It has been a busy month with lots of change for Yukon archer Vincent Ménard. First, he moved to the nation’s capital to attend the University of Ottawa to study psychology.

“I’m having a great time, it is a way different atmosphere than Whitehorse,” said Ménard.

“Everything is changing and I love it.”

Then on September 14, Ménard travelled from Ottawa to Calgary to do the final of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Olympic talent search (called RBC Training Grounds). The national final is the culmination of a year-long, cross-country search for new athletes to put into Canada’s Olympic talent pipeline.

Ménard was selected from a pool of close to 2,000 athletes who participated in one of 30 local RBC Training Grounds events this year. Ménard, who participated in the Whitehorse event in May, is the only athlete from the Yukon who was invited to the final.

The Star caught up with Ménard before he moved to Ontario and after he accepted the invitation to Calgary. He said when he received the email informing him he was one of the top 100 athletes invited to Calgary it was a surprise.

“I was very surprised,” said Ménard. “I know I got in the top three for a couple of events in the Yukon but I didn’t know I was that high up in the whole of Canada. I was quite happy for what I accomplished. It wasn’t something I thought I never would have done.”

In that same interview, he said he was going in with low expectations he just wanted to say he tried it and gave it his all.

Before the day of the tests, he got to meet the other athletes selected.

“The first time I got to meet all the athletes I realized I am one of the shortest ones there,” said Ménard. “I’m 5’10, the majority were over six-feet.

“It was intimidating but the people were so nice. The majority were rowers or track athletes and from the bigger provinces. I was alone in archery and being the only Yukoner.”

He knew he had achieved something big but the gravity of the moment didn’t hit him until he walked in for the tests.

“I was feeling stressed and then you walked in under this garage door,” said Ménard. “There was a bunch of coaches and people cheering and cameras going for a CBC show. It was very dramatic and stressed me out more.

“It hit me hard how big it was. They showed a video of the Olympics through time and I thought I could be the next Olympian. It blew my mind at the time. People said you have a good chance and I thought this is big.”

His stress-levels lessened when he moved onto the tests themselves. At the RBC Training Grounds in Whitehorse, all the athletes completed a vertical jump, 10-metre sprint, 30-metre spring, isometric mid-thigh pull, and the beep test.

Some of the benchmark tests differed in Calgary but were still used to grade an athletes endurance, strength, power and speed, compared to the national average.

Ménard started his testing with endurance. At the regional Training Grounds this was the beep test. In Calgary, the athletes were on a bike with a fan as a wheel, the handlebars moved and the resistance grew as the test went on.

“The first test got me going,” said Ménard. “You push yourself to the limit at the beginning of the day. I’m proud of how I performed in endurance. I was the last one standing.”

While performing the tests Ménard said he thought about home while he was pushing himself to his physical limits.

“I thought I am the only Yukoner and I want to do the Yukon proud,” said Ménard. “I thought about the Yukon while pushing myself.”

He followed the endurance test with strength. At the Whitehorse event in May, he had the highest score, 232 kg, of all participants in the isometric mid-thigh pull.

“Everyone in Calgary was so strong,” said Ménard about the strength test. “That is why I got started in endurance instead which was my weakest point in Whitehorse.”

With the tests now over, Ménard will have to wait to see if he put up a top 30 performance and receive funding toward Olympic training.

What he did gain at the event is some new friends and a sense of accomplishment.

“Everyone was there to have fun, try it out, and try their hardest,” said Ménard of his peers.

“What I learned is that everyone was surprised when they got the invitation to Calgary and surprised at the accomplishment and how big it was.”

Before the tests began he said the fellow participants had stayed in their bubble but said he tried to talk to as many as possible because that is how he reduces his nerves.

“At (archery) tournaments I like to talk to people,” said Ménard. “For me, it helps release the stress and I hope it makes other people feel less stressed too.”

As everyone learned where he was from, he said he got the common questions asked of a Yukoner.

“They asked what it was like, is it always cold?” said Ménard. “Just normal people, being curious, asking questions.”

At the event the athletes also had the chance to pick the brains of Olympic champions Justin Kripps (Bobsleigh, 2018), Patrick Chan (Team Figure Skating, 2018) and Penny Oleksiak (100m Freestyle Swim, 2018), who were all on-site to inspire the participants. Tokyo 2020 medal hopeful Melissa Humana-Paredes (world number one, Beach Volleyball) was also there.

“It was great to see Patrick Chan,” said Ménard. “All the Olympians were super chill and everyone was on the same level. It was just such a great experience.”

Now back in the capital, Ménard said he is very proud of what he did.

“I enjoyed the moment as much as I could, I pushed myself to the limit and I represented the Yukon,” said Ménard. “I’m very proud of what I did.”

Since the RBC Training Grounds only tests for physical ability if Ménard were chosen in the top 30 it does not mean he would be selected for archery. Any of the national programs could decide he has what it takes to succeed in their sport.

The compound bow class of archery Ménard shoots is not currently offered as an Olympic sport. He told the Star before going to Calgary that he would be open to trying anything.

“I can’t participate in the Olympics (in compound),” said Ménard, “but if they offer me a sport I have the potential to participate in, I may as well try it. I’m open.”

The RBC Training Grounds was founded in 2016 and is dedicated to finding and supporting the next generation of Canadian Olympians.

Since its inauguration, the RBC Training Grounds has tested over 7,000 athletes at 98 local events in 35 Canadian communities. This year was the first time the Training Grounds were held North of 60.