National Roundtables on Future High Performance Sport Funding

Discussion Paper

April 2, 2004

1. Context

The purpose of the Roundtables is to solicit specific feedback from identified stakeholders in the Canadian sport community on any future investment to increase federal funding in the area of high performance sport.

Between April 6 and 16, 2004, the Government of Canada, represented by a number of federal Ministers, will hold a series of roundtable discussions with key stakeholders in the sport community to discuss how future investments in high performance sport should be targeted. This paper provides a starting point for discussions during the roundtable sessions.

It is widely recognized that additional funding is required in order to meet the goal for excellence outlined in the Canadian Sport Policy, namely: To expand the pool of talented athletes in order to ensure that Canadian athletes and teams are systematically achieving world-class results at the highest levels of international competitions through fair and ethical means.

If Canada is to achieve this goal we will need to answer the following three questions:

1. What does an athlete need to succeed?
   
   
2. What is the best way to target new funding for high performance sport to ensure the success of Canada's athletes on the international stage?
   
   
3. What can all funding partners do to achieve Canada's high performance goals?

The sport community is welcome to respond to this paper by April 23^rd, 2004 via e-mail at sportcanada@pch.gc.ca

2. Background

Over the past four years, the Canadian sport community has worked with governments to modernize the policy and legislative framework of sport in Canada. Pan-Canadian consultations at the community, provincial, regional and national levels culminated with the 2002 adoption of the Canadian Sport Policy by all 14 Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers responsible for sport. The shared vision outlined in the Canadian Sport Policy is to encourage growth and improvement in the sport system from playground to podium. The Canadian Sport Policy formed the basis of the 2003 Physical Activity and Sport Act (the Act). This paper draws from work done by the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Sport Committee Work Group on Excellence¹ and the Sport Review Process² .

During the consultations leading to the Canadian Sport Policy and the parliamentary hearings leading to the proclamation of the Act, the message received from the Canadian sport community with respect to high performance sport was clear and unwavering: Canada needs to increase its strategic investment in excellence if we want to see our athletes consistently on the international podiums.

3. Canadian Athlete Development - What does an athlete need to succeed?

Canada, like many other countries, has taken an athlete-centred approach to sport system development. The needs of the athlete during his/her development are the driving force behind sport programming. In order to meet Canada's high performance goals, the sport community has recommended a more targeted approach to future high performance funding.

Long-term athlete development addresses an array of sport-specific programming needs, including athlete support, coaching, training, competition, sport science, research, and facilities. All of these programming needs are essential to an athlete's success.

It is recognized that all components of long-term athlete development must be made available and funded adequately to ensure the success of any given individual athlete or sport. The fundamental premise is that one component cannot be prioritized or funded in isolation.

In order to achieve Canada's high performance goals, future investments in high performance sport must be targeted. Sports should be targeted based on an assessment of future potential, and performance targets should be set to monitor and assess success. These ongoing assessments should be done in collaboration with other funding partners, always keeping in mind the ultimate objective of realizing the goal of excellence outlined in the Canadian Sport Policy.

Leaders in the Canadian sport community have suggested that new funding for high performance sport in the range of $40 million to $70 million is necessary for Canada to meet the following high performance sport objectives: (1) consistent improvement in national ranking at major games; (2) systematic increases in podium performances; and (3) repeatability of performances.

The Canadian sport system is built on partnerships. The sustainability of the Canadian sport system relies upon the full support of federal and provincial/territorial governments, municipalities, sport organizations, the private sector, volunteers, and individuals. The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of all funding partners committing additional resources to this strategic investment in high performance sport programming.

What follows is a brief description of each of the identified components required for athlete success (proposed funding areas), as well as a discussion of funding priorities.

3.1 An athlete needs a long term athlete development model

Comprehensive long-term athlete development consists of a sport-specific pathway for an athlete to follow in his or her athletic career. It includes a variety of programming components, such as coaching, athlete support, training, competition, equipment, sport science and medicine, research and access to facilities. Of these components, coaching and athlete support require special attention and will be elaborated upon later in this document.

In 2003-04, the Government of Canada invested $90 million in support of participation and excellence to 55 National Sport Organizations (NSOs), 9 Canadian Sport Centres, 21 Multi-Sport Organizations, and 1400 athletes. The Government of Canada and NSOs believe that long-term athlete development requires investment in both development and senior team programs. The reality, however, is that there are inadequate resources to fully support a complete system in every sport. As a result, NSOs must compromise either their long-term development needs or their short-term immediate performance requirements. Very few NSOs are financially able to afford to operate a comprehensive system. Even these sports are generally underfinanced in comparison with their counterparts in other successful sporting nations.

