Olympians get a boost

Canada’s Olympic, Paralympic athletes get $5 million upon return to sport

Canada’s athletes face increased manpower and facility costs, plus regular testing, when they return to the pool, track, gym and pitch.

The purpose of the $5 million jointly announced Monday by the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic committees and Own The Podium is to cover those extra costs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The money will come from cutbacks to other programs, COC chief executive officer David Shoemaker said.

“We want to make sure if our athletes across the country are returning to training, that they’re doing so in a way that’s not just safe for them, but is also safe for their families and safe for their communities,” he said on a conference call.

“Just as public health was our North Star when Canadian athletes decided to stop training back in March, public health will remain our North Star as we begin a phased-in approach to return to sport.”

The Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games scheduled to open in July were postponed until 2021.

Canadian athletes, particularly those in indoor sports, have been largely confined to training at home since March.

The federal government announced last month a $72-million injection into the amateur sport system to try to keep organizations afloat.

“While the government’s investment was focused and aimed at the viability of sport, for us, this investment is aimed at the return to sport and they’re slightly different focuses, but important,” Shoemaker explained.

“Our role as sport-performance partners nationally and specifically for the Canadian Olympic Committee, is to invest in putting Canadian athletes and Canadian teams on podiums.”

Swimming Canada released guidelines Friday on what training groups must look like when pools get the green light from public health officials to open.

The four pools where the national team trains in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver and Saanich, B.C., are currently closed.

One swimmer per lane in the early phases means smaller training groups in the pool over several hours, thus increasing hours for coaches, staff and facility rental.

“Our norm is to have a full training squad all in the pool at the same time,” Swimming Canada CEO Ahmed

El-Awadi said.

“Definitely the costs will increase in the short term.

“These funds come into play and are super-critical in kickstarting the highperformance program.”

CP PHOTO JASON FRANSON Penny Oleksiak swims the 100 metre freestyle for the win during the 2018 Team Canada finals in Edmonton on July 19, 2018. Testing, extra coaching manpower and facility rental are costs the people who run Canadian high- performance sport anticipate in getting Olympians and Paralympians back to training. The Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Own The Podium have announced $5 million will go towards covering those costs.