One of the top concerns we’ve heard from National Team Athletes in the past few years is that funding is not sufficient to achieve excellence in sport. As amateur athletes, Team Canada’s athletes rely on direct funding from Sport Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) to pursue excellence. Training demands and travel requirements make it impossible for athletes to pursue part-time work opportunities to support their living and training costs. At a maximum of $1,765/month from AAP funding, most athletes are unable to meet their basic living expenses without taking on significant debt or compromising their training. This means athletes are increasingly burdened by the rising expenses, which are taking a toll on their psychological well-being and posing a risk to Canada’s ability to retain top talent in the sport system.
AthletesCAN, the Canadian Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission, and Canadian Paralympic Committee Athletes’ Council, are calling for an 18.8 per cent increase in AAP Funding ($6.3 Million) and to index AAP funding to inflation going forward. While we wholeheartedly support the broader systems request from last week, our specific ask is to directly increase the funding that athletes receive. We believe this is necessary to allow Team Canada Athletes to pursue excellence on the world stage.
What are athletes saying?
How can you help?
Share our content – We have prepared a package of ready-to-share graphics and posts that you can share with your followers! Pick one (or more) that resonates with you and post using the hashtags #AthleteVoice.
Share your story – Add your voice to the conversation, share your story about how increasing AAP funding would change your athlete experience for the better.
