Great News for Saskatchewan Athletes

The Government of Saskatchewan and its partner Sask Sport Inc. today announced a three-part Sport Participation Initiative for Saskatchewan athletes. The initiative includes the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence, The Accessibility Program and the Vancouver Olympic Pavilion budget transfer.

Sask Sport Inc. will invest $350,000 per year to support the Saskatchewan Program for Athletic Excellence, a new program designed to support our province's elite athletes. The athletes will be able to use the money, up to $6,000 per year for senior carded athletes and up to $3,600 for athletes who hold a development card, toward living allowances, training costs, costs for training camps and competitions and sports equipment.

"Our athletes are ambassadors for Saskatchewan at both the national and international level, and this program will offer them some of the financial support they need for their future success," Premier Brad Wall said. "Not only will this ensure the well-being of our athletes, it will help provide them with the same opportunities as athletes in other provinces across the country."

"I'm really excited that Sask Sport Inc. has established a program to support the elite athletes coming out of our province," 2010 Olympic Gold Medalist Lucas Makowsky said. "The financial support will help Saskatchewan's athletes keep their focus on becoming the world's best; and, as a result, ensure that Saskatchewan's youth will always have positive role models to look up to!"

Sask Sport Inc. will also invest $250,000 a year in the Accessibility Program to support Saskatchewan athletes with disabilities. This money will help buy specialized equipment, provide sport club development grants, increase membership participation assistance and improve core funding, to enable persons with disabilities better access and more opportunity to participate in sports.

The third initiative is a one-time investment of $232,000 to the 2010 Legacy Fund from the remainder of the Saskatchewan 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Pavilion budget. The funding will help disadvantaged youth participate in sport, culture and recreation programming, such as KidSport, Creative Kids, and Take the Lead program, and is in addition to the $445,147 already in the Saskatchewan 2010 Legacy Fund which Sask Sport Inc. administers.