Montreal Multi-Sport Centre to Provide Better Training Conditions for High Performance Athletes
MONTREAL, April 11, 1997 -- High performance athletes in the Greater Montreal area will soon find a wider range of services at the National Multi-Sport Centre - Montreal. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps, Quebec Minister of Municipal Affairs, Rémy Trudel, the Mayor of Montreal, Pierre Bourque, and officials of the Canadian Olympic Association, the Coaching Association of Canada and Sports-Québec today officially announced the establishment of this new facility."This multi-sport centre is the result of partnership at work. It will mean that our athletes and coaches will have access to the facilities and services they need," said Minister Copps. "The Montreal Centre now becomes part of a national network of multi-sport centres we have created in Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal and, soon, Toronto and the Atlantic region, which will serve the majority of current and future high performance athletes."
"The Government of Quebec believes that its participation in the national multi-sport centre, which is in line with its new governmental support framework for leisure and sport, will help Quebec's high-performance athletes to achieve better results during Olympic Games, world championships and other major international competitions," said Minister Trudel. "The opening of this type of centre will ensure recognition of Montreal's role as a major development centre for athletes and coaches in Quebec."
The Centre is being created in response to specific needs identified during consultations with high performance athletes and coaches, and national and provincial sport organizations. Focusing primarily on high performance athletes in the Greater Montreal area, the Centre's services will gradually be made available to all high performance athletes in the region and other major centres such as Quebec City and Sherbrooke.
The Centre's services will include a National Coaching Institute for high-level coaches and it will offer athletes programs ranging from sports medicine to sport science services, customized professional and personal counselling and assistance with job search and career transition.
"Having the National Multi-Sport Centre - Montreal and the National Coaching Institute right in the same world-class sports facility, the Claude Robillard Sports Complex, is tangible evidence of the support that the city wants to give to the development of elite athletes. Montreal is very pleased to welcome top-level athletes and coaches to our city," said Mayor Bourque.
The Centre's activities are intended to complement the programs already offered by various sports organizations.
According to Walter Sieber, vice-president of the Canadian Olympic Association, "The establishment of the National Multi-Sport Centre - Montreal fits in perfectly with the philosophy of the Canadian Olympic Association, which generally assists in the development and advancement of sport in Canada. We place particular emphasis on athletes and coaches and support the achievement of excellence in high-level sport. We are convinced that the new National Multi-Sport Centre - Montreal will offer first-rate services and programs and will thus help athletes to reach their objectives."
Nathalie Lambert, medal winner at the Olympics and at the recent world short-track speed skating championships, was among the athletes in attendance to support the establishment of this new centre. "I am pleased to see that the Centre intends to meet the needs which athletes have identified during the consultations. By facilitating access to sports medicine services and by developing state-of-the-art sport science services, the Centre can make a real difference in how well we are prepared."
The Centre, which has an operating budget of $870,000, should be up and running by September.
Information:
Janet Bax
Director of Communications
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy Street, 12th floor
Hull, Quebec
Tel.: (819)997-7788
Fax: (819)994-5987
Christiane Théberge
Communication Advisor
Mayor's Office
City of Montreal .
275 Notre Dame St.
Montreal, Quebec
tel.: (514) 872-2798
fax: (514) 872-7244
Alain Marion
Coaching Association of Canada
1600 James Naismith St.
Ottawa, Ontario
tel.: (613) 748-5624
fax: (613) 748-5707
Renée-Claude Boivin
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Municipal Affairs,
responsible for Leisure, Sport and Wildlife
20 Pierre-Olivier-Chauveau St.
Tower, Main Floor
Quebec City, Quebec
Tel.: (418) 691-1795
Fax: (418) 643-1795
Kathleen Giguère
Canadian Olympic Association
2380 Pierre Dupuy Ave
Montreal, Quebec
tel.: (514) 861-3371
fax: (514) 861-2896
Michèle Gendron
Communication Advisor
Sports-Québec
4545 Pierre-De Coubertin Ave.
P.O. Box 1000, Station M
Montreal, Quebec
tel.: (514) 252-3114, ext. 3622
fax: (514) 254-9621
Canadian Heritage Patrimoine canadien
Backgrounder
NATIONAL MULTI-SPORT DEVELOPMENT CENTRES
The federal Government, in partnership with other organizations and agencies, is supporting the creation of multi-sport development centres to enhance the training environment for high performance athletes. Centres play a key role in adding to the level of service for high performance athletes and coaches, and in increasing the efficiency of service delivery. Their programs are intended to complement national sport organization programming in the pursuit of high performance excellence in Canadian sport.
