Trayle Porter, a 15 year old Sun Peaks athlete, is heading to Halifax, N.S. for the RBC Training Ground national final Nov. 2, where 100 finalists will be assessed on their Olympic potential.
Qualifying events were dispersed throughout the country to select the 100 finalists of the RBC Training Program.
As a contender for the top 30 in this cross-country talent search, Porter has the chance to earn funding that can go toward paving a path to the winter Olympics.
Porter will be evaluated on his physical strength and stamina at the finals with Luge Canada, a National Sport Organization partner of the program, with coaches there to review his results and see how they fit luge specific benchmarks.
Luge is the most recent sport Porter has been able to try and he was nominated by Luge Canada for the RBC Training Ground finals based on his physical testing numbers at the qualifier event in Kamloops.
“It was definitely a surprise to be chosen, especially since it was my first year doing this and I saw a lot of older and stronger competitors there,” Porter said. “I didn’t expect to be noticed.”
Trying luge
A skier first, Porter was invited by Luge Canada to try luge at a two-day training camp in Whistler.
Starting lower on the track as a beginner, he was still able to get up to 76 kilometres per hour in his first four laps.
“Considering the elite lugers are usually 130 kilometres per hour and faster, it’s pretty amazing to think about how fast that is,” he said, adding that the speed felt similar to what he experiences when skiing.
Porter is excited to see where RBC Training Ground takes him in pursuing luge, but doesnt have a specific focus yet as he enjoys so many sports.
“Skiing is what I know,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time on snow here in Sun Peaks. I’ll always love it.”
Going forward, his primary goal is to be a strong multisport athlete.
RBC Training Ground
As an NSO partner of RBC Training Ground, Sam Edney, high performance director for Luge Canada said the organization was tasked with nominating a number of athletes to go to the final, including Porter.
At the finals, athletes aged 14 to 25 undergo physical tests of speed, strength, power and endurance showcased in tests like sprints, lifts and static jumps in front of program officials, similar to the qualifying events.
Entering the RBC Training Ground for the first time, Porter was initially nervous about the prospect of moving to the finals, but is now feeling ready and excited to jump into it.
As he moves forward in the competition, he’s been hard at work with his usual activities as well as lots of training. Along with eating well, he’s keeping active with volleyball and workouts with his athlete development coaches involving sprints and weightlifting.
With the finals approaching, he said he’s most excited to visit a part of Canada that’s new to him and looks forward to seeing some of the friends he made at the Whistler training camp.
“I think some impressive athletes will be there to encourage us in our tests,” he added. “Hearing their stories will be interesting and they probably will give me some valuable advice about the high performance athletic lifestyle.”
Luge Canada and potential next steps
The alpine ski background Porter has is important in understanding racing lines, Edney said. This means he’s able to find the most optimal route for turning and his racing experience ensures his comfortability going downhill at fast speeds.
Paired with the passion to pursue luge and fitting into the 14 to 15 year old age range, he’s an ideal candidate for Luge Canada to fill their Track-to-Podium program, still in the pilot stage.
This program is a part of Luge Canada’s recruitment and development strategy which uses RBC Training Ground as a key tool in seeking the country’s next top athletes, Edney said.
“With or without the funding, we’re hoping that he is keen to be part of the program,” he said about Porter, who’s already eligible.
About one and a half years old, the program was originally open to the top 30 of the RBC Training Ground with the winning funds used to go toward this training initiative. This year, Edney said they’re opening it up to the prospects they’ve identified, top 30 or not.
In this three and a half year program, young athletes are essentially put on a fast track to ideally making the national team.
“They’ll go from basically knowing nothing about the sport at 14 or 15 years and by the time they’re 18 or 19 years old, they’re ready to attempt to qualify for the junior national program,” he said. From representing Canada at the Junior World Cup level they’d have the potential to qualify for the national team and from there, their Olympic goals are within reach.
In meetings with the athletes eligible for the program along with their families later in November, Edney said Luge Canada representatives will lay out the full program, which involves high level training in Whistler four weeks out of the year, Calgary-based technical training camps in the summer and the option to participate in provincial sport camps and club activities.
When asked about the possibility of continued training with Luge Canada, Porter said he’s unsure because he doesn’t have the schedule and the training would be far from home.
“It would be really cool to continue with Luge Canada though so I hope I can find a way to keep that an option for me,” he said, however.
Thankful for the support of Luge Canada, he said it’s reassuring to know the coaches have liked what they’ve seen in him.
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