Local high school athlete receiving funding as part of Team Canada

Strathmore local Connor Kautz has been selected as one of the thirty athletes who will be receiving funding as part of RBC's Training Ground.

Kautz along with 2,200 athletes (aged 14-25) participated in RBC's Training Ground an annual cross-country talent search run in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Sport Institutes.

Only 100 athletes were invited to the finale (December 2) and only the top 30 finalists were selected for funding and ‘RBC Future Olympian’ status. 

Kautz grew up playing hockey but he caught the eye of the scouts from Luge Canada event last March. 

“Connor exhibited very good physical testing scores, so we invited him to a camp where he could try our sport and where we could see if that raw ability might translate to Luge," said Mike Lane, Junior National Head Coach, of Luge Canada. 

"We were excited to see that he had proficiency in learning all of the Luge skills. He also had the fastest time among all the new athletes in the icehouse and won all of his head-to-head paddling matchups.”

Getting to attend the RBC Training Ground national final was amazing explained Kautz, who also competes in track, badminton, and volleyball at Strathmore High School.

“Flying to Toronto, meeting all of the other athletes, it was a great experience and I’m excited to start this journey in Luge.”

Now in its 8th year, RBC Training Ground is a nationwide 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 14,000 athletes at free local events across Canada with more than 2,000 being identified by NSO partners as having elite potential.

A new season of RBC Training Ground, with events across Canada, begins in February 2024. Visit RBCTrainingGround.ca for the schedule and details. 

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