Government and nonprofit funding for athletes
Focusing on medal hopefuls is a great concept and one which I support,
but it takes years and years of competing and training before someone becomes
a medal hopeful! There must be good funding for amateur sports at all levels
starting from the very young through the teen years, where talent really needs
a boost with coaching and practice. If medal count is important then funding
must start years and years before the Olympics. Spending money to send talented
athletes to the Olympics is never wasted, but when winning and losing is measured
in hundredths of a second and in millimetres, it is hard to celebrate someone
or a team that is seconds/metres off the pace. It is the nature of this or
any game.
Two separate funds are needed: one for amateur sports - distributed equitably
and another Olympic fund for those who have a shot at winning at this elite
level. I would rather focus millions on the Canadians we send to the Olympics
than the millions we spend on failed attempts to bring the Olympics to Canada
-- Lee Pigeau
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