Vancouver, British Columbia – General Motors of Canada announced that ten Canadian high performance coaches and their Olympic hopeful athletes have been awarded $10,000 grants for coaching skill development through GM Canada’s Making Dreams Possible Program. In addition, 56 community clubs across Canada received a coaching grant of $2,000 each and GM and ACDelco awarded more than $2.4 million to Own the Podium 2010.
The ten winning coaches and athletes are as follows:
| Coach | Athlete | Sport |
| Manon Perron | Joannie Rochette | Figure Skating |
| Jan Bidrman | Mike Brown | Swimming |
| Michel Larouche | Roseline Filion | Diving |
| David Ross | Karen Cockburn | Trampoline gymnastics |
| Victor Zilberman | Martine Dugrenier | Wrestling |
| Mark Fawcett | Matt Morison | Alpine Snowboarding |
| Jean-Sebastien Labrie | Lauren Woolstencroft | Para-Alpine Skiing |
| Annie Barabe and Sophie Richard | Jessice Dube and Bryce Davison | Pairs Figure Skating |
| Benoit Lebrun | Benoit Huot | Paralympic swimming |
| Kim Cousins | Lindsay Alcock | Skeleton |
The 56 community clubs are:
| Sport Club | City |
| Calgary Speed Skating Association | Calgary, AB |
| Fortress Alpine Ski Team (F.A.S.T.) | Calgary, AB |
| Calgary Rowing Club | Calgary, AB |
| En Garde Fencing Club | Edmonton, AB |
| Lethbridge Little League Baseball – District 1 | Lethbridge, AB |
| Lethbridge Track & Field Club | Lethbridge, AB |
| Lethbridge Judo Club | Lethbridge, AB |
| Strathcona Nordics | Courtenay, B.C. |
| Kimberley Soccer Association | Kimberley, B.C. |
| Nelson Nordic Ski Club | Nelson, B.C. |
| Shasta Trampoline Team | New Westminster, B.C. |
| Apex Freestyle Ski Club | Penticton, B.C. |
| Tri Port Minor Hockey Association | Port Hardy, B.C. |
| Northern Regional Training Centre for Speed Skating | Prince George, B.C. |
| Prince George Minor Hockey Association | Prince George, B.C. |
| Red Mountain Racers Society | Rossland, B.C. |
| Whistler Blackcomb Freestyle Ski Club | Squamish, B.C. |
| Victoria Track and Field Club | Victoria, B.C. |
| Victoria Youth Paddling Club Society | Victoria, B.C. |
| Kids of Mud | Winnipeg, MB |
| Skate Winnipeg | Winnipeg, MB |
| Antigonish Minor Soccer Association | Antogonish, N.S. |
| Aurora Youth Soccer Club | Aurora, ON |
| Bramalea Gymnastics Club Inc | Brampton, ON |
| Milton Heights Ski Racing Club | Burlington, ON |
| Cambridge Kips Gymnastics Club Inc | Cambridge, ON |
| Grimsby Basketball Association | Grimsby, ON |
| Mountain Athletic Club | Milton, ON |
| Orillia Rowing Club | Orillia, ON |
| Club de gymnastique Les Sitelles | Ottawa, ON |
| Gloucester Skating Club | Ottawa, ON |
| St. Catharines Jets Girls Soccer Club | St. Catharines, ON |
| Stoney Creek Soccer Club | Stoney Creek, ON |
| Timmins Marlins Swim Club | Timmins, ON |
| East York Soccer Club | Toronto |
| Uxbridge Soccer Club | Uxbridge, ON |
| Whitby Iroquois Soccer Club | Whitby, ON |
| Rose City Gymnastics | Windsor, ON |
| Club de Natation de Boucherville | Boucherville, QC |
| Club de gymnastique Gymnamic | Charny, QC |
| Club cycliste Dynamiks de Contrecoeur | Contre-Coeur, QC |
| Les Fees d’Eau de Gatineau | Gatineau, QC |
| Club de Boxe Olympique Jonquiere | Jonquiere, QC |
| Les Archers de Levis | Levis, QC |
| Association de Soccer de Mascouche | Mascouche, QC |
| Club de Soccer Longueil | Longueil, QC |
| Club de Patinage de vitesse Montreal-International | Montreal, QC |
| Notre Dame de Grace Soccer Association | Montreal, QC |
| Les Vaillants du Temiscouata | Pohenegamook, QC |
| Club de Soccer de la Houte St-Charles | Quebec, QC |
| Club de soccer des Rivieres de Quebec | Quebec, QC |
| Club plein air biathlon Estrie | Sherbrooke, QC |
| Association du Baseball Mineur de Sherbrooke | Sherbrooke, QC |
| Regina Synchro (RCLS) | Regina, SK |
| Taiso Gymnastics Club | Saskatoon, SK |
The announcement is the second phase of GM’s overall $5.2 million pledge to provide a competitive edge for Canadian athletes. GM will contribute a total of $4 million to Own the Podium 2010, an initiative created to help Canada become the number one nation in terms of medals at the 2010 Olympic Games and top three at the 2010 Paralympic Games, as well as $1.2 million to directly support coaches at the elite and local club levels through the Making Dreams Possible program.
“The coach-athlete partnership is essential to the success of our Canadian athletes,” said Tom Laurie, GM of Canada’s Olympic Partnership Manager. “With support from the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC), these grants were designed to invest in coaches across Canada. GM has a long history of supporting Canadian athletes and is proud to help our Olympic hopefuls realize their dreams as they look to stand atop the podium in Beijing this summer and in Vancouver in 2010.”
“This funding alleviates a lot of the worry and gives us more opportunities to do a few extra things that make a huge difference,” says Mark Fawcett, coach of Alpine Snowboarding star, Matt Morison, who was selected to receive a $10,000 Making Dreams Possible high performance grant for the second year in a row, “Things like having extra training sessions in Vancouver – extra touches to make Matt more comfortable with the site, with the prospect of the approaching Olympic Games.”
General Motors of Canada Ltd. is the Official Vehicle Partner of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
