The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is coming to Red Deer on Feb. 25th in search of “young athletes with raw talent”, according to a press release.

RBC Training ground is program that provides local athletes a chance to test their strength, speed, power and endurance in front of Olympic officials from 14 different sports.

The event will feature Canadian cyclist Kirsti Lay, a Medicine Hat native who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio. Lay will be providing mentorship to participants throughout the day.

The idea is to bring undiscovered athletes into the Canadian Olympic talent pool.

The Red Deer event is one of 30 local combines happening across the country in 2018 and it is free of charge for the athletes to participate.

Athletes will be measured for anthropometric suitability (wingspan, body type etc.), as well as perform speed, power, strength and endurance bench mark tests.

The program is designed to fill the hole of talent identification in Canada’s amateur sport system and them to provide talent with high-performance resources.

The top Red Deer athletes (any deemed to have Olympic potential) will go on to the Alberta regional final in Calgary on April 21, 2018.

Top athletes not only receive training support, they also win Future Olympian financial support from RBC.

Any athlete ages 14 to 25 is encouraged to sign up for the event at rbctrainingground.ca.

The event will take place at St. Joseph’s High School from 9 a.m. until noon.

-Vaughan