Speedskaters win concession on team fees
Canada’s ruling body revises plans to charge athletes $1,200 a year after budget decrease
CALGARY — Tension between some of Canada’s top long-track speedskaters and Speed Skating Canada eased Thursday when the national federation gave the athletes a temporary reprieve on the introduction of a team fee.
Facing a $1-million decrease in its 2014-15 budget, Speed Skating Canada considered introducing a fee of $1,200 per skater on the long-track and short-track national and development teams this winter. That move was so unpopular that some skaters on the long-track team were sacrificing their monthly Sport Canada funding in protest.
After The Canadian Press published a story on the situation Thursday morning, Speed Skating Canada chief executive officer Ian Moss said in an email that the athletes would not have to pay a team fee this season, but still may be required to do so for 2015-16.
The concession was a relief for Ottawa’s Ivanie Blondin, Laurent Dubreuil of Levis, Que., and fourtime Olympic medallist Denny Morrison of Fort St. John, who were in a financial standoff with their federation.
“For sure it makes a huge difference,” Blondin said. “I think that’s great news, but moving forward we need to find a solution for the next season in order to be able to find that money for our team.”
The situation created a more serious financial issue for the athletes. There was no official word from Ottawa-based SSC on how much the team fees would be if they were implemented, but the athletes’ agreement with the organization included a clause that they had to be paid.
The athletes’ agreement is a contract between athletes and their national federation to fulfil certain requirements, such as wearing sponsors’ logos on clothing.
Blondin, Morrison and Dubreuil would not sign until they knew what the fee would be. They were loathe to sign what they considered blank cheques to SSC.
Since they wouldn’t sign, they were ineligible for Sport Canada funding.
Blondin is eligible for $1,500 a month from Sport Canada. She didn’t receive it in December and wasn’t going to receive it in January until she signed her athletes’ agreement. It’s her only source of income, and she felt the financial strain.
“As soon as I get that formal notice, I will be signing my documents and sending them off to Sport Canada in order to receive my funding,” Blondin said.
“There was too much uncertainty and standing up for our team was our goal.”
“Me, Denny and Laurent decided we would take the hit for the team and if it was losing our carding, it was losing our carding. It’s been two months we’ve been dealing with this.”
The athletes were told informally in October they might face team fees this winter, which was too late for many of them to come up with the money while they were competing.
“This at least relieves the pressure for this year and gives us all the heads up that we probably have to do something extra next summer whether it’s finding crowdsource funding, getting a job or getting new sponsors to pay for it,” Morrison said.
“It takes the stress away for this year so we can just focus on the results, but I fear next year (the fee) is going to be twice as much.”
Athletes in other sports pay team fees to their federation to help cover costs of competing such as travel, accommodation and the transportation of equipment. The lugers, for example, will pay $1,800 in team fees this winter.
The speedskaters may have earned a small victory, but they and Speed Skating Canada still face a cold, hard financial reality.
Moss said the national team budget has dropped by $750,000. The organization’s financial picture for this season didn’t become clear until September, which is why athletes were informed of the possibility of team fees late.
A team fee across the shorttrack and long-track teams would have generated about $75,000, he said.