With the 2012 Summer Olympics set to begin in four days, the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) is on a mission to get the nation fired up about the Team Canada contingent.

On July 20, the RBC Cheer Tour made a stop in Greater Sudbury to spread the excitement and collect videos of cheers and messages of support for Canada's Olympians.

Adrian Molder and Larissa Mankis, RBC Hometown Champions and Cheer Tour ambassadors, arrived at the RBC Lasalle branch Friday afternoon in their retro blue London taxi cab, horn blaring, and eager to share their passion for the Olympics.

"As Canadians, we're always a little bit more excited and aware of the Winter Olympics," Molder said. "I like a lot of the sports in the Summer Olympics and I'm eagerly looking forward to it."

He said the tour is bringing awareness to Canada about the Olympics — the Games run July 27 to Aug. 12 in London, England — as well as the contributions RBC makes to support Team Canada.

"RBC is a really big sponsor of the Olympians," Molder said. "They've been sponsoring Olympic teams since 1947.

"It's vital. Without sponsorship, the majority of these amateur athletes would not be able to afford to be able to go to the Olympics."

The RBC Hometown Champions Program was created to help connect athletes with communities and give Canadians an opportunity to actively participate in the London Games. The program's Cheer Tour kicked off on June 28 in Dartmouth, N.S., Victoria, B.C. and Toronto. Over the course of six weeks, three London-style taxi cabs will travel simultaneously across the country, stopping in communities from coast to coast to encourage Canadians to show their love and support for the Olympic and Paralympic athletes.

"I think it is pretty phenomenal the way it's connecting communities to athletes and creating awareness around the Olympics," Molder said. "We've had a lot of families and young children come out and the idea is to encourage those kids to get involved in sport, do their best, and hopefully, one day, be doing something they love."

Molder said the cab he's driving across the central region of the province is an authentic, retired cab from the U.K.

"It has 1.2 million miles clocked on it," he added. "They began making this model in the 1950s and retired it in the 1990s."

Bill Bray, regional vice-president of RBC said the tour was "a good chance for our staff and our clients to wish the athletes well in their bid for a gold medal in the Olympics this summer."

If you missed the Cheer tour, visit the RBC Hometown Champions webpage and record and upload a message there.

Posted by Laurel Myers