Media Invitation - A race up 1,000 steps to fight against poverty and exclusion

On November 26, 500 athletes who care will climb to the top of Place Ville Marie for Centraide

MONTRÉAL, Nov. 24, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - On November 26, 2014, at 11:30 a.m., the sound of thundering footsteps will echo throughout the stairwell of Place Ville Marie as hundreds of people take part in the 17th RBC Challenge for Centraide. The goal of this relay race is to raise money to support the essential actions of 362 community agencies and projects that help vulnerable people and families in Greater Montreal.  

During this adrenaline-fuelled activity, world-class athletes will compete against nearly 500 company employees, who will form teams to climb the 1,000 steps to the top of Montreal's famous 41-storey tower in an attempt to beat the record.

The team of athletes will be coached by Benoît St-Amand, gold medalist in sledge hockey at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games. His team will include Lex Albrecht (cycling, two-time Quebec champion), Caroline Calvé (snowboarding, 3rd in the World Cup circuit), Hugues Fournel (kayaking, 7th place in the 2012 London Olympic Games), Marc-Antoine Gagnon (freestyle skiing, top 5 World Cup finish in 2012), Marie-Claude Molnar (para-cycling, bronze medalist at the 2012 London Paralympic Games), Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau (freestyle skiing, gold medalist at the 2007 World Championships) and Caroline Ouellette (ice hockey, gold medalist at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games). These athletes will race as a relay team to the top of Place Ville Marie and try to break the current record of 2 minutes and 41 seconds.

Members of the media are invited to attend this event:

DATE:	Wednesday, November 26, 2014
TIME:	11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
PLACE:	1 Place Ville Marie, Montreal
	(University Street Entrance. The RBC Challenge will start on the ground floor at the south side)

Schedule:

11:30 a.m.:	Welcome from Martin Thibodeau, President, Quebec Headquarters, RBC Royal Bank and Lili-Anna Pereša, President and Executive Director, Centraide of Greater Montreal.
11:35 a.m.:	Remarks from Daniel Vézina, Director of CIVA (Centre d'intégration à la vie active pour les personnes vivant avec un handicap physique) and Eric Legendre, wheelchair basketball player who receives help from CIVA, a Centraide-supported agency.
11:40 a.m.	Introduction of the athletes.
11:45 a.m.:	Announcement of the amount raised.
11:50 a.m.:	Warm-up with the athletes.
11:55 a.m.:	Athletes and participants take their positions on the floors.
12:00 p.m.:	Starting signal for the race.
12:50 p.m.:	Presentation of medals and end of the event.

All proceeds from the challenge will be donated to the 2014 Centraide Campaign to support the actions of 362 community agencies and projects that help one out of seven people in Greater Montreal.

SOURCE: Centraide of Greater Montreal

Annick Gagnon, Centraide of Greater Montreal, Phone: [phone], extension 242, [email protected], www.centraide-mtl.org