Sports
Karate king continues to reign supreme
With a little help from his friends, Toshi
Uchiage continues to reign as Canada’s kata champion.
Shortly after winning gold for the 14th
consecutive year at karate nationals, Uchiage received a $5,000 Team Investor
Group Amateur Athletes Fund Bursary. On top of helping the perennial gold
medallist stay atop his game, it will also benefit future generations.
“I’m grateful for this support from Investors
Group, which will help me continue to compete on the international stage,” says
Uchiage. “The funds will be used towards covering travel costs to the many
international competitions I compete in over the course of the year, and it will
also be used to upgrade some of my training equipment. The upgrade in equipment
will not only help me, but also the next generation of athletes as the athletes
that train in my community will also have access to the new equipment I can now
purchase.”
The bursary is one of 20 awarded annually to
assist Canada’s elite amateur athletes with the costs of training and
competition. Selection criteria includes athletic achievement, financial need
and community involvement. Since being launched in 2000, the fund has provided
$1.9 million to Canadian athletes. AthletesCAN administers the bursary on
behalf of Investors Group.
“Investors Group is proud to support our
nation’s elite athletes with these bursaries,” says Trevor Krahn, the company’s
director of sponsorship and community engagement. “Athletes at this level are
often living on a tight budget and juggling the demands of work and school with
training and competition. We are pleased to be able to give some financial
piece of mind to these committed individuals so they can better focus their
efforts on their sport.”
“AthletesCAN is proud to partner with
Investors Group, one of Canada’s leading corporate contributors of direct
funding to our country’s top high performance athletes,” adds Ashley LaBrie,
executive director of AthletesCAN. “For the last 19 years, the Team Investors
Group Amateur Athletes Fund has recognized the athletic accomplishments,
financial need and community involvement of Canadian athletes. These bursaries
continue to provide athletes with the financial confidence to focus on their
pursuit of excellence as athletes, and as people. On behalf of Canadian
athletes, AthletesCAN applauds Investors Group for their continued leadership
and support where it is needed most.”