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CBC
17 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
'At the brink of falling apart': Sport organizations hope new government heeds urgent call for funding
At the end of a successful Summer Olympics in Paris last year, David Shoemaker issued a stark warning. Canadians took home 27 medals from France after standout performances in swimming, beach volleyball and track and field, to name a few. The Canadian Olympic Committee CEO said he believed Canada has the potential to do more, but that he worried the athletes' full potential won't be unlocked without more resources from the federal government. "I worry about performance in Milano Cortina and certainly for LA [in 2028]," Shoemaker said that day. "There hasn't been an increase in the core funding of the national sports organizations, the 62 federally-funded national sports organizations, in 19 years. They are having to do so much more with so much less, including the demands upon them to create a safe and barrier-free healthy sports system that we all want so badly." WATCH | Canada's new secretary of state for sport talks transforming Canada's sport landscape: Canada's new secretary for sport talks about transforming Canada's sports landscape 12 hours ago Duration 1:29 Fast forward almost 10 months and Canadians have a new government, led by a new Prime Minister, Mark Carney. The new person in charge of the sports portfolio is a familiar face in the Canadian sports world: Adam van Koeverden, the retired kayaker who owns four Olympic medals, including gold in the K-1 500-metre from the 2004 Summer Games in Athens. There's no minister of sport in this government. Koeverden is the secretary of state for sport, part of a two-tiered cabinet created by Carney. But much will still be expected from the former athlete. He's tasked with addressing funding demands from sport organizations. The magic number Shoemaker has cited is a $144 million increase to make up for two decades without a significant boost to core funding, now appearing as millions of dollars worth of deficits on sports organizations' books. He'll also have to navigate what's been described as a safe-sport crisis across the country. The Future of Sport in Canada Commission will report back in March, and van Koeverden, who gave his own recommendations to the panel earlier this year, will guide how the government will respond to its findings. Perhaps even bigger than all of that is preserving what sport means to Canadians at a time when that identity is under threat like never before. It's a tone both the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee struck in a joint statement released after the new cabinet was named in May. "As we face an unprecedented crisis of national identity, this portfolio will be critical in achieving this government's urgent nation building priorities," the statement said. "Sport unites Canadians like nothing else can – bridging geography, language, and politics." Fundraising for training When it comes to nation building, Nathan Bombrys sees a role for rugby. The Canadian women's rugby union team is ranked second in the world heading into the sport's World Cup in England, which begins in August. Bombrys, who is Rugby Canada's CEO, believes the Canadian women have a shot at winning the tournament. "If you follow the sport of rugby, it's literally planting a flag where it doesn't belong, and we have a team capable of doing that," he said. But the women's team has been fundraising just to pay for proper training. It would go toward things like holding training camps and accessing mental performance coaching. Even if they're successful in reaching the $1-million fundraising goal, Bombrys expects Canada will have one of the lowest budgets in the entire tournament. Performing well at that tournament, which is one of the biggest in the sporting world, would certainly fall under the nation-building category. "I'd like to see this government really appreciate the value that sport brings to the nation, to Canada, and really understand that," he said. Rugby Canada is also looking to see more corporate sponsors involved in the sport. Without more money, the future looks different. Bombrys said he's already having to make difficult decisions that affect athletes and programming. "Will we still play on the global stage? Probably," he said. "But wouldn't we like to be competitive and represent Canada well? Without that support, it's going to be harder and harder to do that." Staying afloat For Olympic athletes across Canada, funding is the number one issue, according to Philippe Marquis, a two-time Olympian in freestyle skiing who serves as the chair of the Canadian Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission. Marquis was happy to see van Koeverden receive the sports file, and like Shoemaker, he feels a sense of urgency. "Sport organizations are at the brink of falling apart with the lack of funding and the resources," he said. "Everyone is tight." The way he sees it, national sport organizations and athletes are both trying to survive. For