being crushed, and every time I stepped onto the mats to compete, I was a mess,” Yip said on a recent episode of Momentum, a podcast by Team Canada.

“I did a lot of work mentally and I think it started to really show at the end of last season when I got a bronze medal at the Pan American Games. Besides the medal, I think the important thing to me was that I felt amazing climbing out there. I felt like myself. I was happy. I felt powerful.”

Beyond her commitment to the physical side of her sport, Yip has also frequently used her platform as one of the best-known climbers in the country to advocate for safe sport conditions, speaking out against the traditional “lighter is better” attitude that has persisted in climbing, often fostering a culture of body dysmorphia and disordered eating.

“Historically, the culture in climbing has been to reduce weight to get better at climbing. That misses the entire other side of that equation–that you can also get stronger to be better at climbing. Getting stronger is a lot healthier for you than just dropping weight. People do it in an uneducated way and from a place that their body doesn’t actually need or can afford to drop weight. So it turns into this very unhealthy obsession.” 

Those perspectives have helped inform her personal approach to her latest challenge–navigating a diagnosis of alopecia.

“Climbing has been probably the biggest part of my healing from [disordered eating during high school], because when I’m climbing, I feel strong and I feel powerful. I don’t feel, I don’t feel tiny or delicate. Climbing makes me feel alive, and it makes me feel strong,” said Yip.

During the early stages of her alopecia diagnosis, Yip needed to re-orient herself in that perspective of strength and vitality while climbing, as her hair loss infiltrated her headspace while at the climbing gym. 

“I was really afraid to go into the climbing gym. I wanted to wear a hat all of the time, or I wanted to keep my hair clipped up in a way that you couldn’t really see it. But I was not climbing the way that I can. I had it in the back of my head: “Oh, don’t move your head very fast, because your hat will fall off and then people will see.” It turns out that I’m the one who cares most about my hair.”

To listen to Alannah Yip’s full episode, check out Momentum wherever you get your podcasts.

READ: Sport climber Alannah Yip talks problem-solving on and off the wall

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The first season of Momentum, a podcast by Team Canada, is called “Watch This!” and focuses on the inspiring stories of the women of Team Canada. Tune in as Olympian and host Arianne Jones dives deep with Team Canada athletes Skylar Park (taekwondo), Alannah Yip (sport climbing), Maggie Mac Neil (swimming), Paige Crozon (3×3 basketball), and Diana Matheson (soccer). 

At home in Toronto, Canadian swimmers are racing for their spots on Team Canada at the Olympic Swimming Trials. Overseas, the Canadian 3×3 basketball teams have one last chance to lock up Olympic qualification in Debrecen, Hungary. It is also the last opportunity for Canada to qualify more rowing crews for Paris at the Final Olympic Qualification Regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.

The sports of skateboarding, sport climbing, breaking, and BMX freestyle have combined forces for an unforgettable Olympic Qualifier Series, the first stop of which is underway in Shanghai, China. Meanwhile, the World Judo Championships kick off on Sunday, with athletes looking to improve their world rankings before the Olympic qualification window closes at the end of June.

Here’s what you don’t want to miss:

Swimming

The Olympic and Paralympic Swimming Trials, presented by Bell, got underway on Monday at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre.

After three evenings of finals, world champions Summer McIntosh, Maggie Mac Neil and Kylie Masse are among those who have booked their places at Paris 2024, as did world championship medallists Ingrid Wilm and Mary-Sophie Harvey. In the men’s events, Tristan Jankovics, Blake Tierney and Javier Acevedo have qualified for the Olympic team. Several others are in an excellent position to be named as relay swimmers.

On Thursday, McIntosh will race in the final of the 400m IM, in which she is the world record holder and two-time world champion. The fourth day of competition will also feature the first final for Joshua Liendo, who will again have his eyes on breaking the national record in the 100m freestyle. Swimmers in that event also want to put themselves into consideration for the men’s 4x100m freestyle relay team. In the women’s 200m backstroke, reigning Olympic silver medallist Masse and Wilm will be among the swimmers in action.

The women’s 100m freestyle will take place on Friday. That is a packed field that includes McIntosh, Harvey, Mac Neil, as well as Penny Oleksiak, Taylor Ruck, Katerine Savard, and Rebecca Smith. They’ll be aiming to qualify for the individual event or a place on the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay. In the women’s 200m breaststroke, Sydney Pickrem — a two-time world medallist — and Kelsey Wog will be among the candidates for qualification, while in the men’s 200m butterfly, Ilya Kharun, fourth in the event at the 2023 World Aquatics Championships, will also be trying to secure his ticket to Paris 2024.

McIntosh is expected to be back in the pool on Saturday for the women’s 200m butterfly, another event in which she won back-to-back world titles in 2022 and 2023. In the men’s 200m IM, another world champion, Finlay Knox, will be looking to secure his Olympic qualification, while the trials winner of the 400m, Jankovics, will look to add another event to his Olympic program. Liendo and Yuri Kisil are among the swimmers who could go under the Olympic Qualifying Time in the men’s 50m freestyle.

