Erik Siksna, Gabriel DeGroot awarded Petro-Canada FACE grant

August 15, 2024

There are many factors that go into an athlete reaching the elite level of their sport.

Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls need skill, a relentless work ethic, and a determination to be the best at what they do – factors that are often aided by their coaches. Canada’s Olympians and Paralympians of the future also need something else: funding, which is what Petro-Canada FACE (Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence) grants help provide.

Since 1988, Petro-Canada has supported over 3,500 Canadian athletes and their coaches by providing more than $14 million in financial support.

This year, 55 athlete-coach pairs were awarded $10,000 each in their pursuit of reaching the Olympic or Paralympic Games. Here’s a look at some of their stories, including how the FACE grants could make a big difference.

Agot Makeer – Basketball

Agot Makeer wants to make the summer of her 21st birthday a special one.

Makeer will turn 21 just a couple months before the start of Los Angeles 2028 – where she hopes to be part of Team Canada’s women’s basketball team. She’ll soon join Canada’s squad for the upcoming FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup and then prepare for her third and final season at Crestwood Preparatory Academy, a school where her career has taken off.

It was at Crestwood where Makeer began working with coach Marlo Davis. Under Davis, Makeer went from 60th overall on ESPN’s college basketball 2025 recruiting rankings to the top-10. She’s received offers from over 40 NCAA Division I schools.

“What is special about Agot is her ability to rise to the level of any competition,” said Davis, who has coached Crestwood to four Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association titles in the last five seasons. “When in the U.S. she is out playing all the athletes that are supposed to be the best in her class in the nation.”

Davis plans to use the Petro-Canada FACE grant to attend more coaching clinics. Makeer, meanwhile, will use her grant to pay for accommodations while attending Crestwood in Toronto along with the costs of travelling to the city from her family home in Thunder Bay. She’ll also be using the grant to help further finalize her Canadian citizenship.

“Still, the ability to play for Canada and to play internationally, is my biggest goal,” said Makeer, who was born in North Dakota. “These funds will help offset those costs.”

Erik Siksna – Volleyball

Having completed his university playing career at Queen’s, Erik Siksna is taking his talents to Belgium where he’ll play his first professional season this year.

While the 23-year-old won’t be playing in Canada this season, he still hopes to one day help his country qualify for and compete at an Olympic Games. Siksna plans to use the Petro-Canada FACE grant to help pay for travel and accommodations to attend national team
events, purchase training equipment, sports medicine and therapy, and cover the costs of living abroad.

“One of my proudest accomplishments was getting to represent Canada at several national team events over the years, including the Under-21 World Championships back in 2021,” said Siksna. “Being able to represent the country alongside so many talented players and coaches is such a tremendous honour and opportunity, and every opportunity I’ve had to wear a Canadian jersey has been nothing short of an amazing experience.”

Despite his parents both being volleyball players, Siksna didn’t start taking up the sport until the age of 12. It’s stuck with him since.

In his final season at Queen’s, Siksna helped the Gaels finish fourth at the U Sports Men’s Volleyball Championship. Siksna credits coach Gabe deGroot for much of his – and the team’s – success.

“Gabe and I have a very strong relationship that has allowed us to work very well together,” explained Siksna. “We have built a lot of trust in each other over the years, and I have the utmost trust and faith in him as a coach and mentor for myself and our entire team.”

deGroot noted that having high quality players like Siksna on the team has helped the program reach new levels of success.

“Erik has been instrumental in my success as a coach,” said deGroot, who plans to use his grant for training equipment and travel to better his recruiting and professional development. “Being able to recruit a talented player like Erik at the start of my coaching career helped push our team and program to new heights. Erik has been the top point scorer for our team the last three years and has helped us reach some of our biggest goals. Erik does this all while being a great leader and captain for our program.”

Myla Plett – Curling

Curler Myla Plett doesn’t have to look too far for inspiration. Often times it’s right beside her.

“Rachel Homan has been one of my biggest inspirations this year,” said Plett of the two-time Olympian. “We practice beside her all the time and it is easily seen how much dedication she has to the sport. With three kids and a husband, Rachel still makes time to practice nearly every day while still giving younger teams, such as my own, pointers on what we can do to be better. Rachel won the women’s worlds and is a very strong athlete.”

Plett began curling when she was five-years-old and opted to stop playing other sports to focus solely on it. Her time and dedication has paid off, winning two national championships at the under-18 level and another at the under-20 level. She also finished fourth with Team Canada at the World Junior Curling Championships.

Coach Blair Lenton believes younger curlers may soon be looking up to Plett the way she does Homan.

“Myla is a competitor and loves to win,” said Lenton, who has coached Plett for the past five years. “She is always looking for ways to get better and improve her skills to achieve success. I enjoy working with her as she keeps me looking for ways to help her get to the next level. She is always polite and definitely someone that younger generations can look up to as a role model in the sport.”

