My Olympic Hopes Competition Fund

My name is Thomas Paquette and I am a 16-year-old flatwater sprint kayaker from Carleton Place, ON.  I have been paddling at the Carleton Place Canoe Club for 5 years and this sport has become my passion. When I started out at the Canoe Club, I was not the most fit or athletic kid, however through a great deal of training, hard work, and dedication I have become the high performance athlete I always looked up to and one of Canada’s top U17 paddlers.

I am currently a grade 11 student at Notre Dame Catholic High School, balancing both my studies, and my training. Training for kayaking has made me not only a better athlete, but also a better student. I have come to realize the extent to which hard work and dedication pay off.

This season, I have completely dedicated myself to training and competing in canoe kayak.   I attended the Ontario Team training camp in Homosassa, Florida for three weeks in March, with some of the best athletes in the province. Racing at Ontario Team Trials in June, I earned myself a spot on the Ontario competition tour team, allowing me to continue to train and compete with some of the best.  I recently competed at the 2016 National Championships in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, placing well in both the 1000m and 200m event’s. These results earned me a spot representing Canada at the 2016 Olympic Hopes Regatta in Szeged, Hungary later this September (19th-29th).

While I have a great deal of support from my family and friends, representing Canada at the Olympic Hopes Regatta comes with a high cost. This will be a self-funded endeavor and my fundraising goal will cover the following:

1)      Flights
2)      Accommodations
3)      Food
4)      Event Accreditation
5)      Equipment and uniform

Your support will go a long way in helping me to reach my goals in sport. Thank you for your consideration and for helping me on my path to excellence.

Thomas