October 2, 2008 (Ottawa, ON) – World championship team members Julie Beveridge of Calgary, David Veilleux of Cap-Rouge, Que., and Éric Boily of Quebec City are among the recipients for the inaugural Hamilton Road Foundation’s Carding Program.

The program is a legacy of the very successful 2003 World Road Cycling Championships which were held in Hamilton.

It is designed to provide financial support for Canada’s most talented and dedicated young road racing cyclists. The goal of the program is to enable Canada’s best developmental road cyclists to participate in year-round national training and competition programs. It is open to racers 23 and under for the men and developmental team racers for the women. Funding is equal for men and women.

There are two different grants in the carding program. The first grant provides annual funding of $5,000 from 2008 through 2011. These athletes will be identified as having the greatest potential to contribute to Canadian cycling and are considered “A Pool athletes”.

Joining Beveridge, Veilleux and Boily in A Pool is Alison Testerote of Calgary.

The second group receives a one-year $5,000 grant with specific performance standards required in order to be eligible in the future. These athletes are considered “B Pool athletes”.

The B Pool includes Joelle Numainville of Laval, Que., Heather Logan of Mississauga, Ont., Ryan Anderson of Victoria and Simon Lambert-Lemay of Longueuil, Que.

“The Foundation is very excited to see this program be implemented,” said Linda Jackson, President of the 2003 Hamilton Road Foundation. “Canada has several really talented athletes ready to make an impact on international cycling. This program is meant to provide them with some financial assistance to help them achieve their goals. I am particularly proud of the Foundation and the Canadian Cycling Association for providing equal funding for men and women.

“We are very pleased to be able to count on the support of the Hamilton Road Foundation,” said Canadian national team coach Vincent Jourdain of Montreal. “With this financial support our promising road racers can focus on their preparation and increase their chances to represent Canada at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.”

Additional information for application procedures and timing of the application process for 2009 B grants can be found on the CCA website at www.canadian-cycling.com .

Hamilton Road Foundation’s Carding Program

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this document is to present policies and procedures of the carding program from the Hamilton Foundation.

GOAL

The main objective of this carding program is to provide financial support to the most talented and dedicated young road athletes.

This program also pursuit two goals:

to enable Canada’s bests development road cyclists to participate in year-round national training and competition regimes to further their athletic goals

WHO IS ELIGIBLE

Male athletes under 23 and female development athlete. In road cycling, many women come to the sport at a later age must be in development stage and demonstrating great potential. . For this reason, this category of athlete is more appropriate for eligibility for the carding program.

Athletes who receive Sport Canada Carding will remain eligible for the program.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

Canadian citizens
Long-term commitment to racing with cycling clubs or teams
Commitment to contribute to national team development projects,

The athletes will be invited to apply at the request of the National Team Coach. As part of the process, the National Team coach will communicate with all of the provincial/personal coaches and provide them with an opportunity to provide input into the development of a candidate list. The final decision will rest with the NT coach.

CARDING PROGRAM

The carding will be divided into two groups. The first “core” group will receive an annual grant of $5,000 along with a four year commitment. These athletes will be identified as having the greatest potential to contribute to Canadian Cycling and will be considered “A Pool athletes”. The second group will receive a one-year grant of $5,000 with specific performance standards required in order to be eligible in future years. This will be identified as the “B Pool athletes” and this allows us the flexibility to identify other athletes should be they not be able to progress.

A Pool athletes – Grant for four years

We will select four athletes with a minimum commitment of four years (2 men and 2 women). Each of these athletes will receive $5,000 for each of the four years and we will jointly establish minimum benchmarks for each season as part of the agreement.

The benchmarks will include:

– Submit a post-season report with results, testing results,; the idea is not to impose minimum race results in order to maintain their status, but just showing that their development follow a clear and logical direction;

– Personal coach report;

– Should do at list once a year a full range of testing (MAP, VO2, Lactates,∑) in one of the CCA’s agreed testing centres.

– Participation in the national team projects as requested

B Pool athletes – Grant for one year with conditional approval for successive years

Four athletes will be selected as recipients for one-year grants, and will have the opportunity for future funding, based on established performance standards. (2 men and 2 women). They will have to meet minimum standards of performance as well as:

– Be selected for NT project (Nation cup, WC,∑)

– Achieve a podium performance at Road Nationals

SELECTION

A list of male and female athletes will be established by the National road coach. Once identified, all the athletes will have to submit a letter of intention with the following information:

– Short, mid and long term goals;
– Yearly training program;
– Racing schedule, team/club, personal coach;
– Commitment to ethics in sport

The National Coach will report annually to the Hamilton Foundation Board of Directors and provide an analysis on candidates and recommended plans. It is understood that this is a pilot year and that the foundation, along with the National Team Coach, may wish to make improvements after this first year. Any chances to the program will be completed by the end of December 2008 in order to inform all candidates respectfully.