By Jonathan Rotondo
Although the sports portion of the federal budget targets the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games and seems to make little room for summer paralympic athletes, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and Heritage Canada say they won’t be left out in the cold.
With Vancouver 2010 as the focal point of sport funding, summer paralympians did not expect any cash to come their way.
But they may be getting at least $4 million per year for the next five years.
Wheelchair basketball player and two-time paralympic gold medallist Chantal Benoit says the goal is more long-term than simply additional money.
“What we really want is a greater knowledge about paralympic games among the population,” Benoit, a member of the national team since 1984 and an Ottawa resident, says.
The 2005 federal budget doubled Sport Canada’s annual funding from $70 million to $140 million, including $20 million per year in general funding for the paralympic games until 2010.
Of that $20 million, $11 million will go to Own the Podium – a program designed to make Canada the number one nation in terms of medals won in the 2010 Olympic Games.
It also aims to place Canada in the top three for the Paralympics. A further $5 million per year will go to domestic development and participation in sport.
According to Brian MacPherson, director general of the Canadian Paralympic Committee, the remaining $4 million is expected to go into a summer games program similar to Own the Podium.
“We’re already collecting data,” MacPherson says.
“We’re getting all our ducks in a row as for determining need and how much will go to each sport.”
But MacPherson says the final say rests with the federal government.
He says the CPC, along with Sport Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee, is preparing a report to be released in August or September.
The report will give the federal government a better idea of which sports and athletes need funding most.
Paul Zachau, high-performance director for the Ottawa based Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association, welcomed the additional financial support.
“Every little bit helps,” Zachau says. “But until we see the numbers, it’s hard to say.”
Zachau says, although any additional funding is a big step for wheelchair basketball, $4 million is not enough.
He says the cost of the wheelchair basketball program is enormous.
It cost $100,000 just to send two teams to the 2002 world championships in Japan.
That doesn’t include the price of all the training needed to be successful before competition.
“We know darn well it’s going to cost more than $4 million,” MacPherson says. “But it’s still a great shot in the arm for sport.”
Donald Boulanger, spokes person for Canadian Heritage, says more details are being worked out for next year’s budget.
“Summer sport will get their fair share,” Boulanger says. “We will continue to support winter and summer sports from the playground to the podium.”
According to Boulanger, Sport Canada annually funds 318 winter sport athletes and 1,136 summer athletes.
Boulanger says this will ensure the federal government’s commitment to further funding and support.
Benoit says any money invested in athletes with disabilities is a great boost for sport in Canada.
“At the end of the day, the goal is that all Canadians will know more about paralympic sport in 20 years,” says Benoit.