On Sunday, the women’s 50m freestyle will be another opportunity for Ruck to qualify for Paris 2024. In the men’s 100m butterfly, 2023 World silver medallist Liendo should be in the mix, along with Kharun and Knox. McIntosh, Pickrem and Harvey will be among the swimmers to watch in the women’s 200m IM. Pickrem won silver in the event at the World Aquatics Championships this past February.

The qualifying heats start at 9:30 a.m. ET every day, with the finals kicking off at 6 p.m. every evening. The competition to determine the swimmers who will represent Canada at Paris 2024 culminates with the official announcement of the Olympic swimming team on Sunday evening.

3×3 Basketball

Team Canada’s women’s 3×3 team has one more shot to snag their spot at Paris 2024, as the final FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament takes place this weekend in Debrecen, Hungary.

The team of Paige Crozon, Kacie Bosch, Katherine Plouffe, Michelle Plouffe, and alternate Cassandra Brown are in Pool B. They opened up with a 21-11 win over Chile, followed by a 19-16 win against Lithuania. They’ll finish the round robin against Czechia on Saturday.

The decorated Canadian quartet narrowly missed qualifying at the last universality tournament in Utsunomiya, Japan, in early May, falling to Team Australia 19-16 in the final.

In Utsunomiya, only one qualification spot was up for grabs. In Debrecen, 16 teams will battle it out for the final three Olympic spots.

READ: Team Canada’s women’s 3×3 team makes push for Paris while prioritizing passion

Team Canada boasts a stellar record as back-to-back FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series champions, 2022 AmeriCup champions and 2022 World Cup silver medallists. The team enters the tournament seeded second in the FIBA 3×3 OQT standings.

The Canadian men’s team of Jerome Desrosiers, Bikramjit Gill, Alex Johnson, and Kamar McKnight are in Pool C. After opening with an 18-14 win over Spain, they dropped their second match 21-18 to Egypt. They’ll face France in their last round robin game on Saturday.

Rowing

The World Rowing Final Olympic Qualification Regatta is taking place this weekend in Lucerne, Switzerland. Two Canadian boats — the men’s eight and the women’s quadruple sculls — will be competing to secure their path to Paris 2024. There are two Olympic spots available in each event.

READ: A tale of two eights: Team Canada rowers on staying in sync, Olympic legacy, and fun

The men’s eight crew includes Jakub Buczek, Joel Cullen, Ryan Clegg, Terek Been, Curtis Ames, Gavin Stone, Will Crothers, John Walkey and coxswain Laura Court. The women’s quad sculls consists of Shannon Kennedy, Marilou Duvernay Tardif, Carling Zeeman and Katie Clark.

Team Canada has already qualified boats for Paris in the women’s eight and lightweight double sculls events.

Olympic Qualifier Series

The Olympic Qualifier Series is underway in Shanghai, China. The event combines the sports of skateboarding, sport climbing, breaking, and BMX freestyle, making for an entertaining weekend! The event is one of two, with qualifications being awarded after the second event in Budapest in June.

In skateboarding, 14-year-old Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games champion Fay De Fazio Ebert has advanced to the semifinals of the women’s park event. Samantha Secours will represent Canada in the women’s street event. On the men’s side, Matt Berger and Ryan Decenzo have advanced to the street semifinals, while Micky Papa, and Cordano Russell were eliminated in the prelims.

Team Canada’s first two Olympians in sport climbing from the sport’s Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020, Sean McColl and Alannah Yip, will begin the process of trying to qualify for their second Games. Yip, who climbed to a bronze medal at Santiago 2023, will compete in the women’s boulder and lead combined event. McColl will compete in the men’s boulder and lead event, alongside Oscar Baudrand.

In breaking, Tiffany Leung, aka B-Girl Tiff, and Emma Misak, aka B-Girl Emma, will battle towards Paris qualification. Team Canada has already qualified one breaker for Paris 2024, Philip Kim (B-Boy Phil Wizard) who qualified on his way to winning the Pan Am Games gold medal. Leung finished fourth at Santiago 2023.

Judo

The IJF World Championships kick off on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates and run until May 24. Eleven Canadian judokas will be looking to amass points towards their IJF World Ranking before the Olympic qualification period closes on June 23.

Monday’s competition in the women’s 57kg category will be crucial for Christa Deguchi and Jessica Klimkait. The two Canadians are currently ranked first and second, respectively, in the world, but only one of them will be able to take part in the Olympic tournament in this weight category. Whoever finishes higher will get two points towards Judo Canada’s selection criteria, which will also consider who is higher in the world rankings at the close of the qualification window, as well as the results from the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.

Deguchi will be aiming to defend the world title she won last year. It was her second career world title. In 2019, she became the first Canadian woman to be crowned world judo champion. For her part, Klimkait won the world championships in 2021, securing her qualification for Tokyo 2020, where she won a bronze medal. She also won bronze at the 2023 World Championships.

Another bronze medallist at the last Olympic Games, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard is currently ranked first in the world in the women’s 63kg category, for which competition takes place on Tuesday. She finished on the second step of the podium at the 2022 World Championships.

On Thursday, Shady Elnahas and Kyle Reyes will both compete in the men’s under-100kg category. Elnahas finished fifth at the 2023 World Championships, a position he also achieved at the 2021 World Championships and at Tokyo 2020 a few months later. Reyes, meanwhile, was silver medallist at the 2022 World Championships and took seventh place at last year’s worlds.

Deguchi’s sister Kelly (52kg) will be the first Canadian to take to the tatami on Sunday, while Ana Laura Portuondo Isasi (+78 kg) will have to wait until Thursday before taking to the stage.

On the men’s side, Julien Frascadore (66kg) will be in action on Monday, as will Arthur Margelidon (73kg), while François Gauthier-Drapeau (81kg) and Louis Krieber Gagnon (90kg) will take part in their respective tournaments on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yip, along with her teammate and longtime friend Sean McColl, were Canada’s first-ever sport climbing Olympians. Yip finished 14th in the women’s combined event. 

Her journey since then has had its ups and downs, both on and off the wall. She endured a difficult World Cup circuit in 2023, but that was followed by a big bronze medal performance at the Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games. Off the wall, Yip began grappling with an alopecia diagnosis this past December.

The 30-year-old has taken learnings from all of these experiences and is using them to inform her path towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The Olympic Qualifier Series (OQS), which will feature sport climbing along with breaking, BMX freestyle, and skateboarding, kicks off May 15-19 in Shanghai, China, followed by another event in Budapest, Hungary, June 20-23. Through the OQS, 10 quota spots will be allocated for each gender in the boulder and lead combined event while five quota spots are available for each gender in speed climbing. 

We chatted with Yip ahead of the first OQS event to get a sense of her mindset while seeking her second Olympic berth and what lessons she’s taken away since Tokyo 2020.

O.ca: Tell us a little bit about last year, including the experience in Santiago and winning the bronze medal. Overall, how would you assess your 2023?

AY: So, 2023 was definitely not my best year performance-wise. I’d been struggling since the Tokyo Olympics with finding my confidence again on the wall and in competition. Even though I tried my best to prepare well for the 2023 World Cup season, I just don’t think I did enough, especially enough work on the mental performance side.

But I kind of hit my stride by the time we got to Santiago–I had an amazing preparation for that. I had been working with a new sports psychologist and we were starting to really mesh, and the things that we had worked on I was able to utilize those tools in competition. I had an amazing training camp beforehand where I learned so much and was able to go into the Pan Am Games very focused and very present and able to enjoy myself.

And I was able to have probably the best performance I’ve had since my Olympic qualifier in [Los Angeles] in early 2020.

O.ca: Have you been able to identify what happened with the confidence dip?

AY: I think there were a lot of reasons for that confidence drop. I definitely had a kind of post-Olympic blues that lasted quite a while. I think changing the team around me, my coaches and support staff, has been a big factor in helping me get out of that. 

I’m actually working with my little brother for my strength training now. He has a degree in human kinetics and he’s currently doing his masters in strength and conditioning.

O.ca: Post-Olympic blues are a real thing even for those of us who work behind the scenes. They ramp up and then they just end. It leaves you going– “wait, now what?”

AY: Yeah, it was a pretty crazy experience. There’s so much leading up to it, like hype and media and everything. And then the second you fall off your last climb, it’s just over and you’re going home. It was abrupt and that’s hard to deal with. 

O.ca: But you’re feeling better now?

AY: Definitely. I feel like I’ve been picking up momentum and Santiago was an amazing experience for me. I was actually so burned out from the season that I almost didn’t go to Santiago. But I am so glad that I did because the preparation for it was fantastic; it put me in a great space mentally and physically. 

And the experience there was like the Olympic experience I didn’t get to have in Tokyo. I got to meet other athletes, I got to hang out with my team. [In climbing] we never spend much time together on the road, everyone’s kind of just doing their own thing. So just being there as a unified team and then feeling like some part of something bigger, part of Team Canada, was incredible.

I’m still riding the high from that and I’m hugely motivated to train and to perform at the next Olympic qualifying events.

O.ca: And we’re looking ahead to the Olympic Qualifier Series.

AY: Yes. So climbing is involved in the Olympic Qualifier Series, which is put on by the IOC. It’ll be the Olympic qualifier for 50 per cent of the Olympic field for climbing, skateboarding, breakdancing and BMX [freestyle].

O.ca: There’s been a change in the competition format with speed climbing getting pulled out as a separate discipline. Do you prefer that now that you’ve only got bouldering and lead combined, or did you like having speed mixed in?

