Canadian Reflections

Wow, what a games.

Seriously.

Some of the most poignant moments in sports history. From the aerial jumpers risking life and limb (and sometimes sacrificing limbs) to the upsets in mens hockey to the amazing final marathon ski race this was an Olymipcs to be remembered for every country involved.

Their decision was a big one: fund athletes to a much, much larger extent. Invite corporate sponsors. Organize charities and generally raise the funding level by about 1000%.

It was a 4 year test program. The goal was to: get 20 medals, achieve a top 5 finish. The committees felt that if either of these could be accomplished, it would have made a significant difference in the overall athletic quality of life in Canada.

Sure, athletes often still need to work jobs during the off-season, and need to work their butts off during the training season. But, the average level of sponsorship has gone from a paltry 20% to an acceptable 50% level.

And, the results speak for themselves.

But, in many ways, none moreso than Canada.

4 years ago Canada had a decision to make. We’d place poorly in Salt Lake City. Not dismally, but considering we’d been gunning for a top spot (or ‘hoping’ is probably a better word), our non-top-10 finish was bad.

The government, athletes associations and Canadian Olympics Committee realized they either had to support the athletes much, much more or they had to withdraw their support completely to all but a handful of sports. Giving 20% support to thousands of athletes (the typical offer) simply wasn’t enough.

The committees decided, quite simply, to increase their support drastically. To allow new Foundations. To allow corporate sponsorship. To encourage more participation at the college and community levels. It was a huge, huge change in Canadian sports participation. But it was only a test. The goal was to either get 20 medals or to place top 5 (previous best was 9th).

The results speak for themselves.

Here’s a list of the total number of medals given over the past 20 years, the number of Canadian medals won, and the percentage of the total that are Canadian:

1984 – 117, 4, 3.4%
1988 – 138, 5, 3.6%
1992 – 171, 7, 4%
1994 – 183, 13, 7.1%
1998 – 205, 15, 7.3%
2002 – 236, 17, 7.2%
2006 – 249, 24, 9.6%

But this isn’t just about medals. This is about the athletes. The 30 year old ones, the 20 year old ones and the 10 year old ones. Creating a culture that supports athletes starts at the community level, through college and onto the amateur / professional tours.

It takes a lot of money, and I, for one, am glad that we have decided to support our athletes.

Top 3 is an amazing finish, and one that every Canadian deserves to be proud of. Go Canada!