If it鈥檚 good enough for American Idol, The Voice and X Factor, why not Olympic sports?
The current pop-culture craze for uncovering hidden talent from among the general population spills over into the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence gym on the Camosun College Interurban campus.
The second annual Podium Search begins today with open registration at 12:30 p.m. for those between the ages of 15 and 22. It鈥檚 free and targets anybody who doesn鈥檛 belong to organized sports but thinks he or she possesses superior physical capability or to those considering switching from more traditional North American sports such as football to Olympic disciplines.
It is a Canadian Sports Institute-Pacific initiative made possible by federal Own The Podium funding. The sports taking part are rowing and cycling on the summer side and skeleton, luge and bobsled on the winter side.
Several Island high schools have been canvassed, with 65 young people having already registered. That鈥檚 nearing capacity. But walk-ons are welcome today and will be accommodated on a first-come basis.
The keynote speaker will be the poster boy for crossover athletes. After completing his CIS football career at McMaster University, Jerry Brown was inspired by watching on TV as sa国际传媒 won men鈥檚 eight rowing gold at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. Brown had never previously picked up a pair of oars but arrived unannounced to the national rowing centre at Elk Lake in 2009 and said he would like to give it a try. Three years later, Brown won the silver medal with the Canadian eight at the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for a certain data set, a certain matrix,鈥� said Olympic-medallist rower Barney Williams, who is now Rowing sa国际传媒鈥檚 lead coach for its Row to Podium program.
鈥淲e know athletes have won Olympic medals with certain characteristics involving height, wingspan, strength and aerobic capacity. This is about accelerating the identification process and engaging athletes that the various Olympic sports would never otherwise find.鈥�
Each registrant will be put through basic physiological and anthropometric assessments 鈥� including the vertical-jump test, medicine-ball throw and 30-metre sprint 鈥� to gauge themselves against national team standards.
Each participant will receive a copy of their test scores, and no doubt, a deeper understanding of what it takes to reach the international level of sport.
Top performers may be asked to return for further assessment and an offer to enroll in one of several national talent development programs being offered by the participating sports.
Last year, three participants were identified for rowing and four for track cycling. This is the first year that the winter sliding sports federations have been involved.
Great Britain used a similar program, called Sporting Giants, to identify talent in rowing, canoe-kayaking, handball, volleyball and basketball in the decade leading up to the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
鈥淭wenty-five per cent of the British Olympic rowing team was identified through Sporting Giants,鈥� noted Williams. 鈥淚t was an open process for the community to 鈥� try out.鈥�
Now, several Canadian sports believe that idea is worth a tryout in itself.
