Red Deer Games Foundation announces recipients of Athlete Development Grant

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The funds provided to the athletes are meant to help offset the costs of training and equipment as they continue to pursue their training and competition programs.

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Per the Red Deer Games Foundation, the grant recipients are as follows:

Mac Warawa – Baseball

Mac plays baseball with the Red Deer Minor Baseball Association and is coached by Chris Reitsma. Mac has participated in several high-level tournaments with Weber Baseball Academy. He will be participating in Baseball Canada’s Prep Baseball event in June of 2026.

Zach MacDonald – Baseball

Zach plays baseball with the Red Deer Minor Baseball Association and the Webber Academy and is coached by Cole Armstrong. Zach is a member of Team Canada on the U18 Jr. National team. He will be competing in the MLB draft league in June and will represent Team Canada at the World Baseball U18 Qualifier in Santo Domingo, DR, in October.

Oliver Olstad – Field Hockey

Oliver is a member of the Red Deer Storm Field Hockey club and is coached by Koen Bakhuis. He has competed with Team Alberta for four years, competing in national championships, recently competing with U18 Canada in Germany and will be playing with the U21 development team in July in Spain.

Kingston Hitchcock – Swimming

Kingston is a member of the Red Deer Catalina Swim Club and is coached by Takeo Inoki. Kingston competed at the 2025 Canada Games as a member of Team Alberta. He brought home a total of six medals, including a silver medal in the 400m Individual Medley and a bronze medal in the 200m Individual Medley. In addition to his individual performances, he contributed to several successful relay teams, earning silver medals in the 4x200m freestyle relay, the mixed 4x100m medley relay, the 4x100m freestyle relay, and the mixed 4x100m freestyle relay. This year, he will compete at the Mel Zajac International meet in Vancouver, as well as the Canadian Trials in Montreal.

Kian Siemens – Lacrosse

Kian is a member of the Red Deer Lacrosse Association and is coached by Darren Kinnear. He was a member of Team Alberta at the 2025 Canada Games. He has been selected for Team Alberta for 2026 and will compete at the national championships in Halifax in August

Dylan Turner – Box Lacrosse

Dylan is a member of the u17 Chiefs Lacrosse team and is coached by Darren Kinnear. Dylan trains with the Team Alberta Box Lacrosse team and will compete at the 2026 Alumni Cup (U17 Canada Field Lacrosse Nationals) and the 2026 Tackaberry Trophy (U17 Box Lacrosse Nationals) as a member of Team Alberta.

Shaw Warawa – Baseball & Football

Shaw plays both football and baseball and is a member of the Central Alberta Football League and the Red Deer Minor Baseball Association. He was selected to the 2026 U16 Team Alberta Football team as a receiver. He is also a member of the 15U AAA – Red Deer Ranger Baseball team. He will compete at the 2026 U16 Football Canada Western Challenge with Team Alberta and the 15U AAA – Western Canadian baseball Championship in August.

Blaire Campbell – Track & Field

Blaire is a member of the Alberta Speed School coached by Ron Hewer. She is the 2025 gold medalist in the 200m and a bronze medalist in the 100m at the ASAA Provincial Championships. She hopes to compete in the U20 Canadian Championships in June.

Cassidy Bouchard – Track & Field

Cassidy is a member of the Alberta Speed School coached by Ron Hewer. She is the 2026 U20 No. 2-ranked in Canada (400m Hurdles) and finished fourth at the 2025 Canadian U20 Championships. She will be participating in the U20 Canadian Championships again this year and hopes to qualify for the U20 World Championships.

Paige Zinger – Track & Field

A Red Deer native, Paige currently trains with the University of Calgary Athletics club and is coached by James Holder. She was recognized as the OUA rookie of the year for 2026 and finished second in the pentathlon at the OUA championships.

Nicolas Garcia – Tennis

Nicholas is a member of the Brookside Court and Wellness Assn. and is coached by Rene Simon. He has competed in a number of provincial and national championships. This year, he will be competing in the provincial age group championships held in Red Deer and the national age group championships to be held in Quebec.

Sarah Lerouge – Handball

Sarah is a member of the Central Alberta Handball Club and is coached by Melissa Groenen. She participated as part of U18 Team Alberta at the 2025 Canadian Junior Nationals and at the Partille Cup. This year, she will be competing at the Granollers Cup in Barcelona, Spain.

Elspeth Bouwsema – Cross Country Skiing & Biathlon

Elspeth is a member of the Red Deer Nordic Ski Club and is coached by Graham Vanderwater. She has been a member of the Alberta Nordic Development team since 2025. She will be competing in a number of Alberta Cup races and the Alberta Winter Games this winter.