Local athlete Paige Zimmerman vies for one of 35 Olympic funding awards

Andrew Hawlitzky
September 14, 2026 at 3:24 AM

Paige Zimmerman, an 18-year-old canoe slalom athlete from Fort Erie, will compete at the RBC Training Ground national final in Toronto on October 3, where 100 athletes compete for 35 funding awards that support future Canadian Olympians.

Zimmerman races for Canada’s junior national team in canoe, kayak and kayak cross, and she wants to compete at the Pan American Games and the Olympics. But she pays nearly every cost of that career out of her own pocket, from the boats she races to the flights that get her to competitions.

Canada supports its top athletes through a national carding system that awards a set number of funding cards to each sport. Canoe slalom does not get enough cards to cover everyone on the national team, Zimmerman said.

“We have to pay for everything ourselves, which can get very pricey,” Zimmerman said. “All of this adds up to a lot of money, which is hard to cover on your own while you are also trying to train twice a day and keep building your life with school and other steps moving forward.”

Paige Zimmerman at the RBC Training Ground qualifier in Toronto on May 30, 2026. Credit: Brian Findlay | RBC Training Ground

Zimmerman pays her own travel, hotels, food, race entry fees and course access fees. She also buys her own equipment, including three boats and four paddles. A funding award would allow her to pay for more races.

Zimmerman is chasing a spot on Canada’s senior national team and U23 national team in 2027, and the senior team would send her to World Cup events.

Canoe Kayak Canada selected Zimmerman for the junior world championship team in kayak, canoe and kayak cross in May, after team trials in Minden, Ont. She raced the kayak and canoe events at the junior world championships in Krakow, Poland, this summer, and finished 13th with her teammates in the women’s kayak team final. She first raced at the junior worlds in 2023.

Zimmerman earned her place at the RBC final by running speed, strength, power and endurance tests in front of Olympic talent scouts at a Toronto qualifier on May 30. She has reached the national final twice before.

RBC will announce the 35 names in the weeks after October 3.

About The Author

Andrew Hawlitzky

Andrew is a Niagara community journalist who has covered everything from local politics to annual festivals and breaking news. He works to make local news a platform where community voices lead the conversation. "If you don't like the news, go out and make some!"