Carstairs athlete, 14-year-old Damon McEvoy could be one of Team Canada's newest members.

McEvoy recently competed in an RBC Training Ground event in March and caught the eye of scouts from Luge Canada and has now been named as a finalist. 

This year, 2,200 athletes attended these training grounds across Canada and only 100 were selected for the final event in Toronto, which takes place on December 2. , with McEvoy being one of them. Thirty athletes from the final will earn funding, a spot on Team Canada with one of twelve partner national sports organizations, and an accelerated path to the Olympics. 

“Damon exhibited some of the best physical testing scores we saw, so we invited him to a camp where he could try our sport and where we could see if that raw ability might translate to Luge,” said Mike Lane, Junior National Head Coach, Luge Canada. “When we got him to the ice house he showed a lot of enthusiasm and a real proficiency for the Luge-specific skills. We were also impressed with how well he responded to coaching and how he made adjustments, so we’re pleased he was selected for the final.”

McEvoy, who had zero experience in Luge prior to the event, was placed in the sport and has had a few chances to try it out since then.

"We got to do a training track at one of the universities in Calgary. It's like sledding but a little bit more extreme."

DamonPhoto of McEvoy trying luge, photo supplied.

When he attended the training ground, he did not think he would end up being one of the finalists, but now that he is, he has high hopes for the future.

"I hope that I get to take another step further at this Olympic event and hopefully one day be able to participate in the Olympics."

Athletes' power, speed, strength, and endurance will be evaluated once more during the final, this time against high-performance standards unique to their sport, and under the guidance of program sport partners.

With this experience so far, McEvoy has gotten a chance to meet the coaches of Luge Canada and Luge Alberta.

McEvoy also plays hockey and box lacrosse (winning gold in lacrosse during the 2023 Alberta Summer Games).

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