Canadian Olympic School Program Wins 2010 Coca-Cola Live Positively Award

VANCOUVER, Feb. 23 /CNW/ - The Canadian Olympic School Program (COSP), presented by RBC, was today awarded the 2010 Coca-Cola Live Positively Award for its work in personifying the Olympic values - and delivering them to students across the nation.

"On behalf of the Canadian Olympic Committee and the more than 1 million students and 50,000 teachers we inspire through the Canadian Olympic School Program, we are honoured to receive this award," said Bruce Deacon, Manager, Education and Community Relations, Canadian Olympic Committee (COC). Thanks to the generous support of RBC, we are bringing the excitement of the Olympic Games and the transformative message of Olympic values to classrooms from coast to coast to coast."

Currently, the cross-Canada membership of COSP sits at 63,000 individuals. That includes 50,400 teachers, which translates into an approximate 1.26 million students studying the Olympic values.

Created by the COC, COSP is an educational program that gives free values-based lesson plans, polls, contests, games and interactive components to teachers and students in grades two through 12. It is found online at www.olympicschool.ca.

The Coca-Cola Live Positively Award, eight of which are being given out during the Olympic Winter Games, was created in 2006 to honour individuals and organizations that live out the positive ideals of the Olympic Games in their everyday lives. This is third Olympic Games to include this significant award from the long-standing Olympic sponsor, Coca-Cola. (For more, visit www.coca-cola.com.)

"We're very pleased to support the Canadian Olympic School Program and its effort to promote Olympic spirit and Olympic values to thousands of Canadian students," said Jacqueline Ryan, Director, Olympic Marketing for RBC. "We're thrilled to celebrate the success of this program in the midst of Vancouver 2010."

The COSP curriculum utilizes the stories of famous Canadian Olympians to illustrate for elementary students the Olympic values of fairness, excellence, leadership, respect, physical activity and sustainability. At the secondary school level, students are able to link to applied learning projects that will require them to use acquired skills and theory in hands on ways to solve real-life Olympic problems.

Coca-Cola presented the award to COSP today at the British Columbia Media Centre, one of the central hubs of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

RBC has been involved with the Canadian Olympic Movement since 1947 and is the longest-standing corporate supporter of Canada's Olympic Team. As a Canadian leader in supporting amateur sport, RBC is committed to educating youth on the merits of sport, through vehicles such as COSP, while also providing them with an opportunity to participate, encouraging healthy, active lifestyles.

About the Canadian Olympic Committee

The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada's involvement in the Olympic Movement, including Canada's participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For news and information, visit the COC website at www.olympic.ca and find the team on both Facebook (Canadian Olympic Team) and Twitter (CDNOlympicTeam).

For further information: Isabelle Hodge, Manager, Media Relations, Canadian Olympic Committee, Phone: [phone], Email: [email protected]