AY: I am very happy that we are pulling out speed into its own discipline, for a couple of different reasons. I think it’s really good for the growth of the sport. We now have an extra 28 athletes in the Olympics. It went from just 20 per gender in combined and then now there’s an extra 14 [in each gender] in speed. So we’re growing, we got an extra medal [event]. It puts us on a great path for moving ahead. 

But also, splitting speed climbing out just makes sense. Speed climbing is fundamentally a different type of sport than lead climbing and bouldering. It’s much more closely related to athletics–it’s basically a vertical sprint. But lead climbing and bouldering are all about problem solving, where every climb and every round of competition is brand new. Your challenge is to figure it out in the best way for you personally to climb it and then execute that. 

O.ca: If someone’s tuning in to climbing for the first time and they’re watching you compete in boulder and lead, what advice would you give them?

AY: You’re watching for the person who gets overall the highest on the lead route and on the boulders generally gets higher than everybody else. There’s three scoring opportunities in bouldering. There’s two sort of midway points where you get five points and 10 points and then the top where you get 25 points. So it’s a point-based cumulative scoring throughout the event. 

But, in my personal opinion, what you should really be watching for–what my favorite moments in the sport are–is when there’s a climb and two different climbers or more, figure it out and execute it in completely different ways. I think those are the most exciting and most magical moments for our sport because it just shows that there’s not one definitive right way to do something. It’s about figuring out what’s your right way to do something. A given problem can have multiple solutions.

O.ca: What do you wish more people knew about sport climbing? 

AY: I think it’s the same thing. I wish more people understood that we don’t practice these exact climbs. We have to practice every possible type of movement under the sun so that when they put something brand new in front of us at the Olympics or at whatever competition we’re at, we’re able to identify what kind of movement it is and hopefully execute it.

So, we’ve never seen these climbs. We don’t get to watch anybody else climb them. And in bouldering, in semifinals, at least in some formats, we don’t even get to talk to other people about what it looks like. It’s just you and the wall, and I love that.

O.ca: Have you been to Paris?

AY: Yes, I’ve been a few times.

O.ca: Any favourite memories?

AY: One of my favorite memories is the first time that I went with my family just as tourists when I was around 11. My dad and I shared a banana crepe right in front of the Eiffel Tower. How iconic! I’m sure it was an extremely overpriced crepe, but that’s a great memory. 

The 2016 Climbing World Championships were in Paris and that was my first year competing on the whole World Cup circuit. It had just been announced that climbing was going to be in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

When I started climbing, the Olympics were not on the radar, not even close to being on the radar. Climbing was for the kind of weird kids who couldn’t do soccer. Most of us quote unquote, “failed” out of the normal sports. So we found something else–we found climbing. 

I had a really good performance at that event, so kind of over that week or so I was realizing that maybe I could go to the Olympics. That was a pivotal moment.

O.ca: You say you were the kid who fell out of the other sports. But if you weren’t an Olympian in sport climbing and you could choose to be an Olympian in any other sport, what would it be?

AY: Do I get the skills of another sport or do I have to use my mediocre skills?

O.ca: Whatever you would like to be good at.

AY: Then I would say freestyle skiing or ski cross. I think Vancouver 2010 was the first year of ski cross and I was there. I was 16 when Vancouver 2010 happened and I was pretty captivated by that sport. Also, it didn’t hurt that we won a lot of medals.

I was at the Opening Ceremony in Vancouver [as a spectator] and that was a pivotal moment for me. You know how long the Opening Ceremony can be… I did not move throughout the entire athlete parade! I was so transfixed, just imagining what it would be like to walk into the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games representing your country.

And then sadly, I did not get to do that in Tokyo. Maybe Paris!

O.ca: At that point in 2010, we’re still six years away from your sport becoming an Olympic sport! It seems like you were dreaming about the ceremony that you, at the time, would have had no shot of being in.

AY: Yeah, absolutely. At that time, it was a dream, not a goal. I differentiate those two in my head. A dream is something that isn’t realistic, isn’t feasible, and a goal is something that is, so it was absolutely just a dream at that point.

O.ca: So was there a mental switch for you? Was there a moment when the Olympics went from being a dream to a goal?

AY: It was absolutely the world championships in Paris in 2016. I think I was in the airport in Chicago or something on a layover on my way to the world championships. And I turned on my phone and it had just been announced that climbing was going to be in Tokyo 2020. And you know, I thought that’s pretty cool.

Being a first-time spectator can sometimes be confusing, though, so we asked some Team Canada athletes to give their best advice for incoming fans of their sport.

Here’s what they had to say:

Sarah Mitton (Athletics – Shot put)

I would say that if they’re watching qualification rounds, there’s a line called the auto-qualification line. If you throw over it, you’re automatically advanced to the final. It doesn’t matter if it’s your first throw or your third. Sometimes people get a little lost when all of a sudden half the field is no longer throwing.

