Canadian Olympic Committee Launches $8.7 Million Excellence Fund
Includes $1 million Commitment from Government of Canada

Toronto, February 25, 2003 – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), with the Government of Canada, announced today the launch of the COC’s new Excellence Fund, which will invest $8.7 million over the next two years to support high performance athletes, coaches, national sport federations and Canadian Sport Centres to help boost Canada’s chances of success at upcoming Olympic and Pan American Games."

As the largest private supporter of high performance sport in Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee is taking a leadership role in investing as much as it can to support Canada’s athletes,” said COC Chief Executive Officer Chris Rudge. “Our new Excellence Fund will ensure that those athletes and sports with the best potential for success receive increased support. We will continue to work with the business community, Canadian government and private donors to increase support for sport excellence in Canada.”

The Excellence Fund, which is the only fund of its kind in Canada that specifically rewards potential sport success and provides direct financial assistance to high performance athletes and coaches, builds on existing COC funding programs that combined provide approximately $13.3 million per year to support high performance sport and Games missions. Since the aim of the Excellence Fund is to generate incremental revenue for athletes and high performance sport, the COC is encouraging the Canadian business and philanthropic community to support the fund.

The COC is pleased that the Government of Canada, through Sport Canada, is investing $1 million to the Excellence Fund to confirm its commitment to Canada’s high performance athletes.

“The Government of Canada is committed to working with partners to create a leading-edge and athlete centered sport system. This joint investment will enable our Olympic athletes to perform successfully and consistently on the world stage," said Secretary of State (Amateur Sport) Paul DeVillers.

Petro-Canada, one of the COC’s longtime sponsors, is also supporting the Excellence Fund by contributing $750,000 from its Olympic Torch Scholarship Fund.

Approximately $4.8 million of the Excellence Fund will be directed toward athletes and sports preparing for the summer Olympic Games in Athens, with half being allocated for 2003 and the other half being set aside for 2004, contingent upon 2003 performances. Winter sport funding recipients, who will receive $1 million from the fund, will be announced this summer. The rest of the funding, approximately $2.9 million, will go directly to athletes ranked Top 5 in the world and toward supporting the six Canadian Sport Centres located across the country. The attached backgrounder provides a sport-by-sport breakdown of the funding to summer sports in 2003.

To determine how much each sport would receive, a Sport Review Committee of five technical representatives, chaired by Mark Lowry, the COC’s Executive Director of Sport, reviewed each summer Olympic and Pan Am-only sport over the past few months to identify athletes, teams, coaches and programs with the greatest potential for success at future Olympic and Pan American Games.

“This initiative of investing in athletes, coaches and sports with the highest probability of success at upcoming Games is critical if Canada wants to be competitive internationally,” said Glenroy Gilbert, Olympic gold medallist in the 4X100 metre relay in Atlanta in 1996 and a recipient of funding as a National Sprint Coach. “I want to thank the Canadian Olympic Committee for stepping up to the plate by creating the Excellence Fund to support high performance sport. With additional support, more Canadian athletes can achieve their dream of reaching the Olympic podium.”

The COC, a private, not-for-profit corporation, is the largest private supporter of high performance sport in Canada. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada's involvement in the Olympic movement, including Canada's participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For more information see the COC website: www.coa.ca

Media Contacts:
Jackie DeSouza
Office: 416-324-4122
Cell: 416-806-4342
jdesouza@coa.ca

Hélène Lapointe
Office: 514-861-337 Ext. 227
Cell: 514-971-1813
hlapointe@coa.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Excellence Fund

The Canadian Olympic Committee’s Excellence Fund is a new funding program that was created to provide incremental funding to support athletes with the best potential for international success. The Fund supports high performance athletes, coaches, national sport federations and the six Canadian Sport Centres. To generate additional funding for the Excellence Fund in subsequent years, the COC is appealing to potential partners and donors in the business and philanthropic community.

The Excellence Fund will provide $8.7 million over two years (2003-2004) to support athletes preparing for the upcoming Olympic Games. Approximately half the funding will be distributed in 2003 (including the $1 million contribution from the Government of Canada) and the remainder in 2004, with 2004 funding being contingent on 2003 performance benchmarks. The $8.7-million investment will be distributed as follows:

*Summer and winter athletes preparing for the Olympic Games and ranked in the Top 5 in the world will receive $8,000 annually in the two years leading up to the Games.

Sport Review ProcessTo determine the breakdown of the funding from the Excellence Fund, the Canadian Olympic Committee undertook a Sport Review Process, involving detailed reviews of each sport by a Sport Review Committee of five technical representatives, chaired by the COC’s Executive Director of Sport.

The Sport Review Committee operated under the principle that funding will support:

· athletes, teams coaches and programs with the highest probability of achieving podium and Top 8 results in future Olympic Games and podium results at Pan American Games; and
· athletes and teams which are identified as having future potential to achieve podium and Top 8 results in future Olympic Games and podium results at Pan American Games.

The objectives of the Sport Reviews were to:

· Identify athletes, teams, coaches and programs with the greatest potential for international competitive success at future Olympic and Pan American Games (podium and Top 8 finishes)
· Determine performance benchmarks for the next Olympic Games, senior world championships and junior world championships (to be re-assessed every two years)
· Understand each national sport federation’s plan for achieving international sport excellence in the future and consider possible solutions to the major gaps affecting their success; and
· Provide recommendations for strategic and targeted investments for support of athletes, coaches, national sport federation technical programs and special projects, which will enhance athlete success at future Olympic and Pan American Games.

The Sport Review Committee members were:

· Therese Brisson, member of National Women’s Hockey Team since 1993. Career highlights include winning five world championships (1994, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001), and gold (2002) and silver (1998) medals at the Olympic Winter Games. Brisson is currently an MBA candidate at York University’s Schulich School of Business.
· Dale Henwood, president, Canadian Sport Centre-Calgary. Henwood has been involved in high performance sport since 1976. He was an assistant coach for Canada’s National Hockey Team from 1983 to 1992, including for three Olympic Games (1984, 1998, 1992 – silver medal in Albertville, France)
· Brian Richardson, head coach, Canadian National Rowing Team. As a head coach for the Canadian and Australian rowing teams since 1986, Richardson has seen his teams win 45 world championship and Olympic medals.
· Phil Schlote, Manager, High Performance Unit, Sport Canada. All information collected via the Sport Review Process is shared with Sport Canada and incorporated into its annual Sport Funding and Accountability Framework review.
· Mark Lowry, Executive Director, Sport, Canadian Olympic Committee (Committee Chair).