TORONTO (February 8, 2024) – The Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) on Thursday unveiled the 15 Olympian-led projects that will receive the OLY Canada Legacy Grant, now in its fifth edition.
This edition awarded a total of $100,000 across 15 non-profit initiatives led by Olympic athletes, each focused on access to sport, safe sport or sustainability in their communities. This brings the total funding provided by the grant since its launch in 2019 to $345,000.
The OLY Canada Legacy Grant is designed to reflect the three pillars of Team Canada's Impact Agenda – the COC's commitment to making sport safe, inclusive and barrier-free so more youth can play and stay in sport.
The selected projects are divided into three categories:
- Platform – helps strengthen the sports system and support the athlete’s journey
- Play – improves access, encourages inclusivity and diversity among young people and communities at all levels of sport
- Planet – Promotes and supports environmental sustainability, the health of our planet, and the preservation of our sporting environments
Beneficiaries of the fifth edition of the OLY Canada Legacy Grant are:
Platform:
Carol Huynh Ole – Wrestling – Beijing 2008, London 2012
Remove barriers Empowering wrestling coach development through panels, workshops and camps to promote diversity in the sport and create a safer environment for female athletes.
Jill Moffat OLY – Rowing – Tokyo 2020
Paid supports Elite Canadian female athletes who have any family planning needs as they prepare for and recover from national team events are provided with scholarships, education, mentorship from fellow athletes and legal resources. The project is in collaboration with Olympians Melissa Bishop Nriagu (athletics), Mandy Bujold (boxing), Kim Goucher (basketball), and Paralympian Erica Gavel (wheelchair basketball).
Jessica Todos Ole – Artistic Gymnastics – Los Angeles 1984
Jessica Todos Flip It Hosts an educational retreat for female and male leaders in the gymnastics community. The event facilitates conversations around strengthening allyship and adopting procedures, behaviors and practices to support a more ethical and safe journey in the sport.
He plays:
Caroline Ouellette, OLY – Ice Hockey – Salt Lake City 2002, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014
Girls hockey celebration is a four-day event in Montreal that connects Olympic and national team women's hockey players with the next generation to inspire more young girls to play hockey and help them discover opportunities in the sport.
Brandon McBride OLY – Athletics – Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
McBride United Youth Mentorship Program It is an eight-week mentorship program that helps unidentified racialized youth develop a growth-oriented mindset and increase representation on the platform in various fields of play.
Phil Monckton OLY – Rowing – Montreal 1976, Los Angeles 1984
the David and Mary Thompson Rowing Program This program introduces rowing to new Canadian youth, many of whom have not been exposed to organized sports prior to this program. Participants embark on a journey that takes them through a range of activities from basic swimming to advanced paddling, all with the primary goal of building resilience and perseverance.
Charles Hamlin Ollie – Short track speed skating – Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022
Read the verse on integration Welcomes newcomers to Quebec with an introductory ski course focused on community building and fun against the backdrop of Laval's famous Place Bell.
Laura Stacey OLY – Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022
LS7 participates in a charity road hockey tournament It is an annual event that participates Local community road hockey tournament, raising money for charities that will help unrecognized youth get into sports programs.
Cendrine Brown Ollie – Cross-Country Skiing – Pyeongchang 2018, Beijing 2022
Laura LeClair OLY – Cross-Country Skiing – Beijing 2022
Feminized It organizes camps, trains ambassadors, and creates mentorship programs for female coaches with the goal of keeping cross-country skiing athletes at the highest levels. The program is shaped by the values of cohesion, participation, mutual assistance and boldness.
Liam Gill OLY – Figure Skating – Beijing 2022
Liam and friends It welcomes youth participants from rural communities in Alberta and the Northwest Territories where many Indigenous athletes face barriers – poverty, isolation, health issues, intergenerational trauma from residential schools, cultural barriers, and lack of opportunities – that impact access to sport. Youth will be provided with safe opportunities to socialize and have fun while developing their leadership skills.
