Funds Are Served Up to the Canadian Olympic Foundation at Gold Medal Plates Dinner Event Gold Medal Plates announces $745,255 contribution to the Canadian Olympic Foundation

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(eMediaWorld - Nov. 5, 2008) - Kicking-off the evening's mouth-watering dinner competition, Gold Medal Plates, along with its sponsors GE Canada and EPCOR, presented a cheque for $745,255 to the Canadian Olympic Foundation to support Canada's Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Top chefs were paired up with a selection of Canada's Olympians to compete for culinary gold, silver and bronze at the annual Gold Medal Plates event on November 5th in Vancouver.

In cities across Canada, athletes, top local chefs and Canadian wineries have been competing to raise funds for the Canadian Olympic Foundation, which supports the Road to Excellence and Own the Podium sport technical initiatives. Since its inception in 2003, more than $2.3 million has been raised for athletes towards the program's $3 million goal.

"Our goal is to make sure our athletes reach their goals," says Stephen Leckie, Gold Medal Plates CEO and Founder. "The Gold Medal Plates program is helping to provide Canadian athletes with the tools and resources they need to compete at the highest level. We are proud to engage Canadians across the country with this event as we all look toward 2010 and beyond."

"Gold Medal Plates has shown a real commitment to our Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls," says Chris Rudge, CEO, Canadian Olympic Committee. "The funds are making a tangible difference in the training and preparation of our athletes leading up to 2010 and 2012."

"The Canadian Olympic Foundation would like to thank Gold Medal Plates for their generous contribution which will help fund the programs of Own The Podium 2010 and Road to Excellence", says David Armour, CEO, The Canadian Olympic Foundation.

"Although we are just back from Beijing, we are already setting our goals and sights on the next Olympic Games," says Adam van Koeverden, Olympic gold, silver and bronze medallist in Canoe-Kayak. "The support of Gold Medal Plates is so important to us as athletes. Not only does the funding make a significant difference in our training, but it demonstrates the support Canadians have for us and allows us to really concentrate on what we need to do to reach the podium."

Founded in 2003, Gold Medal Plates is the ultimate celebration of Canadian Excellence in food, wine, and athletic achievement. Celebrated in 2008 in six cities across Canada including , Ottawa, Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, and Gold Medal Plates features premier chefs in each city paired with Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes, in a competition to crown a gold, silver and bronze medal culinary team in each city, and subsequently nation-wide. Wine auctions, silent auctions and live auctions are held to help raise additional funds.

GE and EPCOR are title sponsors of Gold Medal Plates. For more information on Gold Medal Plates, visit goldmedalplates.com.

About the Canadian Olympic Foundation

The Canadian Olympic Foundation is a national charitable organization intended to support the passion of Canadian athletes, coaches and trainers while enhancing Canada's success on the podium at Olympic Games. The Foundation uses comprehensive fundraising programs to raise funds for key programs areas in Canadian high performance sport. It is also established to promote the Olympic Movement in Canada, and boost awareness of the country's sports, athletes and coaches that need financial support to compete at the highest level for Canada. The two immediate areas of focus for the Foundation are to support the programs of Own the Podium 2010 and the Road to Excellence.

About Own the Podium

Own the Podium 2010 (OTP) is a collaborative winter sport technical initiative of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), Sport Canada and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC). OTP is designed to support Canada's 13 winter National Sport Organizations to help Canada become the number one nation at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in terms of total medals and to place among the top three (gold medal count) at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler.

About Road to Excellence

Road to Excellence (RTE) is a collaborative summer sport technical initiative of the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, and Sport Canada. RTE is designed to provide technical support and assistance to targeted summer National Sport Organizations to prepare athletes for future Olympic and Paralympic Games. The goal for RTE is for Canada to place among the top 12 nations at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and to place among the top five nations at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

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For more information, please contact Karyo Edelman, Vancouver Stephen Burega (604) 623-3007 ext. 228 or Cell: (604) 506-3734 Email: stephen.burega@karyo-edelman.com or GE Canada Sarah Triantafillou (905) 301-3815 or Canadian Olympic Committee Steve Keogh (416) 324-4146 or Cell: (416) 806-3949 or EPCOR Mike Long (780) 288-4124