13 Para athletes awarded Petro-Canada FACE program grants

Recent Parapan American Games multi-medallists Nicholas Bennett and Olivia Meier are among the 13 Para athletes who will each receive $10,000 in funding for the next year from Petro-Canada’s FACE program.

The Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence (FACE) program grants are awarded to athletes who are striving to represent Canada at future Olympic and Paralympic Games but do not yet qualify for government funding. The funds – of which $5,000 goes to the athlete and $5,000 to their coach – are used for training, equipment, coach education, and competition travel expenses.

Since 1988, more than 3,000 Canadian athletes and their coaches have been helped with over $11 million in financial support. This year’s class also includes 42 aspiring Olympians.

The 15-year-old Bennett served notice he will be a force to reckon with for years to come at the Parapan Ams in Lima this summer. He led the charge for Canadian Para swimmers with three gold medals and one silver. In his final race at the Games, the Parksville, B.C. native took home a gold with a time of 2:15.66 in the men’s S14 200m individual medley, a Canadian record.

Winnipeg’s Meier, 20, won gold in mixed doubles with Pascal Lapointe and silver in women’s singles in Para badminton at the Parapan Am Games. It was the sport’s debut at the Games and it will also be on the Paralympic Games program for the first time in Tokyo.

Here are the Para athletes named as 2019 FACE recipients:
Danik Allard, boccia
Kyle Barber, Para nordic
Tess Beasant, Para alpine
Nicholas Bennett, Para swimming
Lyne Marie-Bilodeau, Para nordic
Sarah Anne Cormier, Para snowboard
Nikita Ens, Para swimming
Matt Hamilton, Para snowboard
Collin Lalonde, wheelchair basketball
Taylor Leanne, Para triathlon
Olivia Meier, Para badminton
Andrea Nelson, Para canoe
Nandini Sharma, Para athletics

For more information about FACE: https://www.cbc.ca/sports/thebond/