Businesses Meet Future Growing Champions

On October 6, 2008, Spirit of Vancouver held a reception to give the Vancouver business community a chance to welcome back our province's Beijing 2008 Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Medal winners Carol Huynh, gold medallist, Free Style Wrestling, and Stephanie Dixon, four-time medallist, Paralympic Swimming, spoke about their "Olympic moment" and their long journey to the podium.

At the event, Growing Champions, an athlete sponsorship program for up-and-coming B.C. athletes was present in full force. These athletes, who aspire to represent Canada on the world stage, wore orange Growing Champions shirts and had an opportunity to meet the Vancouver business community.

The reception was presented in co-operation with the Vancouver Board of Trade's Spirit of Vancouver program, 2010 Legacies Now, the Province of BC, Players Chophouse Restaurant and Lounge, with support from RONA and HBC.

Growing Champions was as an athlete sponsorship program for high-performance athletes in BC. The program provided businesses with the opportunity to support the dreams and aspirations of these athletes. Three out of every four dollars provided by a business went directly to the athletes, while the remaining dollar is allocated to support future athlete development programs and increase sport participation in BC.

Growing Champions was in partnership with Canadian Sport Centre Pacific-PacificSport, BC Athlete Voice and the Province of British Columbia. Visit growingchampions.ca for more information.