May 30, 2007 (Toronto, Ont.) – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Premier National Partner, RBC, today announced the grand prize winners of the Canadian Olympic School Program for the 2006-2007 school year. A total of eight schools from across Canada were selected.

“We congratulate the eight grand prize schools and all the students that participated in the Canadian Olympic School Program,” said Alan Depencier, Director, Sponsorship Marketing, RBC. “With 60 years of involvement in the Canadian Olympic Movement, RBC is pleased that students across Canada are able to learn about and embrace the Olympic Values and the importance of health and physical activity through this program.”

As part of the 2006-2007 Canadian Olympic School Program, each grand prize winner received an Olympic-themed sports kit, courtesy of RBC. The sports kit includes a variety of athletic equipment including basketballs, soccer and volleyballs, hockey sticks and pucks. The kit also provides the grand prize winners with 12 gold medals, 12 scrimmage vests and an Olympic Games banner.

“We’re very pleased that the Canadian Olympic School Program was able to increase its membership to almost 11,000 educators this year,” said Marc Gélinas, COC Director, Athlete and Community Relations. “We are thrilled that so many teachers from across Canada see the value of using Olympic stories and messages in their lesson plans and we look forward to continuing to work with RBC to bring the spirit of the Olympic Movement to even more classrooms during the lead-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.”

Presented by RBC and available online at www.olympicschool.ca, the Canadian Olympic School Program is a free online teaching resource that offers engaging information about the Olympic Games and Canadian athletes as a tool to educate, motivate and inspire students to become Smarter, Better and Stronger. Developed in cooperation with teachers from across Canada, the program is designed to promote Olympic values and the importance of health and physical activity.

Now in its 20th year, the Canadian Olympic School Program links stories about Canadian Olympians and Olympic hopefuls from various sports into lesson plans and adaptable classroom-ready activities in the areas of physical education, health, nutrition, reading, language and social studies for students in Grades 4 to 6.

Using Olympic sports and RBC Olympians as inspiration, this year’s program added three new units that were designed to reinforce the importance of staying active and maintaining a healthy diet. The new units focused on physical education, reading comprehension skills and nutrition.

To enter the contest, teachers were asked to submit an entry form outlining how they planned to use the Canadian Olympic School Program in their classroom. The mailing deadline for contest entries was May 1, 2007. A random draw was held on May 8, 2007.

The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada’s involvement in the Olympic movement, including Canada’s participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For more information see the COC website: www.olympic.ca .

RBC sponsors amateur sport, from grassroots programs in local communities to national sport associations that support the development of amateur athletes who compete at home and abroad. RBC has sponsored the Canadian Olympic Committee since 1947, making it Canada’s longest-standing supporter of the Canadian Olympic Team. RBC continues this sponsorship through the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games. RBC is also a Premier Sponsor of Hockey Canada, the Canadian Snowboard Team, the Canadian Freestyle Ski Team, Athletics Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee.

2006-2007 Canadian Olympic School Program Grand Prize Winners

– Wishart Elementary School – Denise Fiddick – 6 – Victoria, B.C.
– Acadia Elementary School – Liz Kruk – 4 – Calgary, Alta.
– Gateway Drive Public School – Jason McCoy – 3/4 – Guelph, Ont.
– Gateway Public School – Kim Schroeder – 4 – Toronto, Ont.
– St. Joseph/St. Mary Catholic School – Diane Dowling – 5 – Kingston, Ont.
– R.L Beattie Public School – Nicole Paradis – 3/4 – Sudbury, Ont.
– Ecole St-Georges – Oana Richelieu – 5/6 – Shawinigan, Que.
– Albert Street Middle School – Dawn Henderson – 6 – Fredericton, N.B.