My second advice would be to watch for the big throws and the celebrations. The amount of energy and effort that goes into creating a big throw is huge, but sometimes watching the post-throw celebration is even more fun. We’re all a little quirky in the throws, so sometimes they’re kind of dorky and fun and whatnot, but there’s so much energy and excitement. We really do put on a show.

READ: Shot putter Sarah Mitton on her Olympic goals and inspiring the next generation

Phil Wizard (Breaking)

I would encourage people to basically pick a ‘character’ that you root for because everyone dances very differently. I think of it in comparison to something like anime or superhero movies, where everyone has a particular favourite character. Everyone who is at the Olympics is breaking at the highest level, so find someone whose style resonates with you.

WATCH: 24 Questions with Phil Wizard

Alannah Yip (Sport climbing)

My favorite moments in the sport are when there’s a climb and two different climbers or more figure it out and execute it in completely different ways. I think those are the most exciting and most magical moments for our sport because it just shows that there’s not one right way, definitive right way to do something. It’s about figuring out what’s your right way to do something and that it’s a problem, but it has multiple solutions.

Sanoa Dempfle-Olin (Surfing)

Watching surfing for the first time can definitely be confusing. 

I think the basic things to know are that surfers are scored on their two best waves. They’re scored on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best that you get (and then I guess a 0.1 would be the worst you could get!). Our two best waves get added together as our heat score total and whichever of the surfers has the higher total is who wins the heat.

READ: Surfing 101 with Sanoa Dempfle-Olin

Cameron Levins (Athletics – Marathon)

With the marathon, it’s one of those things where there’s a lot going on even when you think there’s not a lot going on early in these races. Even if you think “I can’t even see this athlete!”, often it’s a purposeful play by the athlete to not be in view of what’s going on.

So I would say if you’re watching for the first time, something that can be really helpful is downloading a race tracking app or getting live splits along the way. These let you track different athletes besides what you’re watching on screen. It’s just helpful to have more information so you understand what’s happening beyond the front pack. 

No matter what though, the last half or last ten kilometres of the marathon is generally pretty exciting. But I think that it can be really important to know what’s going on early in the race.

Sarah Douglas (Sailing)

In the class that I sail, there are 45 athletes going around one course. So it’s all about your finish position and where you rank within the race. And we do 10 races. 

At the end of the day, you want to have the most consistent scoring and the least amount of points (your finish position is your points).

And generally you want to stay upright!

WATCH: 24 questions with Sarah Douglas

Alexanne Verret (Fencing – Épée)

In épée, when the person gets the light, it’s their point, so it’s pretty straightforward. I would recommend getting used to épée and learning more about the sport before trying to watch the other two weapons [foil and sabre]. With those, it’s about priority–even I sometimes need video replays!

Fares Arfa (Fencing – Sabre)

Spectators need to understand that if two lights go off, it doesn’t necessarily mean that both athletes get a point. Be attentive to the referee, what they say and how they act, because that’s really the way to understand the points. 

Also, know that there is a lot of screaming! Part of fencing is theater. You have to sell the point to the referee and if you look confident doing it, they have more tendency to think it was your point.

Sophiane Méthot (Trampoline)

So, there’s four things we are judged on and those four things are added up to make our score.

The first thing is difficulty; the more flips you see, the more twists you see, the higher the points will be. Secondly, there’s execution; we’re looking for tight position, arm placement, and straight legs. Third of all, they’re looking for HD: horizontal displacement. There’s a red X in the middle of the trampoline and you need to jump as much as you can on it. The further you go from the X, the more point deductions you get. And lastly, we have time of flight–that’s the time that you are in the air. 

Eric Peters (Archery)

Archery is a really simple sport to watch. It goes in the middle or it doesn’t, right?

But one thing to be watching for is how long someone’s taking to shoot an arrow. Because the longer it takes, means usually it’s not going to be very good. Also look out for how much they are flailing their arms once they’ve let go. That also tells you a lot about where the arrow is going to go.

Tiffany Leung (Breaking)

The first thing to watch out for when you’re seeing people dance, you want to ask yourself: are they dancing to the music? Do the movements match the music? You can tell when something happens in the music and it moves a dancer in a certain way. 

Then the second thing to look out for is originality and creativity. For the Canadian Tteam especially, we really value originality and creativity. You’ll be able to see it in the different dancers and how they each have their own unique style. There are certain moves like windmills, air flares and six steps–all these steps that are basic–but you can see how dancers take that step and make it their own in a way that’s an extension of themselves and their own style. 

And finally–allow yourself to feel what you want to feel because I feel like the best breaker is a type of breaker that makes you feel something!

So while all eyes may naturally focus on those athletes, the process of identifying, training, and supporting the athletes that will follow in their footsteps is critically important.

