A top priority of the Canadian Olympic Foundation is funding our future Olympians. The next Olympic legends are training now. They are travelling to competitions, tirelessly practicing their routines, and dedicating their lives to their sport. Next Gen athletes are talented, high-performance athletes that are five to eight years away from the podium. This year, with the help of Sport Canada’s matching program, $8 million was directed to these future Olympians through Canada’s sport experts: our National Sport Federations and the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network.
We launched our largest campaign in Foundation history, inspired by the $2.5 million donation made by the David and Ruth Asper Family. This is the largest individual donation made to Olympic sport through the Canadian Olympic Foundation. The Foundation produced a comprehensive campaign including a 30-second video resulting in coast to coast coverage and over 50 million media impressions, highlighting the importance of supporting our young, talented high-performance athletes with podium potential.
“We believe in the power of sport and the power of philanthropy. Together we can build support for our athletes, coaches and sport in Canada.”
— Paul McIntyre Royston, CEO, Canadian Olympic Foundation
For the third consecutive year, the HBC Bursary Program saw 50 athletes receive a $10,000 annual award for five years, allowing for sustainable and consistent funding to help support them in their Olympic journey.
In its second year, the Toller Cranston Award, honouring the memory of the legendary figure skater, celebrated courage, creativity, and expression. Fourteen skaters were given the award this year based on their performance at the Canadian championships and how they represented the values that Toller Cranston embodied.
Thanks to our donors, the Future Olympians Fund was able to award eight of our Next Gen athletes and their primary coaches (16 total awards) with $5,000 for two years. This gives both athletes and coaches access to the funding they critically need so that they can continue training our future Olympians who will become the champions of tomorrow.