REGINA — If everything goes according to plan for Ava Darbellay over the next few years, it might only be a matter of time before the Lumsden product finds herself wearing the Maple Leaf on one of the biggest stages imaginable.
Darbellay, 14, is one of 100 athletes from across Canada who have been selected as finalists for the RBC Training Ground program, one of the major young athlete development programs for the Canadian Olympic Committee.
Darbellay is originally a biathlete who competed in the 2023 Saskatchewan Winter Games and put together a fourth-place finish in the Female U16 sprint division despite competing against athletes three years older than herself.
That athletic background gave Darbellay a bit of a leg up on her fellow Olympic hopefuls at an identification event in Regina back in May, and her performance was impressive enough that members of Luge Canada eventually came calling.
As one might expect, it’s a sport a Saskatchewan-born athlete had never tried before, but that’s a major component of the RBC Training Ground program -- finding raw athletic talent and molding potential Olympians into their new sport at a young age.
“We selected Ava because of her strong interest in luge, her athletic abilities, and her enthusiasm for learning and developing in the sport,” said Dania Obratov, Track To Podium program coach and coordinator for Luge Canada.
Even with her athletic pedigree, Darbellay wasn’t certain she would hear back from Training Ground officials after the initial camp, but eventually the call came earlier this month.
“I was so excited,” Darbellay wrote in her finalist registration. “I immediately texted my parents to tell them the news and I couldn’t sit still at school for the rest of the day. It was a great way to end my first week of high school.”
Darbellay admitted she was actually scared to take part in the Regina qualifier, but the opportunity outweighed any nerves she might have had.
“I’m so happy I did though because it has been the coolest experience,” she said.
Darbellay was among more than 2,500 athletes aged 14 to 25 from a wide range of sports who participated in free local qualifier events across the country earlier this year, performing core speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts to either find the sport for which they are most suited, or earn a funding boost in their existing sport based on their raw physical abilities.
The top 100 in Canada now advance to the RBC Training Ground National Final in Vancouver on Saturday, Nov. 1. If everything goes according to plan for Darbellay there, she’ll be one of 35 athletes to earn funding, a spot in the Luge Canada national development program, and an accelerated path to representing Canada at the Olympics.
“I am so excited to see where sport takes me and so grateful that RBC has given me this opportunity,” Darbellay said.
Saskatchewan athletes have found success at the National Final in the recent past, including Moose Jaw product Luka Markon, who now lives in Comox, B.C. A mountain bike athlete, Markon was also identified by Luge Canada and went on to be one of the final 35 selected in 2024.
In the 10 years of its existence, the RBC Training Ground program has seen 21 alumni compete at three Olympic Games, winning fourteen medals – including seven at the recent Paris 2024 Summer Games.
The complete list of 100 finalists is available at RBCTrainingground.ca in the community / news section.