sport organizations, like Rugby Canada, it's having the resources to properly structure and deliver sport to athletes. For athletes, it's trying to attend camps and access proper training, all while buying food and paying rent. Having or not having that money could determine whether an athlete stays in sport or walks away. The 2024 federal budget increased the monthly living and training allowances under the Athlete Assistance Program, commonly known as carding, by about 23 per cent, retroactive to April 2024. "Was it sufficient? Not necessarily, and it has to be indexed with inflation and obviously what's going on around the world with cost of living," Marquis said. A familiar face The sports portfolio is nothing new to van Koeverden. Beyond his own career as an athlete, van Koeverden was Parliamentary secretary to ministers responsible for sport over two Parliaments. "It's been a joy and a huge privilege, but it's also been tough," van Koeverden said a few days into his new job. "It's a lot of work and I'm embracing all of it. But sometimes it's hard when you achieve a goal because you recognize that there's just so many expectations and work that you've got to do in order to achieve the good outcomes, the reason that you get involved." Exactly what Carney would like his government to accomplish when it comes to sport isn't yet clear. The topic didn't appear in the Liberal platform, nor has there been a mandate letter released for the sport portfolio. Van Koeverden said he's encouraged by how frequently Carney, who was a hockey goaltender in college, talks about sport. "I'm really, really excited because Mark Carney has clearly articulated his love and his passion for sport, physical activity and recreation in Canada," van Koeverden said. Whether Carney's government will increase funding of national sport organizations and multisport service organizations — such as the Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and U Sports — to the level that leaders like Shoemaker are calling for remains to be seen. But van Koeverden agreed he would advocate for an increase in core funding for national sport organizations, describing it as "critical." He also agreed that carding funding should be indexed with inflation, even though budgeting for that could be "a bit ambiguous." But just as important is funding the bottom of the pyramid, van Koeverden said, which helps get more people, including kids, playing sport. In his mind, funding sport at a grassroot level will help foster more Sidney Crosbys and Christine Sinclairs at the top of the pyramid. But keeping the most talented athletes on the ice, field or court, and helping them achieve their potential, is also part of the puzzle. "We continue to advocate to the federal government for an increase in funding [for national sport organizations]," Shoemaker told CBC Sports during the election campaign this past spring. "We think we're making a strong case. We think we're getting through. But only time will tell."
Globe and Mail
7 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
Russian teams remain banned from competing at 2026 Winter Games
Russian teams, including the country's powerful national ice hockey side, remain banned from competing at next year's Milano-Cortina winter Olympics as part of sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday. The IOC was responding to reports out of Russia that hockey officials from the country had held talks with the international ice hockey federation (IIHF) over Olympic participation. 'The IOC Executive Board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place,' the IOC said. 'It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation.' A small number of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes were allowed to take part in the Paris 2024 summer Olympics after rigorous vetting by the IOC. They competed without the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead they took part as neutral athletes. All Russian teams were banned. Belarus has acted as a staging ground for the invasion. Four Russian figure skaters in men's and women's singles were recently approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as neutral athletes. Russian ice hockey players won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and silver four years later in Beijing. The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognizing regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine - Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. 'This (October 2023) recommendation was made after consultations with the International Federations concerned and the other Olympic Movement stakeholders,' the IOC said. 'This position reflects the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee because of its annexation of regional sports organizations on the territory of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.' 'Such action constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognized by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter,' the Olympic body said. The Winter Olympics in Italy run from February 6-22.
