Want to row for Canada in the next Olympics? First step: Manipulate your computer mouse
Okay, so there's bound to be so much more involved over the long haul, but, here's your chance. Want to be a Canadian Olympian in Rio de Janeiro in 2016?
Rio. Seriously, if you think the volleyball uniforms are skimpy now, just wait 'til they hit the beach in Brazil.
You could be there if you know how to click on things on a computer.
Oh, as well, you need to have the potential to be a high performance rower, world class. Small detail.
[Photos: Olympic rowing]
As Rowing Canada comes off what they will admit themselves is in many ways a disappointing performance in London, itstheir director of high performance, Peter Cookson tells Maclean's magazine:
"You can go on the Rowing Canada website If you want to row, and you think you're a talented athlete we will actually have people go out and test you. We'll determine if you have the basic characteristics to be a high-performance athlete, and then we'll get you into a club, get you into a program."
It's not as silly as it may sound. They're not looking for just anybody here. But Rowing Canada oversees the paddlers of a very, very big country and it is quite possible that some of the athletes they're looking for in 2016 and beyond, are out there and don't even know it yet.
People called "talent identification coaches" are already in place for Rowing Canada and have been for a couple of years. It's a program that echoes the initiatives of rowing powerhouses like the British, Australians and New Zealanders.
[Related: Rowers lose their senses]
Supported with funds from the "Own The Podium" program, which funnels cash towards the sports that have the best chance to get Canada it's share of filthy Olympic lucre, talent ID coaches fan out across the country in search of the next great young thing in rowing.
With two silver medals (one in men's eight, the other in women's eight) at the 2012 Olympics, Canada's scullers did not reach the heights of the Beijing Olympics (four medals, including one gold), nor their own goals of three to five medals, and six finals appearances in London. It was a tough week, and even had men's eight coach Mike Spracklen sounding off.
Because Canadian rowers didn't beat a path to the podium the way they'd have liked, Cookson says a retooling of the program is on the table. From Macleans:
"Everything is up for review. The way we row, what we're doing with all our rigging. Our boats, our equipment, our coaches. Everything we do right now we're going to look at. We want to go from a good team to a great team."
Again, with Canada being so huge and filled with so many young, aspiring Olympians, it's tough to keep track of, or even hear of, them all. A program that struggled in the water at Eton Dorney basin is ready for all comers.
So, if you're young, driven and love to propel water craft through the chop at high rates of speed, or even think you might like to, click here and Rowing Canada will size you up.
Would be something if, in four years, someone was writing a story headlined: "Canadian rower's gold medal began with the click of a mouse."
More London Olympics coverage on Yahoo! Canada Sports:
• Photos: Top controversies of London 2012
• Guide: What to watch Saturday, August 4
• Video: How the 100 meters will be won
• Jessica Zelinka carries the weight of a nation