Olympian-turned-tech-executive Julia Rivard will travel to Toronto this weekend to unveil Pursu.it, a new platform to allow Canada’s leading athletes to use crowdfunding to raise the money they need to achieve their dreams.

The Senior Partner at Halifax cloud computing company Norex, Rivard placed in the top 10 in kayaking at the Beijing Olympics and understands the trials athletes face in raising money to train for international competition. She believes crowdfunding – using the internet to raise substantial money in donations of varying size from a vast network of people – can help athletes reach their financial goals, reduce a major stress in their lives, and give Canadians the pride of helping young people representing the country.

“This is a labour of love for me,” said Rivard in an interview yesterday. “And I think it’s going to be a game-changer on a national level.”

The platform allows athletes to post film so people can see them in action. They also post the financial goal they want to achieve in their fundraising, and what people will receive in return for the donation.  (For instance, a donor might receive a toque for a $20 donation to a skier’s campaign or an afternoon of personal ski lessons for $1,000.) 

Rivard said the athlete will only receive the funding if the goal is met. She will launch www.pursu.it on Sunday at AthletesCan, the conference in Toronto for national athletes in Canada, with six early adopter athletes being given 60 days to raise their funds.

She added Canadian athletes, even at the highest level, get just basic funding for their training, unless they are high-profile medal winners who can attract corporate sponsors.

The website receives 15 percent of the money raised, so there is a chance this could become a business on its own as long as it has the marketing reach to gain users. “This is a true startup, and the goal now is to find a national media partner to take it on,” she said.

One media company that has been a huge help is the Chronicle-Herald in Halifax, which is flying a video team up to Toronto to help with the launch. “They haven’t asked for anything back,” said Rivard.  “They seem really interested in helping the athlete at the community level.”

Rivard developed Pursu.it with her business partner Leah Skerry from Norex and the project has so far cost about $100,000.

Having been an Olympic athlete herself, Rivard speaks with incredible passion about the project because she understands that a lack of funds can cost an obsessed athlete a chance to follow the dream of a lifetime.

“There’s nothing else out there for athletes to get help with this,” she said. “And what’s more, there’s something special about Canadian fans supporting Canadian athletes.”