Canadian Tire Corporation's deep experience in data analytics extends to sports by helping Own the Podium identify future Olympic and Paralympic medallists.

TORONTO, April 27, 2015 /CNW/ - Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited (CTC.A, CTC) – a leading supporter of sports in Canada and premier partner of Own the Podium and Canada's Olympic and Paralympic Teams – is using its best-in-class data analytics division to provide Own the Podium with valuable insights and information to help Canadian athletes win more medals on the world stage.

Through a three-year partnership with Own the Podium, the team is building on Canadian Tire's decades-long history in predictive modeling. Canadian Tire's data analysts are using various data from global sports competitions, dating back to the 1930s, to provide new insights and next-generation predictive modelling to identify which athletes, given their current performance, are most likely to medal in future events. The information will also be used to help coaches and athletes refine their training programs and identify opportunities on the path to the podium.

"We're very proud to be able to use our analytics capabilities to help Own the Podium make decisions that will result in more Canadians achieving their Olympic gold medal dreams," said Duncan Fulton, Senior Vice-President, Canadian Tire Corporation. "With our analysis and predictive models, Own the Podium will be able to make new funding decisions that will better help Canadian athletes train, compete and dominate on the world stage."

Funded in part by the Government of Canada, Innovations 4 Gold (I4G) is Own the Podium's applied sport research program developed to help Canada win more medals at the Summer and Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"Olympic and Paralympic medals are often won by inches, or even, blinks of an eye," said Anne Merklinger, Chief Executive Officer, Own the Podium. "Generously supported by Canadian Tire Corporation, this investment builds on the Government of Canada's recent commitment to OTP's research and innovation program. We believe data analytics will be another difference maker in our continued quest to close those small gaps on the world stage and deliver more medals for Canada."

The Sports Analytics team's goal is to assist national sport organizations to utilize data and apply analytics that will lead athletes to the podium at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. There are more than a dozen predictive modelling projects currently underway. Although the output of these projects is treated as highly confidential to maintain a competitive edge for Canada, here is an example of work that is underway:

• Swimming: The Sports Analytics team is mapping the performance of top global swimmers from around the world, using data going back years from global competitions.  From this analysis, the team is predicting the curve of race times required in global competitions over the next five years for a Canadian swimmer to be on the right path for an Olympic medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX:CTC.A) (TSX:CTC) or "CTC," is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment also includes Mark's, a leading source for casual and industrial wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which offers the best active wear brands. The 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

ABOUT OWN THE PODIUM

Own the Podium, a not-for-profit organization, prioritizes and determines investment strategies for national sport organizations in an effort to deliver more Olympic and Paralympic medals for Canada. Own the Podium's largest contributor of funding is the Government of Canada with additional funding provided by the Canadian Olympic Committee and its Canadian Olympic Foundation, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, along with the corporate community.

Own the Podium was created in 2005 to help Canada become the number one nation at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, and to place in the top-three nations in the gold medal count at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. Own the Podium continues to drive Canada's high performance sport system forward in a quest to help more athletes and coaches win more medals in future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For a full summary of Own the Podium initiatives and programs, including a breakdown of support and services by sport, please visit us at www.ownthepodium.org on the Internet.

SOURCE CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED

Image with caption: "Canadian Tire Corporation and Own the Podium announce their three-year partnership at a press conference in Toronto. (L-R) Mark Merritt, VP, CTC; Joel Archambault, Cycling; Karen Lefsrud, Rowing; Duncan Fulton, SVP, CTC; Mark Tewksbury, Olympic Gold Medallist, Swimming; Olivia King, Rowing; Penny Oleksiak, Swimming; Anne Merklinger, CEO, Own the Podium. (CNW Group/CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION, LIMITED)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20150427_C8581_PHOTO_EN_15802.jpg