Marc Duncan was a Cree athlete who competed for Canada at the 1991 World Championships on the Gold Coast, Australia. Born in Manitoba, he was adopted and lived for a short time in Quebec before his family settled in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Marc was friendly, humble, self-deprecating, personable, and loved to make people laugh at any opportunity. He was in the running for ‘biggest cat lover’ and would stop mid-training run to pat any felines that crossed his path. Known for his sense of humour, Marc once sported a pair of old, bright yellow running tights, and a pair of far too small rollerblades to make a funny wedding anniversary video for his swim coach. He was known to double over laughing with dramatic knee slaps. After a triathlon at Jericho, he told a friend she had a bee on her leg. After much flailing, she realized he was laughing and looked down to see a ‘B’ in front of the race number written on her calf. He embraced laughter as a way to bring joy to others as well as a way to overcome the challenges and traumas in his life.

At the time of his death, Marc had been upgrading his high school courses. He was proud to have achieved a B in Math 11, and was waiting to start his final course towards his Dogwood. He was just beginning to embrace his Cree heritage and had attended his first Pow Wow, where he ate bannock for the first time. He had used stick on letters to put the words “See the Cree Flee” on his bike, and had attended a Lil’wat fundraiser at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre. These seemingly small acts were huge steps for someone who had experienced significant institutional racism throughout his life, and who had previously tried to distance himself from his ancestry.

The triathlon world was a place where Marc found great success, friendships, and camaraderie. His coach and mentor, Todd Clark, along with many of his training partners and friends asked Triathlon BC to establish a Fund in his name to assist junior athletes in financial need to help pursue their sport goals.

Marc would have been pleased that indigenous athletes are being supported in his memory.

After extensive review with critical stakeholders, the following guidelines have been established for the Marc Duncan Fund:

• Triathlon BC will disburse $500.00 each year. At its discretion, Triathlon BC can choose to award multiple candidate(s) with a one-time payment.  Alternatively, Triathlon BC may elect not to disburse funds in any given year if applicants are deemed suitably unqualified.
• No disbursement will be less than $250.00
• The Review Committee will consist of, at minimum, the Executive Director, one Board member and one member of the triathlon community at large.

Eligible athletes must meet the following criteria:

• 15 to 23 years of age as of December 31 of the year of the Award.
• Be a member in good standing of Triathlon BC for more than one year.
• Be a resident of BC for the past year.
• Be a Canadian Citizen or Landed Immigrant.
• Show a combination of volunteerism and a commitment to education.
• Show dedication to the sport through participation in current year Triathlon BC sanctioned events, or in the case of performance pathway athletes, World Triathlon sanctioned events.

Preference will be given to those athletes with demonstrated Indigenous ancestry. References attesting ancestry may be requested.

Interested applicants are encouraged to submit a letter of application to Triathlon BC, identifying how each of the established criteria are met.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: 11:59pm, SUNDAY, JANUARY 19th, 2025.

Applications can be submitted electronically to info@TriBC.org  with the  subject line: Marc Duncan Fund