April 25, 2007 – The Canada Games Council would like to congratulate all 2007 grant recipients!

The Canada Games Council and FAST have received over 1,200 applications for the grants. In the end, the selection committee selected the 47 winners, coming from 8 different provinces and territories and representing 21 of the sports on the program of either the 2007 or 2009 Canada Games. Each one of these young developing athletes will receive a $2,000 grant to help support their training and competition needs.

The winners were selected based on their performances over the last two competitive seasons. The selection committee asked for input from each National Sport Organization in order to help rank the athletes in their respective sport with the remainder of the grants being awarded to those identified as having the most chance to be next generation national team athletes.

– Erin Tribe, Barrie, ON – Cross Country Skiing
– Stefan Kuhn, Edmonton, AB – Cross Country Skiing
– Phillip Wood, Thunder Bay, ON – Cross Country Skiing

Erin Tribe – Ontario – Cross Country

Erin has been Nordic skiing since she could walk, and has now been racing for 8 years. She was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where she first learned to ski. In 2000, Erin moved to Barrie and joined Team Hardwood where she has had a lot of success, being invited to compete with Team Ontario for the past few years. Erin has competed at the National Championships the past few years, continually improving her placement. In 2004 Erin placed 28th in the Juvenile Girls Classic Sprints, improving to 11th in 2005, and in 2006, despite moving up an age group to Junior, Erin placed 7th. Erin is currently finishing her final year of high school, and looks forward to attending university in the fall.

Stefan Kuhn – Alberta – Cross Country

Stefan began cross-country skiing at the age of 10, as a member of the Canmore Nordic Jackrabbits Ski Team. With his father as his coach, Stefan learned at a young age that to become the best would require a lot of hard work. As a teenager, Stefan made it onto the Canadian World Junior Cross-Country Ski Team, with whom he won a silver medal at the Pre-World Cup Championships in Vernon, BC. As senior, Stefan won silver in the classic 10km at the Canadian National Championships. When not training, Stefan works as a chef and dreams of one day becoming the World and Olympic champion.

Phillip Wood – Ontario – Cross-Country Skiing

Philip has been skiing at the National Team Development Centre, in Thunder Bay, Ontario for two years and hopes to make the step to the Canadian National Team in the near future. He is currently attending Lakehead University, where he is taking part time studies to complete a general science degree. He looks forward to his upcoming race season and hopes to see some of his best results to date.