The Government of Canada recognizes that countries that host the Olympic/Paralympic Games invariably make considerable investments in their sport programming in order to achieve successful results. With the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games being hosted in Vancouver, there is an interest in seeing Canadian athletes do well, while at the same time developing a stronger system that will sustain and improve results over time. The sport community has called for a longer-term strategy that focuses on ensuring continued improvements in Canada's international results in 2010 and beyond, while maximizing the contribution high performance sport can make to increased participation in sport and the resulting health and social benefits.

To support effective long-term athlete development for targeted sports, a significant investment would be required in the following areas of athlete development:

• national team programs, which primarily includes training and competition;
• la Relève programs, which primarily includes junior athlete development, training and competition;
• research and sport science, which would be targeted at applied research supporting the long-term development of athletes;
• Canadian Sport Centres identified in the long-term athlete development models of targeted sports;
• hosting sport events through the Government of Canada's Hosting Program, International Single Sport Hosting component, taking into consideration the competition needs of targeted sports; and,
• NSOs, with a view to increasing their technical leadership and sport programming capacity.

3.2 An athlete needs a coach

With funding for long-term athlete development in place, an athlete and his/her coach have the support they need to go from playground to podium.

Coaching has always been identified as a critical component of a healthy sport system. The Government of Canada currently invests approximately $6 million in national coaching salaries to 55 NSOs, plus an additional $3 million in the Coaching Association of Canada, primarily in support of coaching education.

The area of coaching has been the subject of much scrutiny in recent years. There is evidence to suggest that some of Canada's best coaches are enticed to other countries by larger salaries. Furthermore, many Canadian NSOs find themselves unable to compete in the world market for the best coaches. Recent recommendations from a national advisory group on coaching call for increased investment in national team coaching salaries, increased investment in developmental coaches, and increased investment in coaching education via a Competency Based Education and Training (CBET) model.

Priorities for increased investment would, therefore, include additional funding for coaching salaries, increasing the number of developmental coaches and accelerating the implementation of a CBET coaching education strategy.

3.3 An athlete needs financial support

All athletes need sufficient funds, or direct athlete support, to offset the costs of pursuing their Olympic/Paralympic dreams.

The Government of Canada currently invests approximately $16 million annually in its Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) in support of 1400 high performance athletes from 49 sports. There are two levels of tax-free support: (1) developing athletes receive $500 per month ($6,000/year) plus tuition assistance, and (2) national team athletes receive $1,100 per month ($13,200/year) plus tuition assistance. While the AAP is the major source of income for most high performance athletes, the aim of the program is to provide a living and training allowance that helps to offset some of the costs associated with participation in high performance sport.

Research has shown that it takes 6-12 years, depending on the sport, to develop a successful high performance athlete. Canadian athletes, for the most part, have significant difficulty in making the transition from junior international to senior international competition. Younger athletes are not prepared for the transition to senior international competition, primarily as a result of inappropriate and/or inadequate developmental training and competition opportunities. This reality is reflected in the long term athlete development models of NSOs. Additional AAP funding for developmental athletes is required to bridge the gap between preparation at the "junior" and "senior" levels. The number of athletes currently supported by the AAP is not sufficient to meet the long-term athlete development needs of NSOs.

Costs associated with training and competition have continued to rise while athlete stipends have not increased since May 2000. As a result, current AAP stipends are offsetting a smaller proportion of training costs for athletes.

The two priority areas into which increased investment in direct athlete support is required are: (1) the number of athletes being supported; and (2) the amount of support being given.

4. Investment Parameters

Strategic investment in high performance sport requires clearly defined investment parameters. The Government of Canada proposes that federal investment for high performance sport be invested as follows:

• Sports that meet the eligibility requirements of the Sport Funding Accountability Framework will continue to receive base funding (base funding); and,
  
  
• Targeted sports will receive additional high performance funding according to programming needs identified in their long-term athlete development models and their demonstrated potential for medal performances (strategic investment funding).

Targeted sports would be identified through a collaborative process, and would be reviewed on an on-going basis.

The focus of this strategic high performance investment is on adequate funding of all the components of long-term athlete development for targeted sports. The amount of funds available for strategic investment in high performance sport will dictate the number of sports that can receive targeted high performance funding. More money means that more sports will receive funding to support the long-term athlete development model.

¹ The Federal-Provincial/Territorial Sport Committee Work Group on Excellence brought together government and sport community experts to establish targets for evaluating athlete performance and the effectiveness of Canada's sport system, as well as to develop a process for measuring progress.

² The Sport Review Process was an initiative piloted in 2003 wherein sport community experts in high performance sport and government came together to evaluate the excellence strategies and athlete development models of NSOs to identify sports that demonstrate medal potential.