Universite de Sherbrooke flag football star Marianne Quirion awarded RBC Training Ground funding
Sherbrooke’s Marianne Quirion has been awarded funding and an accelerated path to the LA 2028 Olympics after impressing scouts at the RBC Training Ground national final.
Quirion, 19, was one of more than 2,500 athletes (aged 14-25) to participate in this year’s RBC Training Ground, an annual cross-country talent search run in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee, regional Canadian Sport Institutes, and thirteen national sport organizations. Only 100 athletes were invited to the final, and only 30 were selected for funding.
Flag athletes Rosalie Landry, Frédérique Morneau, Emma Racine, Sara Parker were also among the top 100 athletes at the final. This was the first year Football Canada participated in the program.
“Marianne was the top point scorer at [Football Canada’s] Collegiate Nationals, and had a really strong performance at senior nationals (July in Kamloops), leading the tournament with 7 receiving TDs and taking her team to the final,” said Katie Miyazaki, Director of High-Performance Football Canada. “We were so glad to see her back this up with a great performance at the RBC Training Ground final, as the funding will be very helpful.”
According to Miyazaki the funding will likely be used to give Quirion access to sport science services at Excellence Sportive Sherbrooke, more access to coaches and access to more competitions.
RBC Training Ground sees athletes from a wide range of sports perform core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts from thirteen different Olympic sports to find the sport for which they are most suited. An athlete’s anthropomorphic measurements (height, wingspan, etc), sport-specific testing (conducted following the qualifier stage) and competitive sport history also play a role in who is selected for funding.
The complete list of 30 athletes selected for funding is available at RBCTrainingGround.ca
“Some of the athletes who participate in RBC Training Ground are looking to reenergize or boost an Olympic dream in a sport they are already participating in,” said Evan MacInnis, Technical Director, RBC Training Ground. “Others participate with the hope of being discovered and directed toward an Olympic sport they may have never considered. But they all rely on raw athleticism to impress our sport partners and compete for funding.”
Funding is administered by the participating National Sport Organization bringing the athlete into its system, and is used for things like coaching, transportation, travel, equipment, and nutrition.
NSO partners include Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton; Canoe Kayak Canada; Climbing Escalade Canada; Cycling Canada Cyclisme; Freestyle Canada, Luge Canada; Rowing Canada Aviron, Rugby Canada; Speed Skating Canada; Volleyball Canada, Flag Football Canada; Squash Canada; and Wrestling Canada.
Wrapping up its 9th year, RBC Training Ground is a nation-wide talent identification and athlete-funding program dedicated to finding and supporting the next generation of Canadian Olympians. Since its inception in 2016, the program has tested 16,000 athletes at free local events across Canada, while also offering flexible virtual opportunities to participants unable to attend qualifiers in person. Since its inception, more than 3,000 have been identified by NSO partners as having Olympic potential.
Twenty-one RBC Training Ground alumni have competed at three Olympic Games, and together they’ve brought home a collective fourteen medals – including seven at the recent Paris 2024 Summer Games. Program alumni Krissy Scurfield and Avalon Wasteneys are among the most recent medal winners, bringing home silver for Team Canada. Program alumni Kelsey Mitchell (track cycling) and Marion Thénault (freestyle ski) are also among the medal winners, both of whom had never tried their Olympic sport before showing up at an RBC Training Ground event.
A new season of RBC Training Ground will be launching in January 2025.
Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for a complete schedule and details.
