(ATR) The new Canadian federal budget is being applauded by Vancouver 2010 and panned by the Canadian Olympic Committee.
The government says it is accelerating the $CAN 110 million Own the Podium program aimed at developing the Canadian team for the 2010 Games, which VANOC is praising.
But it’s going nowhere on the Road to Excellence, the program of the COC aimed at summer sports. It received no funding.
“Profound disappointment” is the COC reaction.
The Road to Excellence is supposed to prepare Canadian athletes for a top 16 finish in Beijing and top 12 in London.
Own the Podium’s goal is to land Canada atop medals standings at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Canada failed to win gold at Montreal’s 1976 Summer Games and Calgary’s 1988 Winter Games.
The only new sports funding in the budget was $2 million for promotion of uniquely Canadian lacrosse and three-down football.
“If I were in summer sports myself and I were an athlete I would be somewhat disappointed that my needs were deemed to be less important to this
country than those of winter sport, just because there were winter Games coming to Canada,” said COC president Chris Rudge.
“Summer sport is twice as big as winter sport, we are a full summer sport and winter sport nation. Kids, and there are more of them, work just as hard as the winter kids for recognition and are just as deserving of support.”
There is a glimmer of hope in that Canadian voters could be going to the polls this spring if the Conservative minority government calls an election.
“If they are saving it for the campaign and are going to give it to us at some point I would be very positively disposed to receiving that,” Rudge said.
The federal budget also proposes giving the Vancouver-bound Olympic family relief from Canadian income taxes, customs duties and the federal value added Goods and Service Tax.
With reporting from Vancouver by Bob Mackin.
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