Funding for innovation in elite sport is getting a $2 million boost this year from the federal government and private money raised through Own The Podium.
Federal sport minister Bal Gosal made the announcement with Canadian Tire, the Canadian Olympic Committee and the Canadian Paralympic Committee in February, laying out the framework for a strategy designed to inspire the country through high-performance sport.
Funding will be allocated through Innovations 4 Gold to support initiatives in human performance, sports engineering and sports medicine.
“Sport is something that creates healthy communities and makes kids excel in education as well,” says Gosal. “We want all Canadians to benefit from sport and we know our athletes are the greatest inspiration to remain active, to set goals and to strive for excellence.”
Canadian Tire is contributing $750,000 to the I4G program over three years and it is also a prime partner of an emerging program to get kids more active at school.
“From the playground to the podium, we invest $45 million back into our communities. A large part of that money is going to get more people into sport,” says Canadian Tire vice-president Duncan Fulton. “Sport inspires people to be better. Whether it’s to perform better, think better, feel better, there’s something really inspirational about being active.”
