For Canadian athletes arriving in Rio de Janeiro with high hopes and tense nerves, Canada House is meant to be a comfortable getaway with reminders of home.

The 20,000 sq. foot former athletic club includes hand-painted canoe paddles, a museum filled with tidbits of Canadiana and even a bobsled simulator.

Canada House will be a gathering place for Canada’s 314 athletes and their families during the Olympic Games, which kick off Friday with the opening ceremonies. As for sleeping quarters, many athletes are staying in the athletes’ village, located in the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood, or in hotels.

Governor General David Johnston formally opened Canada House on Thursday in an honourary ribbon cutting. A former hockey player for Harvard University, Johnston spoke with CTV News about the personal benefits of being an athlete.

“It's realizing what one’s potential is and pushing somewhat beyond it, and these lessons, I think, carry on into other aspects of life,” Johnston said.

The governor general praised Canada’s female Olympians, who make up more than half of Team Canada. Johnston also spoke out against doping, which has become a hot-button issue in the lead-up to the Games as dozens of Russian athletes were banned from competing.

“Our Canadian traditions are very, very clear on the importance of an equal playing field, a fair playing field. So doping has no place in sport at any level,” he said.

Canada House will be a hub for Canadian athletes to celebrate their achievements throughout the games. This year, Team Canada has its sights on a top 12 finish with a hopeful medal count of at least 19.

As for the athletes themselves, several shared tricks they’re using to cope with the pressure ahead of Friday’s opening ceremonies.

“I do a lot of yoga. So last night I was doing it on the balcony, and I’m probably going to be doing it every night,” said Canadian fencer Eleanor Harvey.

Rower Pascal Lussier said, “I’m just going online, playing games, talking to my roommate, which is my teammate as well, and just eating good food at the hotel.”

For fencer Joseph Polossifakis, the trouble will be finding a way to capture all the special moments before they flash by.

“To have my parents and family there in the stadium is going to be a really unique and special moment,” Polossifakis said. “The hardest thing I’m trying to figure out right now is how I’m going to film it all.”

With a report from CTV’s Omar Sachedina in Rio de Janeiro