READ: RBC Training Ground: Finding Canada’s next generation of Olympians 

In support of that process, RBC Training Ground has announced its return for a ninth year. The national program identifies and supports young Canadian Olympic hopefuls. The program has shown great success thus far–Team Canada at Tokyo 2020 included eight RBC Training Ground athletes, while five more athletes identified through the program competed at Beijing 2022. In the years since its launch, RBC Training Ground alumni have gone on to win Olympic gold medals and world championship titles and, in turn, returned in mentorship roles for the next wave of future Olympians.

Avalon Wasteneys participated in the 2017 edition of RBC Training Ground. She went on to win a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as part of the women’s eight rowing crew.

“RBC Training Ground acted as a huge catalyst for my career in sport,” Wasteneys said. “It gave me the confidence I needed as well as the funding and support from a community of people that were really cheering me on.”

Similarly, Sarah Orban was a soccer player and track and field athlete at the University of Lethbridge when she attended the 2017 edition of RBC Training Ground. She was identified as having high potential in a sport she’d never done before–track cycling.

“RBC Training Ground helped me discover a completely new sport that I’d never tried before and created a new pathway for me in sport,” Orban said. The 28-year-old now has Pan American and Commonwealth Games medals to her name in her new sport.

For the 2024 edition of the program, RBC Training Ground is welcoming to its roster of partners the National Sport Organizations (NSO) for two new Olympic sports–flag football and squash–that will make their Olympic debut at the LA 2028 Games. Returning NSO partners include:

• Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton
• Cycling Canada
• Rugby Canada
• Freestyle Canada
• Climbing Canada
• Canoe Kayak Canada
• Luge Canada
• Rowing Canada
• Speed Skating Canada
• Volleyball Canada
• Wrestling Canada

RBC Training Ground will host 19 qualifying events across the nation from February through May. Registration is free and anyone between the ages of 14-25 can sign up. For those unable to attend an in-person event, virtual qualifying is open until May 15, 2024. Check out the full schedule.

At these qualifying events, athletes undergo speed, endurance, strength, and power testing under the watchful eye of NSO partners who are looking for their next generation of Olympians. The top athletes from the qualifiers are invited to compete at the National Final in the hopes of snagging one of the 30 RBC “Future Olympian” spots. RBC Future Olympians receive funding support and further mentorship to support their Olympic dreams.

Could you be a future member of Team Canada? Registration and the most up-to-date event information for all local RBC Training Ground events is available at RBCTrainingGround.ca.

The 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games are taking place in Gangwon, South Korea. These Games will feature 15 disciplines with 81 events, and a fully gender balanced programme. The last Summer Youth Olympic Games took place in Buenos Aires in 2018 and featured 36 disciplines and 239 events.

The Youth Olympic Games are often used as a testing ground for sports that may get added to the Olympic program. For example, recent additions like sport climbing, breaking, and 3×3 basketball all made their debut at the Youth Olympic Games before making their way onto the Olympic program. 

However, the Youth Olympic Games are distinct from the Olympic Games in that they focus on both sport and personal development, including educational and cultural programming for the teenage participants.

When are the Youth Olympic Games?

The fourth edition of the Winter Youth Olympic Games will take place in Gangwon, South Korea from January 19 – February 1. This is the same region where the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games were held.

The fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games will be held in Dakar, Senegal in 2026.

Where have the Youth Olympic Games been held?

Editions of the Summer Youth Olympic Games have taken place at:

• Singapore 2010
• Nanjing 2014 (China)
• Buenos Aires 2018 (Argentina)

*Dakar, Senegal was set to host the Summer Youth Olympic Games in 2022, but the Games were postponed due to COVID-19.

Editions of the Winter Youth Olympic Games have taken place at:

• Innsbruck 2012 (Austria)
• Lillehammer 2016 (Norway)
• Lausanne 2020 (Switzerland)

How big are the Youth Olympic Games?

Gangwon 2024 will feature 1900 athletes, making it the largest Winter Youth Olympic Games yet. Team Canada consists of 79 athletes.

At the last Summer Youth Olympic Games, 4000 athletes competed in Buenos Aires, including 72 members of Team Canada.

What sports are included in the Youth Olympic Games?

The Winter Youth Olympic Games at Gangwon 2024 feature the following sports/disciplines:

• Alpine Skiing
• Biathlon
• Bobsleigh
• Cross-Country Skiing
• Curling
• Figure Skating
• Freestyle Skiing
• Ice Hockey
• Luge
• Nordic Combined
• Short Track Speed Skating
• Skeleton
• Ski Jumping
• Snowboard
• Speed Skating (Long Track)

The Summer Youth Olympic Games at Buenos Aires 2018 featured the following sports/disciplines:

• Aquatics (Diving, Swimming)
• Archery
• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Canoe/Kayak (Sprint, Slalom)
• Cycling
• Breaking
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football (Soccer)
• Golf
• Gymnastics (Acrobatic, Artistic, Rhythmic, Trampoline)
• Handball 
• Field Hockey
• Judo
• Karate
• Modern Pentathlon
• Roller Speed Skating
• Rowing
• Rugby
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Sport Climbing
• Table Tennis
• Taekwondo
• Tennis
• Triathlon
• Beach Volleyball
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Who has served as Chef de Mission for the Youth Olympic Games?

