The Red Deer Games Foundation announced the recipients of their Athlete Development Grant for the Fall of 2023.
A total of six recipients were selected from the Red Deer area who have shown a strong commitment to their sport and excelled as individuals in their sport.
They’ve also competed and performed strongly at international, national, provincial, or regional levels.
The funds awarded to the athletes will be used to help with training and equipment costs as they continue down their paths in sport.
The recipients are announced in honour of Mike Klass, who passed away in November at the age of 51. Klass served as a volunteer on the Board of Directors for the Red Deer Games Foundation and his commitment was invaluable.
First on the list is local speed skater Nathon Kozuback, who is a member of the Red Deer Central Lions Speedskating Club.
Coached by Nick Schultz he’s competed in both short and long track in Calgary and Red Deer, where he’s ranked second in his age group. He is also one of five athletes to qualify for the Canadian Neo-Junior short-track competition.
Snowboarder Samuel Kyme, who is a member of the Riders on Board snowboarding club, trains at Canyon Ski Hill but also with his teammates in Calgary at Winsport and Sunshine Ski Hill.
Kyme coaches younger athletes on Saturdays when he’s not competing at the provincial level and NorAm events in Calgary.
Track and Field athlete Eiley Morrison is member of the Alberta Speed School Track and Field Club and is central Alberta’s number one ranked sprinter.
She also ranked eighth in the province and was a finalist in the 2023 ASAA Sprints. She qualified for the U18 provincial championships and finished as the provinces top female sprinter.
Morrison is a 2023 Alberta Summer Games bronze medalist and her goal for the new year is to qualify for the U20 national championship.
Also with the Alberta Speed School Track and Field Club Katelyn Pasutto was named as a recipient. Coached by Ron Hewer she won back to back championships at the ASAA Provincial Championships in 2023 breaking a 47-year-old record.
As the youngest U20 athlete to make a final at the event, she competed at the U20 National Championships. This year she hopes to attend an elite training camp in Mexico and compete in the 2024 Canadian U20 championships in Montreal.
Nicholas Nechifor of the Red Deer Tennis Club is ranked third in Alberta and 26th in Canada in his age groups.
Coached by Rene Simon, Nechifor is hoping to attend a tennis camp in Spain and plans on competing in the provincial and national tennic championships in 2024.
Exalta Gymnastic Club member Liam Wygiera is the final athlete named among the grant winners. He is also a member of the Alberta Gymnastics team and has competed in both the 2023 Caandian Elite Trampoline Championships and the 2023 Canadian Gymnastics Championships.
In his free time he coaches younger athletes in the sport and he one day hopes to compete at the World Gymnastics Championships for Team Canada.