March 13/10 13:12 pm - 2010 & Beyond Panel Releases High Performance Report

Posted by Editor on 03/13/10
 

In July of 2009, the federal government established the 2010 and Beyond Panel to look at the future of high performance sport in Canada. The Federal Government specifically requested that the Panel produce an independent report that recommends ways for Canada to build upon the Canadian high performance sport system leading up to the 2010 Games. An important part of the Panel’s mandate was to look at the impact of the Own The Podium (OTP) program. The report was released shortly after Canada set a new Winter Olympic record for gold medals, winning 14 at the Vancouver Games last month.

The main recommendations are summarized below, with a link to the full report Here. CCA Chief Executive Officer Greg Mathieu represented cycling at one of the roundtable sessions the Panel conducted, while FQSC Executive Director Louis Barbeau represented Para-cycling at another session.

The key recommendation of the Panel is the creation of an independent, federally incorporated not-for-profit organization responsible for the delivery of high performance sport in Canada [it was clearly stated that this organization should be at arms length from the government]. This organization should bring together the OTP program, key elements of VANOC and all of the program and funding elements directed at high performance sport that are currently housed in Sport Canada, including athlete assistance. While based on the successful OTP model, the mandate of the new high performance organization needs to include non-Olympic sport.

The Panel recommends that appropriate steps be taken to establish statutory funding for this country’s new high performance delivery organization, in a manner consistent with other alternative service delivery models. The operating budget of the new organization is intended to be in line with the current base allocations within Sport Canada for high performance sport which would transfer to the new organization. This would include NSO funding and athlete assistance totalling approximately $125 million.

With the transfer of high performance sport programs into the new organization, Sport Canada’s focus would shift to the broader population as a whole. This would involve a number of key roles, including policy research, development of public policy, Federal-Provincial- Territorial governmental activities, interdepartmental initiatives, international sport files, activities related to the Physical Activity and Sport Act, promotion of sport for social development, increased sport participation and the implementation of the Canadian Sport Policy.