November 30, 2023

The road to the Olympic Games can be difficult, but two Saskatchewan athletes are hoping to make their potential journey a little easier by participating in RBC Training Ground.  

Volleyball player Mya Kolach and rugby player Gracie Anderson joined more than 2,000 other athletes ranging in age from 14 to 25 in testing their speed, strength, power and endurance at provincial events across the country. The testing assessed the athletes overall athletic abilities, not sport specific ones, so that they could be evaluated by the 12 National Sport Organizations who partner with RBC Training Ground. 

Kolach and Anderson’s initial results qualified them for regional events, where they did further testing and now, based on those results, are attending the RBC Training Ground National Final as part of the top 100 athletes in the country. However, neither of the Saskatchewan pair had any idea what would happen when they attended the provincial qualifier in Saskatoon. 

“I wanted to go and have the experience without placing too much of an expectation on what the outcome may be,” said Kolach, who came across the RBC Training Ground event online while looking for volleyball opportunities.  

Anderson didn’t really know anything about the RBC Training Ground’s details and initially attended the first round of assessments with no expectation other than to enjoy a few hours with friends after the event was shared in her team’s rugby chat. 

“We went for fun and didn’t think too much about it,” laughed Anderson. Anderson and Kolach both train in their preferred sport outside of RBC Training Ground but can be chosen by any National Sport Organization who believes that the skills identified during the testing events could translate to their respective sport. The two athletes have their eyes on certain organizations but are open to receiving an offer from any that are interested since both have participated in various sports. 

“The best things of all the sports I have played are combined in rugby. I’ve spent so much of life trying out different sports and I’m happy I finally found the one that is right for me,” said Anderson, hopeful to be chosen by Rugby Canada.   

Having advanced to the Top 100, Anderson and Kolach have both made changes in their training to reduce the intimidation of attending the large-scale event. 

Anderson has prioritized working one-on-one with her rugby coach and sought out the guidance of Krissy Scurfield, a personal trainer who received RBC funding in a previous year and plays with the Canadian Rugby 7s team. Anderson looks at the National Final as a way “to see how hard [she] can continue to push herself.”  

Kolach on the other hand, wanted to adjust her regular workouts to include more endurance and cardio based exercise.  

“I’m not a strong runner and have focused more on strength in my sport career, which has put me at some disadvantages but also some major advantages,” said Kolach. “In the end my overall goal is to make the top 30, I’ve put in a lot of training to get where I am. I’m looking to go further [in my volleyball career] and I’m hoping this experience is going to help me obtain my goal.” 

The two athletes will travel to Toronto for RBC Training Ground’s National Final December 2 with the potential of kickstarting an Olympic journey.