An important ribbon-cutting ceremony took place beside the dive tank yesterday (during the Senior Winter Nationals in Calgary ) to mark the announcement of Talisman's new Mark Lowry Portable Dryland Training Area -- a poolside facility that adds much needed dry boards, trampolines, mats and resistance training equipment to the existing training space.

The new facility came to be thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Mark Lowry Memorial Sport Excellence Fund, a tribute to the Canadian Olympic Committee's former director of sport who was instrumental in establishing Canada's 'Own the Podium' and 'Road to Excellence' athlete support programs before dying in 2005. Dive Calgary head coach Igor Kopecky was thrilled his organization was chosen as the recipient of the annual grant.