CBC
27-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Russian teams remain barred from competing at Milan-Cortina Olympics next February
Russian teams, including the country's powerful hockey side, remain banned from competing at the Milano-Cortina Olympics next February as part of sanctions imposed following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday. The IOC was responding to reports out of Russia that hockey officials from the country had held talks with the International Ice Hockey Federation over Olympic participation. "The IOC executive board recommendation from March 2023 with regard to teams of athletes with a Russian passport remains in place," the IOC said. "It is based on the fact that, by definition, a group of Individual Neutral Athletes cannot be considered a team. We take note that the IIHF has confirmed that it will follow this recommendation. A small number of individual Russian and Belarusian athletes could take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics last summer after rigorous vetting by the IOC. They competed without the Russian or Belarusian flag and anthem. Instead they took part as neutral athletes. All Russian teams were banned. Belarus has acted as a staging ground for the invasion. Four Russian figure skaters in men's and women's singles were recently approved by the International Skating Union to try to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as neutral athletes. Russian hockey players won gold at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics in South Korea and silver four years later in Beijing. The IOC suspended the Russian Olympic Committee in October 2023 for recognizing regional Olympic councils for Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine — Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. "This [October 2023] recommendation was made after consultations with the International Federations concerned and the other Olympic Movement stakeholders," the IOC said. "This position reflects the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee because of its annexation of regional sports organizations on the territory of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine." "Such action constitutes a breach of the Olympic Charter because it violates the territorial integrity of the NOC of Ukraine, as recognized by the IOC in accordance with the Olympic Charter," the Olympic body said. The Olympics in Italy run from February 6-22.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Thompson Leads USA To World Championship Win
The 2025 IIHF World Championships turned out to be historic for the United States, as the Americans got past host Sweden to get the final against Switzerland and won in dramatic fashion, as Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson scored the golden goal early in overtime to give Team USA a 1-0 victory and their first World Championship gold medal since 1933. Thompson tied for the club lead in the tournament with six goals, which included a hat trick and game winner against Norway in the preliminary round. The Sabres forward said last month after the end of the regular season that after being invited as an injury replacement for the NHL Four Nation Face-Off, that he wanted to go to the Worlds to stay on USA Hockey's radar for the upcoming Olympics in Milano/Cortina next February. Other Sabres Stories Is Peterka In Prime Position For Big Payday? Sabres Summer Dilemmas - Bowen Byram Sabres Facing An Off-Season Of Change TAGE THOMPSON SCORES THE GOLDEN GOAL AND IS THE HERO FOR TEAM USA!!! @usahockey | @BuffaloSabres | #MensWorlds — NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 25, 2025 'I think that'll be just another good stepping stone to try to continue to build off of a decent year and continue to grow that confidence and round out my game," Thompson said. "Anytime you throw on that USA jersey, it's a huge honor, so to be able to go over there and compete for something will be exciting." After losing to Canada at Four Nations, Team USA is likely to be going through some roster changes. Veterans like Brock Nelson, Vincent Trocheck, and Chris Krieder could be left off the club in favor of dynamic scorers like Thompson, Montreal's Cole Caufield, and Utah's Logan Cooley and Clayton Keller. Follow Michael on X, Instagram, and Bluesky @MikeInBuffalo
Japan Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Lindsey Vonn feeling 'amazing' ahead of bid to make U.S. Olympic team at age 40
Lindsey Vonn, who is making a bid to get back to the Olympics at age 40, said Wednesday that her body felt better than it did seven years earlier when she last competed at the Winter Games. Vonn said a partial knee replacement last year helped her overall fitness and enabled her to seek a spot on the U.S. ski team for the Milano Cortina Olympics in February 2026. "My body feels amazing," Vonn said at an event hosted by U.S. Olympic broadcaster NBCUniversal. "Now that my knee is good again, I don't have any of the other problems," she added. "So my back's great. My body feels good. I feel better than I did in the last Olympics, by a lot actually." Vonn, who boasts 82 World Cup wins and counts one gold among her three Olympic medals, had retired in February 2019. In November 2024, Vonn announced she was planning a comeback. She earned a second-place finish in the super-G at the Women's World Cup Finals in March. "I have done everything I wanted to do in my career. This is not something that I ever expected," Vonn said of seeking to compete at the next Olympics. "I'm going in looking to enjoy the experience, looking to be at a place that I love, that I've had a lot of success at," she added. Climate change has prompted concerns about whether the Italian ski town of Cortina will have enough snow during the Games. Vonn said she was not worried about the conditions. "Cortina has historically been so good at making a perfect racetrack, whether it's man-made or natural snow," she said. "No matter what the condition, it will be pristine. I am 100% sure of that." American snowboarder Chloe Kim, who is chasing a third gold medal, also said she was preparing to handle any conditions. "I've competed in blizzards, no snow, too much snow, windy, too warm where the snow gets really slushy and grippy," Kim said. "I've been doing this since I was four years old. Hopefully those skills will get me through."
