A total of five athletes, four from Whistler, will receive $250 travel grants through the Telus Whistler Sport Centre, helping them to cover costs associated with training and competitions.
Freestyle skier Sylvia Kerfoot, who won silver in dual moguls and bronze in moguls at the nationals this season, was one of the recipients. After spending most of last season sidelined by a shoulder injury, she is ready to return to the World Cup.
Aaron Civitarese of Trail, B.C., an alumni of the Whistler Mountain Ski Club, was invited to train with the national team this summer after racing for the B.C. Team last winter.
Jenny Harvey is a former rugby player from Simon Fraser University who is on her way to becoming an Olympic brakeman in the sport of bobsleigh.
The other recipients are local mountain bikers Will Routley and Tyler West. Routley is currently competing at the national level in mountain biking and road biking, and West isn’t too far behind in both disciplines. They train together, and both hope to do well at the mountain bike nationals in Whistler this summer.
"Grants such as this are a big help to athletes," says Telus Whistler Sport Centre general manager Todd Allison. "While $250 is a drop in the bucket when you look at their total expenses, every little bit helps and we are thrilled to help both PacificSport and 2010 LegaciesNow with their grant process. We know how tough it is to excel in sport and we continue to look for ways to help athletes."
All told, the 2010 LegaciesNow group, through PacificSport, will provide $20,000 to athletes across the province as part of the travel grant program. Of that money, $1,250 went to athletes in the Whistler and Kootenay regions.
The grants were awarded to athletes at the bronze level or above, according to a rating system that has been adopted by provincial sport organizations.