Ariane Bonhomme OLY – Cycling Track – Tokyo 2020
Pathfinders Project It takes an anti-colonial approach to the sport in order to promote Indigenous representation in cycling at both the elite and grassroots levels. By showcasing local talent at an elite level, Pathfinders It hopes to offer the sporting community an alternative framework for nurturing elite athletes in a safer environment.
Mark Pearson OLY – Field Hockey – Beijing 2008, Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020
Field of dreams is a summer series designed to engage underserved rural communities along the Gatineau River in the sport of hockey. Two weekends of programming will remove barriers to sports infrastructure and create a safe environment for learning and participating in hockey, with the goal of inspiring a love of the sport and the Olympic Movement.
Kelly Ryan Oly – Fencing – Tokyo 2020
In collaboration with fencing clubs throughout Alberta, Removing fences for fencers It will support Indigenous communities and young girls with the financial costs of introductory fencing programs to encourage physical fitness and skill development.
planet:
Julie Anne Stehle OLY – Athletics – Tokyo 2020
Inspired by the idea of giving running shoes another life, ReRUN shoe project Removes barriers to a more active lifestyle by distributing lightly used shoes that would otherwise be thrown away to under-resourced youth.
Marion Thénault OLY – Free Skating – Beijing 2022
Small footprint, big leaps It sets guidelines for individual athletes to become carbon neutral in their sporting activities while also pushing event organizers to apply those guidelines, starting with the FIS Aerial Freestyle World Cup in Le Rollet.
The OLY Canada Legacy Grant is part of the OLY Canada Alumni Initiative launched in 2017 by COC's Olympic Sports Marketing and Legacy team. The program was created to complement the global initiative started by the World Olympians Association that awards Olympians post-nominal letters (OLY) in recognition of years of hard work, dedication and promotion of Olympic values. For more information about the fifth edition of the OLY Canada Legacy Grant process and selected projects, visit the OLY Canada website.
quotes
“After five editions of the OLY Canada Legacy Grant, I continue to be amazed by these amazing projects and everything Canadian athletes are doing to make a real impact in their communities. The depth and breadth of these programs demonstrates the many ways sport can help make the world a better place. We are proud By providing funding to our largest group of beneficiaries to date and we look forward to seeing the impacts of their programs on Canadians and their communities.
– David Shoemaker, COC CEO and Secretary General
“We are thrilled to support the recipients of this year’s OLY Canada Legacy Grant, which is an important part of Team Canada’s impact agenda. We have witnessed for five years now how significant an impact these programs can have on their communities and the country as a whole. In this edition, we are proud By supporting more projects led by Olympians than ever before, all of which are nothing short of inspiring.
– Jacqueline Ryan, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation and Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of COC
“I am honored to receive the generous grant from the Canadian Olympic Committee for the Slide to Integration event, where skating becomes the common thread of a sporting experience rooted in our culture. Through graceful movement on the ice, we aim to welcome newcomers, strengthen family bonds, and promote integration, as Sports transcend borders, uniting our communities through a shared passion.
— OLY Charles Hamlin, five-time Olympian in speed skating, OLY Legacy Grant recipient (5th edition)
“It is amazing to be awarded the OLY Legacy Grant. This grant enables us to make a tangible difference for current athletes, by addressing the critical resource gap in the area of family planning. We have met across different sports and have different experiences with motherhood, so it is exciting to bring together Our creativity, curiosity and passion come together to create something special.”
— Jill Moffat Ollie, Olympian, rower, Ollie Legacy Scholarship (5th edition)
About OLY Canada
OLY Canada is an alumni initiative launched by the Canadian Olympic Committee in 2017. The program was created to complement the global initiative started by the World Olympians Association that awards Olympians post-nominal letters (OLY) in recognition of their years of hard work, dedication and promotion of Olympic values.
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