Like at the Olympic Games, the Canadian team at the Youth Olympic Games has a Chef de Mission who serves as the leader of the delegation. Like at the Olympics, it is the Chef’s role to support, inspire, and communicate on behalf of Team Canada. 

FAQ: What is a Chef de Mission?

Olympic curler Lisa Weagle will serve as the Chef de Mission for Team Canada at Gangwon 2024. Weagle attended PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 as an athlete.

Olympic swimmer Annamay Oldershaw served as the Chef de Mission for Lausanne 2020. Oldershaw competed at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The Chef de Mission from Buenos Aires 2018, Bruny Surin, is likely a familiar face to many, as he is set to serve as the Chef de Mission for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Surin is a four-time Olympian in athletics, competing at Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000. Surin was part of the gold medal winning 4x100m relay team including Donovan Bailey, Glenroy Gilbert, Robert Esmie and Carlton Chambers at Atlanta 1996.

Short track speed skating Olympian Isabelle Charest served as the Chef de Mission for Lillehammer 2016. Charest competed at Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002. Charest won a silver medal in 1994 as part of the women’s 3000m relay, as well as bronze medals in the same event at the 1998 and 2002 Games.

Olympic field hockey player Sandra Levy served as the Chef de Mission for Nanjing 2014. Levy competed at Seoul 1988 and Barcelona 1992.

Beckie Scott served as the Chef de Mission for Innsbruck 2012. Scott competed at Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002 and Turin 2006. In 2002, Scott became the first North American woman to win an Olympic medal in cross-country skiing. At Turin 2006, she added a silver medal in the women’s team sprint.

Who is on the Canadian Winter Youth Olympic Games Team for 2024?

Canada will be represented in Gangwon by a team of 79 emerging talents that range in age from 14-18.

Meet the team here.

Here are some of our favourite moments that showed the true spirit of the Games.

Respect and love in the skate park

Team Canada’s teenage phenom Fay De Fazio Ebert may have won the gold medal in women’s skateboard park, but she was not alone in celebrating an outstanding competition. As soon as the final finished, all of the riders came together in a big group hug — a sign of the great respect they have for each other.

Supporting fellow sport climbers

With Olympic spots on the line, the sport climbing competition was pressure-packed. That’s what made it so nice to see the support those athletes all had for each other, especially in the boulder & lead events. As each climber finished, they sat and watched the next one up, which led to a pretty full couch at the end. It was especially great to watch the Baudrand brothers, Oscar and Victor, give each other a little pat on the back as they competed at their first multi-sport Games.

Doing it as a family

Heading into Santiago 2023, a lot of eyes were on taekwondo’s Park siblings, not just because there are three of them — Skylar, Tae-Ku, and Braven — but also because of their Chilean heritage. With dad and coach Jae on the sidelines, it was easy to see the family love.

From celebrating with Skylar after she won gold to the sheer joy that was unleashed following an epic comeback in the men’s team event, the Parks let their emotions fly. And after the competition was done, they took the time to visit a local taekwondo club to spread their love of their sport even further.

A squee moment for Melissa and Brandie

Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson‘s first Pan American Games appearance as a beach volleyball team became extra memorable when they were chosen to represent Canada as the Opening Ceremony flag bearers. The pair of Toronto athletes received the news just the day before.

Can you imagine your reaction upon being named to represent your country on the Pan American stage?

“It’s something an athlete dreams of their entire career, and we couldn’t be more proud to do it here,” Humana-Paredes said.

Their run at the Pan Ams went all the way to the final, ending in a loss in the gold medal match to Brazil. Although they had their sights set on first place, the duo showed why they’re one of the world best on the beach.

Maggie makes a fan’s dream come true

It’s not every day you get to meet your heroes! Swimming star Maggie Mac Neil had another world-class performance on the international swimming stage in Santiago, and it’s clear to see why she was one of the marquee athletes across all sports at the Pan Ams. Despite her larger-than-life picture on this advertisement, she isn’t too big to make some time for her fans.

Brothers in sport

If you’ve been following the men’s gymnastics team, you know they’re connected like brothers when performing for their country. That’s why it was extra special to see the reaction of country-mates Zachary Clay and Jayson Rampersad when they realized they’d completed the double podium of gold and silver one the pommel horse.

Let’s go girls!

Is there anything more Canadian? Shania Twain’s iconic 1997 hit “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” has been belted out by Canadians for decades, and the women’s rowing squad knew just how to capture the moment following their gold medal win.

In the first-ever women’s rowing eight event at the Pan American Games, the Canadians got their gold by finishing almost three-and-a-half seconds ahead of the American boat.