The objective is to create a coordinated network of Centres in major Canadian cities to service the majority of national team athletes training in Vancouver/Victoria, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and the Atlantic region. This network might include additional Centres, with a smaller scope of activity, that are developed in conjunction with the hosting of future Major Games and Canada Games sites.
The partners will enter into a larger partnership at each Centre with the respective provincial government and other relevant local sport organizations in an attempt to finance a comprehensive high performance athlete development model that spans both national and provincial jurisdictions.
The Rationale for Centres
The federal Government's commitment to the creation of a network of Centres results from the following factors:
The common objective of supporting the achievement of high performance sport excellence by Canadian athletes through fair and ethical means;
the desire to enhance the ability of existing models (e.g., clubs, training camps, single sport centres) to consistently provide the necessary breadth of on-going support services to enable high performance athletes to fulfil their potential and be successful in international competition;
the need to develop new and creative ways (e.g., innovative delivery mechanisms and the creation of new partnerships) to increase efficiency in the delivery of high performance programs and services;
an increased concern for the holistic development of high performance athletes, so that their athletic performance goals are not pursued at the expense of their personal, social and career development;
the need to increase program coordination among various jurisdictions and funding agencies in the sport system in order to develop a more efficient athlete and coach development system in Canada;
the desire to ensure a programming legacy from the staging of Major Games in Canada which will complement the facility legacy; and
the enthusiastic endorsement of the National Sport Centre - Calgary during the first two years of its operation by high performance athletes and coaches and NSOs and the desire, expressed in various consultations, for the creation of additional Centres.
Centre National Multisport - Montréal
The Centre's funding will be provided by the partners. The Government of Canada will contribute $400,000 in 1997-1998, or nearly 46% of the Centre's total budget of $870,000 for its first year of operation. Beginning in 1998-1999, the Centre's annual budget should be in the order of $1 million. We hope that this joint investment will have a multiplier effect, attracting significant contributions from other partners.
Funding for this project was provided for in the February 1997 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework. This initiative is an example of how this government is prioritizing its spending so that it can better serve Canadians by making efficient use of their tax dollars.
INFORMATION SHEET
NATIONAL MULTI-SPORT CENTRE - MONTREAL
Operational Timetable:
The Centre staff will begin in May. Within the following months, programs and services for athletes will progressively come on line and the National Coaching Institute will be operational by September.
Mission: To assist high performance athletes in enhancing their preparations with a view to optimizing their performances at major sporting events such as the Olympic Games or world championships.
Partners: Department of Canadian Heritage
Quebec Ministry of Municipal Affairs (Sport Directorate)
City of Montreal
Sports-Québec Corporation
Coaching Association of Canada
Canadian Olympic Association
Funding Base:
Partners have contributed $850,000 toward the initial total operating budget of $870,000 for 1997-98. The operating budget is expected to reach $1 million in 1998-99.
Clients: All high performance athletes from the greater Montreal area will have access on a priority basis to the Centre's services and programs. A fee structure, ranging from free services to user-pay, will be developed according to a set of criteria (e.g., level of carding, availability of services, etc.) yet to be determined. Priority clients will be nationally carded athletes, including carded athletes with disabilities.
Services: Salary support for high performance coaches
National Coaching Institute for high performance coaches
Sport medicine services (physiotherapy, sport medicine, therapeutic massage, etc.)
Sport sciences (assessments, analyses, biomechanical studies, nutrition, etc.)
Personal services (personal counselling, balancing sport and education, employment counselling, assistance with career transition, job search, etc.)
Distinctive Features:
° significant athlete involvement in the Centre planning and management;
° the Centre is in reality a network of services provided on a priority basis to athletes throughout the greater metropolitan region of Montreal;
° the Centre and its National Coaching Institute will help Francophone high performance athletes and their coaches, in particular, to develop in an environment that best meets their needs;
° the Montreal Centre, along with the Calgary, Victoria and Winnipeg-based Centres, is part of a national network of high performance multi-sport centres;
° the offices for the Montreal Centre are located at the Claude-Robillard Centre.
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