Mattamy Homes makes 12 month commitment to national track cycling team in leadup to Rio
Mattamy Homes committed to 12 months of support for the national track cycling team in its leadup to the Rio Olympics.
On Thursday, Mattamy Homes committed to 12 months of support for the national track cycling team in its leadup to the Rio Olympics. The assistance will be in the form of technical services, access to sport services and logistical support. There will also be accommodation provided for athletes near the velodrome in Milton, Ont.
The track is housed in the Mattamy National Cycling Centre, which received its largest private-sector contribution from Peter Gilgan’s home building company. The 2015 Pan Am Games was the impetus for the velodrome. His commitment to the project helped to ensure that the velodrome would be a permanent structure in which Cycling Canada could continue to develop the country’s track cycling program.
“It takes passion and dedication to compete at the level that our national track cycling athletes do,” Gilgan said. “We are very proud of all of them for their commitment. To succeed, it also takes financial support and access to world-class training and facilities. At Mattamy, we’re very pleased to be able to help  and to continue to be associated with cycling excellence as we support our national team on their road to Rio.”
At the first track nationals held in the new velodrome in January 2015, athletes and coaches alike said the place will be “game changer” for Canada and its cyclists on the world stage. With Hugo Barrette’s recent silver in kerin at the UCI track cycling World Cup in Hong Kong and Kate O’Brien and Monique Sullivan’s fourth place in the team sprint, it seems the country’s athletes are benefitting from the top-level velodrome. Sullivan confessed that if you had told her and O’Brien months ago that they’d be fourth at a World Cup, they’d be really happy. Still, with bronze within their reach on the boards in Hong Kong, they do feel a bit of disappointment.
All three of those athletes arrived back in Milton two days ago from Hong Kong. “We’ve pretty much been here [in Milton] since the facility opened,” said Sullivan of the velodrome that held its first major event a little more than a year ago. Sullivan, O’Brien and Barrette are back training, twice a day. Right after the presentation for Gilgan’s contribution, the two sprinters were in the infield doing lunges. They are preparing for the world championships in London from March 2 to 6. After that, they, and Barrette hope to focus on Rio.
The support by Gilgan and Mattamy homes will help the athletes to train and to stay focused. The benefits, Gilgan hopes, go beyond meeting physical and logistical needs. “For an athlete, and I can’t speak for them, but I’m hopeful, that knowing someone has their backs will encourage them,” Gilgan said. “Everyone needs encouragement, right? No matter what our endeavour is. So this is a tangible way of expressing that encouragement. Let’s say it warms the heart as well as the tummies of the athletes. It will encourage them to even try harder. Knowing that there are people behind them and knowing that they’re not out there alone trying to succeed and knowing others are in their corner cheering for them—there’s an emotional element to it that’s perhaps not as easy to measure. But it’s tangible nonetheless.”