There is a great legacy of the eight in Canada, which was carried over here by coxswain Kristen Kit who was part of the gold medal crew at Tokyo 2020. Kendra Hartley, Olivia McMurray, Alizée Brien, Parker Illingworth, Abby Speirs, Shaye De Paiva, Abby Dent and Leia Till rounded out the group, hinting at an even brighter future for Canada’s women’s rowers.

Podium pals

It was an electric final straight during the men’s 1500m final–one that saw Canadians Robert Heppenstall and Charles Philibert-Thiboutot each pass three athletes in the home straight to go 1-2, with Philibert-Thiboutot diving at the line to claim the gold.

The two Canadians finished within 0.02 seconds of each other…and the finish line hug was everything.

Santiago 2023 Pan Am Games Hub

Stay up to date on the latest news, results and more from Team Canada.

LEARN MORE

RBC Training Ground is a national program that identifies and supports young Canadian Olympic hopefuls. Since the program launched in 2016, 13 of the program’s alumni have become Olympians. Team Canada at Tokyo 2020 included eight RBC Training Ground athletes and another five competed at Beijing 2022. More recently, RBC Training Ground alumnus Pierce LePage was crowned 2023 World Champion in the decathlon.

Could you be next? Here’s what you need to know about the program.

What is RBC Training Ground?

RBC Training Ground is a free program designed to identify and support talented amateur Canadian athletes. At RBC Training Ground events, athletes undergo testing in areas related to strength, speed, power, and endurance under the watchful eye of professionals from the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, as well as National Sport Organizations (NSOs).

Athletes who are identified as having strong Olympic potential receive support from RBC in the form of funding, as well as mentorship opportunities.

Who can participate?

RBC Training Ground was designed with the fundamental belief that high performance sport should be accessible to all athletes. The program is free and anyone can sign up to compete at a qualifying event.

RBC Training Ground targets those within a 14-25 age range, capturing those with early and late-stage Olympic potential.

What kind of tests do they run?

Athletes are tested based on four categories of athleticism: speed, power, endurance, and strength. Not only do these tests evaluate overall athleticism, they help pinpoint a specific sport for which the athlete may be well-suited.

Among the tests are:

• 40-metre sprint (speed)
• Isometric mid-thigh pull (strength)
• Vertical jump (power)
• 20-metre multi-stage shuttle run, AKA the beep test (endurance)

Athletes participating via the virtual testing format – which anyone with an internet connection can access – are assessed using tests that require strength, speed and power. The evaluation consists of three tests:

• Running sprint (20m)
• Vertical jump
• Multi-stage fitness (AKA beep test, shuttle run, or Léger-Boucher)

What is the National Final event?

Based on the results and data gathered at all of the RBC Training Ground qualifying (and virtual) testing events, as well as subsequent sport-specific testing, the top 100 athletes nominated by NSO partners are invited to the National Final.

The National Final is the final stage of testing before the selection of RBC’s “Future Olympians”– the top 30 athletes who will receive continued support through the program.

This year the National Final will take place on December 2nd in Toronto. The RBC Future Olympians will be announced in early 2024.

Which NSOs participate?

RBC Training Ground partners with:

• Volleyball Canada
• Wrestling Canada
• Triathlon Canada
• Speed Skating Canada
• Rugby Canada
• Rowing Canada
• Luge Canada
• Freestyle Canada
• Cycling Canada
• Climbing Canada
• Canoe Kayak Canada
• Boxing Canada

How does funding work?

Athletes who are selected as an RBC “Future Olympian” will receive funding assistance to be used for travel, competition, training camp expenses, coaching, nutrition, or other sport-related costs. The funds are administered by the Canadian Olympic Committee directly to the athlete’s NSO.

How do I sign up?

Registration and the most up-to-date event information for all local RBC Training Ground events is available at RBCTrainingGround.ca.

Check out the top 100 here!

A Little More About Ethan

Getting into the Sport: His fourth grade teacher told his parents he needed to stop scaling the walls of the school and invited him to try sport climbing instead; that teacher was Adam Markert, who had been a World Cup climber and became his mentor and coach… Had always been naturally good to climbing trees and liked feeling like Spider-Man… Odds and Ends: Born in Newfoundland, his family moved to Colorado when he was a child… Was first inspired by Sean McColl on the podium at a World Cup in Vail and again when he had the chance to compete alongside him…

A Little More About Victor

Getting into the Sport: His parents were recreational rock climbers and introduced him and his brother to the sport at a young age… Started indoor climbing at age 8 as an after school sport… Likes sport climbing because it’s just him against the wall; the problems are always different and you need to solve a puzzle under pressure and limited time… Outside Interests: Loves to bake (especially elaborate French pastries that take multiple days) and sampling the best bakeries while travelling… Studying political science and international relations… Odds and Ends: Has lived in several countries throughout his life but has spent his teenage years in Utah… Inspired by Sean McColl and used to watch videos of him representing Canada, never thinking that one day they would be teammates… Favourite motto: “Another day in paradise”