University sports program debate rages
But, as U of T has already discovered, in a time of finite resources and facilities, trying to provide more support to some athletes means less for others.
The drive to actually be good at something runs smack into the desire to offer students a diversity of sport options. Both are noble causes but, given limited resources, at odds with each other.
Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than with the dust-up at the university between rugby and field hockey.
The university is currently reviewing its intercollegiate sport programs with a view to being more competitive.
In the three models released for consultation the university’s less successful sports such as squash, golf and lacrosse lose coaching, facility access or support to allow for more resources to be put toward higher performance varsity sports. Rugby was demoted from a varsity sport to the intramural level in all the models. U of T officials insist nothing is final and the final result could look completely different.
This was always going to be a heated process for the university but it was made all the more so because of the Pan Am field hockey centre being built on U of T’s back campus fields. Rugby players won’t be able to use those new turf pitches for practice or games and that’s a big factor in why their future as a varsity sport is dimming.
The politicians and university officials talking about how the $9.5 million facility funded by Ottawa and the university would create “legacy facilities” to help elite athletes and boost sport participation struck an off-key note with the school’s rugby players.
The women’s field hockey team is good and creating a national centre of excellence at U of T will help keep it that way. The women’s rugby team has had flashes of success, but not at the moment, and men’s team is even less competitive. But that’s because of years of under resourcing and should not be a contributing factor to their possible demotion, players and coaches say. “I don’t understand why a sport that is currently the fastest growing women’s sport in our country and is now being recognized as an Olympic sport would lose its varsity status,” says Heather Moyse, star national rugby player and Olympic bobsled champion. “If you’re talking about wins and losses you need to take a look at the football team,” says Moyse, who completed her master’s degree in occupational therapy at U of T. “You need to look at the bigger picture. It’s not always just about winning, it’s about playing. People don’t go to U of T to play sports.” The blowback from rugby players to the university’s plans has been huge. They’ve sent out “three weeks to save women’s rugby” pleas and alumni have inundated officials with letters about the importance of rugby as a varsity sport. Paul DiCarmine, head coach of the men’s Varsity Blues rugby team is trying to come up with a solution that keeps rugby competing at the intercollegiate level. The major problem is a finding a field. While not ideal, the teams could play their home games at the Scarborough campus, he says. But it’s too far to go for regular practices since most of the players are students at the downtown campus. “The team is literally out on the streets scouring Toronto, looking for alternate places to practise,” DiCarmine says. While rugby has drawn the most attention, other sports have similar concerns about the direction the university is contemplating and the models put out for consultation, which generally reduce funding, access to facilities, sport medicine and staff support for the less successful and lower-profile sports. Without support they’ll never get achance to improve, argue the players from many sports.
“I agree with them 100 per cent,” says Anita Comella, assistant dean in kinesiology and physical education, which is leading this process. “Our problem is we have a finite set of budgetary resources, finite human resources and finite facilities.”
Other universities that have gone through the review process U of T is in the middle of have generally chosen to focus their resources on fewer sports in an effort to excel.
Canada’s Own the Podium program, funded largely through corporate sponsors, has been clear where it stands. It supports the elites, and expects them to provide a return on that investment by winning Olympic medals.
It’s a new direction for Canada. In many sports, Canadians traditionally haven’t been that focused on winning so much as encouraging participation and improving.
Some people argue that should still be the focus, particularly for public resources. Others are tired of being, well, Canadian about these things. “After Vancouver we know now that it’s OK to participate but it’s a very good feeling to win,” says Marie-Claire Rouleau, president of Speed Skating Canada. “Money makes it possible.”
How to balance the funding needs of high performance athletes and providing opportunities for thousands of other students who want to play is the knot the U of T is trying to unravel.