Plett dreams of one day competing for Canada at an Olympic Winter Games and Women’s Women’s Curling Championship.

Both plan to use their Petro-Canada FACE grants to help with the costs of travel to practices and events.

Lulu Lin – Figure Skating

It’s been quite a year for Lulu Lin, who finished 10th at the 2024 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in March after capturing the Canadian junior national title in January.

“I am proud of myself because I was able to overcome the challenges of growth and injury,” Lin said about her recent accomplishments. “I also developed a stronger mental game with the help from my sports psychologist and my coaches this year.”

Lin began skating at age four and began taking private lessons from coach Paul Parkinson a couple years later.

“A huge factor in Lulu’s success is her ability to apply corrections and repeat those corrections while she is training by herself,” explained Parkinson. “She takes all the information from her coaches to heart and makes sure she is always training with those thoughts. I enjoy working with Lulu because she is incredibly coachable.”

Parkinson wants to help Lin reach the next level. He plans to use the Petro-Canada FACE grant to travel and mentor under different coaches around Canada and the world to gain knowledge of different coaching processes.

Lin, whose goal is to compete for Canada at the 2030 Olympic Winter Games, will use her grant to pay for a three-week trip to Japan where she plans to learn new techniques and acquire new, advanced jump elements. She’ll be learning from experienced Japanese coaches from MF Academy who have taught some of the world’s top figure skaters.

Ella MacPhee – Mountain Biking

Biking, skiing, running, soccer, biathlon, sailing, dancing – you name it and Ella MacPhee has likely competed in it.

A well-rounded athlete, it wasn’t until late 2021 that she dove into mountain biking. She says it was love at first sight.

“With mountain biking, you can push your limits physically, mentally, technically and tactically,” explained MacPhee. “Venues and conditions change, creating so many opportunities for athletes to excel. This keeps racing super exciting and always has you at your limit. Doing this amongst an incredible network of people makes it even better.”

The British Columbia native has quickly found success in the sport at the under-23 level, posting a number of top-10 finishes internationally already this season. MacPhee plans to use the Petro-Canada FACE grant towards World Cup travel and training bikes.

MacPhee’s ultimate goals are to win a world championship and represent Canada at the Olympic Games – something her coach, Catharine Pendrel, knows a thing or two about. Pendrel competed in four Olympics with Team Canada and won bronze in mountain bike at Rio 2016.

Pendrel plans to use her grant towards travel that will allow for her and MacPhee to train in optimal conditions ahead of Los Angeles 2028.

“Ella is one of the most engaged athletes that I work with,” said Pendrel. “She has a lot of questions, is very coachable, but is also
feisty and an independent thinker. You know that every time Ella lines up to race she will give 100%.”

Eli Bouchard – Snowboarding

Snowboarder Eli Bouchard believes anything is possible if you work hard enough at it.

Bouchard began snowboarding with his family when he was just one-and-a-half-years-old. He started competing at age five and three years later landed his first double backflip – the youngest known snowboarder to ever land the trick. More recently, the 16-year-old won a gold and a silver medal at the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games.

He hopes to be part of Team Canada at future World Cups, Winter X Games and Olympic Winter Games.

Bouchard plans to use his Petro-Canada FACE grant on helping to fund his off-season training. He wants to be perfect when he hits the snow this season.

Coach Max Hénault has been coaching Bouchard since he was seven-years-old. Hénault’s goal is to get his athlete into the Olympics.

“What’s special about my athlete is their unwavering dedication, exceptional talent, and relentless pursuit of excellence,” said Hénault, who will use his grant towards professional development. “They possess a unique combination of skill, athleticism, and determination that sets them apart from their peers. What I particularly enjoy about working with my athlete is their passion for the sport and their willingness to embrace challenges and push boundaries.”

Amelia Gagne – Archery

Amelia Gagne was nine-years-old when she first tried archery.

“I had been wanting to try ‘bow and arrow’ for a couple of years before I was old enough to even try it since our local range had a minimum age requirement for lessons,” explained Gagne. “My dad knew someone that worked at the range and got me in with a private lesson and I enjoyed it so much that I keep pursuing it.”

Gagne says her biggest accomplishment is making the Canadian senior team for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. She says that experience allowed her to gain helpful advice from her teammates and the Petro-Canada FACE grant will help her with travel expenses to more events.

Gagne and coach Jessica Watson have only been working together for six months – but the relationship has already been beneficial. The goal for both is to get Gagne qualified for Los Angeles 2028.

“This relationship has helped me work through so many mental barriers that I had developed over the past couple of years,” said Gagne. “Without Jess’ help, I do not believe I would be progressing at the level that I am and I am so grateful to her for all that she has done for me.”

Watson plans to use the grant on training equipment, travel expenses and membership fees.

Here are all of the athletes and coaches who have received Petro-Canada FACE grants in 2024: