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Funding Will Aid Athlete and Coaching Development
TORONTO, July 28 /CNW/ - Ontario's athletes can count on the support of
their province as they prepare to compete at Canada's top tournament for
amateur sport, Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson said today at the
unveiling of Team Ontario's uniforms for the 2005 Canada Summer Games.
"Our government recognizes the dedication of our athletes and coaches to
reach this level of competition," said Watson. "We are committed to working
with the provincial sport community to ensure that our athletes have the
support they need to achieve their potential."
The 2005 Canada Summer Games will take place in Regina from August 6 to
20. Competitors will vie for medals and personal bests in 16 sports, including
events for athletes with physical and developmental disabilities.
In 2005-06, the Ministry of Health Promotion is providing $7.6 million to
help 52 provincial sport organizations coordinate athlete and leadership
development, certify coaches, officials and volunteers, host athlete training
camps and stage competitions.
"The funding provided by the Ministry of Health Promotion supports the
development of sport at all levels of competition," said Jim Bradley, Chief
Executive Officer of the Sport Alliance of Ontario. "It ensures that our
athletes and coaches have the ability to be the best, and that all Ontarians
can participate in sport and physical activity to the best of their ability."
"Team Ontario represents the pinnacle of our provincial sport system and
rests on the solid foundation and dedication of our athletes and coaches
supported by volunteers," said Dr. Gene Sutton, Team Ontario's chef de
mission. "Our goal is to provide the best experience possible for Team Ontario
athletes on and off the field of play."
Today's event included Team Ontario Flag Bearer Evan Lewis. The honour of
being chosen flag bearer is based on outstanding leadership abilities,
academic achievement and service given back to the community by athletes.
Lewis is a member of the Ontario Sailing Team and a recipient of the Duke of
Edinburgh bronze, silver and gold awards for leadership.
The government's focus on sport is just one part of ACTIVE2010 - the
province's strategy to increase Ontario's sport participation and physical
activity rate by the year 2010, at least 55 per cent of Ontarians are
physically active.
"Our athletes are invaluable role models of physical activity for our
kids to emulate," said Watson. "We want to see kids put down their video games
and pick up a sport for the good of their health."
Disponible en français
www.healthyontario.com
www.active2010.ca
Backgrounder
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ACTIVE2010: THE GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO'S SPORT AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
STRATEGY
ACTIVE2010 is a comprehensive strategy to increase participation in sport
and physical activity throughout Ontario. Its goal is to achieve higher
physical activity rates and increased sport participation in order to improve
the quality of life in the province.
ACTIVE2010 is a strategy that links sport development and physical
activity to:
- Increase Ontario's rate of sport participation and physical activity
so that by the year 2010, at least 55 per cent of Ontarians are
physically active
- Implement the Ontario Sport Action Plan and the Ontario Physical
Activity Plan in partnership with sector stakeholders
- Enhance sport development leading up to the 2010 Olympics.
ACTIVE2010's successes will reduce the incidence of chronic diseases
associated with inactivity and ultimately ease health care costs.
ACTIVE2010 will partner with all levels of government, community groups,
sport and recreation organizations and the private sector in order to achieve
these goals.
ACTIVE2010: Promotion and education
One key component of ACTIVE2010 is a promotion and education campaign
directed to age groups with the greatest need and where the greatest impact
can be made to increase physical activity: 10 to 14 year olds and 45 to 65
year olds.
Studies tell us that 57 per cent of children over age 12 are not active
enough to achieve the health benefits associated with an active lifestyle.
Similarly, only 34 per cent of older Ontarians are active enough to maintain
their health.
The province's first promotional campaign, Pause to Play, is directed at
youth between 10 to 14 years of age. Its aim is to encourage children and
youth to make physical activity and sport a regular part of their lives.
The second campaign, Walking: An Activity of A Lifetime, focuses on
motivating adults between the ages of 45 to 65 to walk a minimum of 30 minutes
a day in order to improve their health.
While most Ontarians realize the importance of participating in sport and
physical activity, the number of Ontarians who regularly participate in health
maintaining physical activity has been decreasing.
Funding for Provincial Sport Organizations (PSO)
PSOs are registered not-for-profit organizations run by volunteer boards
of directors and volunteer members; larger PSOs have professional staff.
Provincial Sport Organizations coordinate athlete development programs,
organize community and national athletic competitions, and recruit and train
athletes, coaches, officials and volunteers for their sport. Amateur athletes
for Team Ontario are selected through qualifying processes run by Provincial
Sport Organizations.
PSOs stimulate high performance and broad-based participation in amateur
sport, and physical activity in general at all levels and in all regions of
Ontario. This is directly aligned with the goals and objectives of the
province's ACTIVE2010 to increase the rate of physical activity in the
province.
There are 55 provincial sport organizations that are currently eligible
for financial assistance from the province. Every year, these organizations
can apply for funding to help them implement programs to support their amateur
athletes.
This year (2005-06), $5.7 million was distributed among the 52 PSOs that
applied to the program for funding. This funding was supplemented by an
additional $1.5 million through the ACTIVE2010 program and $345,000 for the
newly developed Sport Development Initiative, for a total of $7.6 million in
direct funding support to provincial amateur sport organizations.
Disponible en français
www.healthyontario.com
www.ACTIVE2010.ca
Backgrounder
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
TEAM ONTARIO AT THE CANADA GAMES
Team Ontario
Team Ontario 2005 includes about 400 people, including the athletes,
coaches and managers of the 16 participating sports, delegates to the National
Artists Program and 18 mission staff.
The Ministry of Health Promotion provides annual funding of $150,000 to
the Sport Alliance of Ontario to coordinate the administration of Team
Ontario. Alliance staff and volunteers from the sport and recreation community
serve as mission staff for Team Ontario providing support to an assigned sport
before, during and after the Canada Games.
For more information, visit the Sport Alliance of Ontario's website at
www.sportalliance.com.
Canada Games
The Canada Games are a national multi-sport event for provincial-level
athletes who are pursuing development toward national and international
competitions. Team Ontario members will compete against the best athletes from
across Canada to determine which province or territory will win the Canada
Games Flag. Noted professional athletes in major league sports such as Chris
Pronger and Paul Kariya from the NHL, NBA star Steve Nash and Lui Passaglia of
the CFL have also competed at the Canada Games
More than 4,500 athletes, coaches, managers and officials from 10
provinces and three territories will participate.
Athletes from all provinces and territories in Canada who qualify through
a formal selection process participate in the Games. Each provincial and
territorial government is responsible for coordinating the formation of a
provincial/territorial team with the assistance of the respective
provincial/territorial sport organizations. In 1993, athletes with
disabilities were integrated into the Games.
For more information, visit the 2005 Canada Summer Games website at
www.regina2005.ca.
Disponible en français
www.healthyontario.com
www.active2010.ca
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available on
the CNW Photo Network and archived at http://photos.newswire.ca.
Additional archived images are also available on the CNW Photo Archive
website at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited
members of the media/
-30-
For further information: Rui Manuel Estevao, Minister's Office, (416) 326-8497; Guy Lepage, Communications Branch, (416) 314-3497
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