By Andrea Dunn
Amateur athletes will be competing for more then just medals after the federal government recently announced plans to inject funding into high-performance amateur sport.
Secretary of State for Amateur Sport Paul DeVillers said $25 million will be spent over the next five years to assist top-level athletes.
“Athletes can’t do well if they don’t have the money to train,” said Donald Jackson, who won the world figure skating championship in 1962 and is now the executive director of skating at the Minto Skating Club in Ottawa.
“Canada will produce more champions as a result of the investment because athletes will be able to afford to stay in their sport and train hard.”
Jackson added that he is happy sport funding has changed since he was an amateur athlete. He was forced to retire from competitive skating in 1962 because he could no longer afford the costs temming from training and travel.
“It’s the first time since 2000 that such a great amount of money has been committed to amateur sport,” said Mario Tremblay, a spokesperson for Sport Canada, a federal government department that works to promote sports in Canada.
Tremblay added that the money will help athletes cover the costs of training, equipment and travel but that it is not yet clear which sports will reap the greatest benefit from the millions offered.
“I think the money will most likely be put toward building strong national teams,” said John Billingsley, who is the deputy chief operating officer of the Canadian Soccer Association.
“This announcement is very good news for Canada’s top athletes.”
On Feb. 25, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) also announced its plans to offer more money to athletes who are in positions to win Olympic medals.
The new plan — called the Excellence Fund — will award $8.7 million overall to help support Olympic-level athletes, with a priority on preparing for the 2004 Summer Games in Athens.
The federal government contributed $1 million to the Excellence Fund, in addition to the $25 million promised to amateur sport.
According to a statement released by Sport Canada, these investments in amateur sport are the federal government’s way of showing its support for the Canadian Sport Policy, which aims to enhance sport in Canada through participation, excellence and interaction.
The federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for sport, recreation and fitness first endorsed the Canadian Sport Policy in 2002.
Sport Canada will consult with athlete groups and the COC to decide how the money should be dispersed.