Governments of Canada and British Columbia Collaborate to Help Make Sport More Accessible
Grants provided to provincial and community organizations will help increase participation in sport
VICTORIA, March 29, 2019 /CNW/ - More British Columbians can take part in sports ranging from archery to wheelchair basketball this year thanks to the BC Sport Participation Program (BCSPP), funded equally by the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
Together, the governments are investing nearly $1.2 million in 2018–19 to support projects that strengthen physical literacy and the participation of children and youth in sport. This new funding will also improve sport opportunities for Indigenous, under-represented and marginalized populations.
The funding supports more than 400 sport programs and activities involving more than 11,000 children and youth and close to 500 coaches. This will create new opportunities for British Columbians to discover new sports and provide increased access to physical activities tailored to their interests and that promote a healthy lifestyle.
This commitment includes $244,000 to strengthen the capacity and leadership of Indigenous sport organizations and to increase culturally relevant sport programming for Indigenous children and youth, such as supporting athletes from British Columbia training for the North American Indigenous Games.
The BCSPP funding also supports pilot projects, resource development and two application-based grant programs—the Community Sport Development Program (CSDP) and the Provincial Sport Development Program (PSDP)—that help reduce barriers to participating in sport. Both grant programs are administered by viaSport on behalf of the provincial government.
The CSDP offers grants up to $3,000 to support local, community-based sport projects, while the PSDP provides grants up to $30,000 to support sport projects with regional or provincial reach.
These grant programs provided 72 sport and community organizations with $545,000 in 2018–19. Recipients include the BC Wheelchair Basketball Society, the BC Freestyle Ski Association, Special Olympics BC, the Gibsons Curling Club and the Vancouver Quidditch league. See the backgrounder for a list of grant recipients for both programs.
The window for eligible organizations to submit applications for the 2019-20 PSDP will be open from April 2 to May 2, 2019. The application form and grant information can be accessed online.
Since its inception in 2004, the BCSPP has provided more than $14 million to provincial sport and community organizations. This funding has helped train more than 42,000 sports leaders, and allowed more than a million British Columbians to participate in sport.
Quotes
"We are putting our athletes and children in sport first from the playground to the podium by increasing access to sport. We are proud to partner with the Government of British Columbia to give grants to organizations that are doing work to make sport more inclusive for all British Columbians."
—The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport
"Participating in sport promotes physical and mental health and helps people connect to their communities. Through our partnership with the Government of Canada, we are proud to enhance sports opportunities in Indigenous communities and provide British Columbians with a wide range of physical activities that will encourage healthy lifestyles."
—The Honourable Lisa Beare, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Government of British Columbia
"Inclusive sport happens when there are increased opportunities for participation. Through collaboration, we can reduce barriers to sport and allow more British Columbians to experience the unique benefits that sport has to offer. viaSport is proud to recommend these organizations and recognize their commitment to providing meaningful opportunities for underserved populations in their communities."
—Sheila Bouman, CEO, viaSport
Quick Facts
viaSport emboldens and enables leaders to provide quality sport experiences that are inclusive, safe and meaningful. With the support of the Province of British Columbia, viaSport transforms and scales the impact of sport through social innovation, funding and capacity building.
The Provincial Sport Development Fund is open for applications once a year in April. The Community Sport Program Development Fund has two application periods per year (summer/fall and winter/spring). Intake periods, guidelines and application forms are available at www.viasport.ca/grants.
Associated Links
Sport Canada
viaSport
Grant recipients for the CSDP and PSDP
Backgrounder
2018–19 Community Sport Program Development Fund Grant Recipients | |||
Community | Recipient | Program Description | Amount |
Barriere | Barriere Recreation Society | Offers curling programs for youth, seniors and adults and provides specialized equipment that allows seniors with disabilities to curl. | $3,000 |
Bowen Island | Bowen Island Gymnastics Club | Bowen Island Gymnastics – provides girls 14 years and up with strength, agility and flexibility skills for dance and tumbling gymnastics. | $3,000 |
Burnaby | BC Athletics | Run Jump Throw Wheel – trains coaches and introduces elementary school children to running, jumping, throwing and wheelchair sports activities. | $3,000 |
Burnaby | Canadian Adaptive Climbing Society | Canadian Adaptive Climbing Program 2019 – offers 15 new programs to help people with a disability learn how to climb in local climbing gyms. | $3,000 |
Burnaby | Vancouver Goalball Club | Athlete Development Camp – allows goalball athletes to develop physical strength, mental preparedness and sport specific skills. | $1,500 |
Chase | Skmana Ski and Snowshoe Club | Ski Skmana Youth Program – provides free weekly instruction for kids aged 4 to 9 and free access to equipment for under-represented groups in the community. | $3,000 |
Chilliwack | Chilliwack Tennis Society | Children's Tennis – offers summer introductory tennis programs and winter-based indoor programs for children aged 5 to 12. | $1,600 |
Chilliwack | Chilliwack Centre of Excellence Paddling Club | Provides youth-specific equipment and indoor kayaking programs during the winter months. | $3,000 |
Courtenay | Comox Valley Curling Club | Provides an afterschool program that teaches curling skills to youth and offers junior league play. | $3,000 |
Dawson Creek | Special Olympics – Dawson Creek | Offers summer and winter sport programs, including 10-pin bowling and snowshoeing. | $3,000 |
Delta | Curl BC | Drop the Wheels in the House – connects wheelchair users in and around Greater Vancouver through a drop-in curling program. | $3,000 |
Duncan | Duncan Curling Club | Project Upstart – trains new coaches and offers learn to curl programs for elementary school students, adults and seniors. | $3,000 |
Elkford | Fernie Old School Boxing Club | Provides boxing programs for youth and seniors at its new facility in Sparwood. | $3,000 |
Enderby | Enderby & District Curling Club | Offers a junior curling program for youth aged 7–18. | $3,000 |
Fernie | Pickleball Fernie | Introduction to Pickleball – provides introductory pickleball lessons for high school students. | $1,500 |
Fraser Lake | Fraser Lake Curling Club | Provides equipment and coaching for participants facing financial barriers. | $1,300 |
Gibsons | Gibsons Curling Club | Stick Curling – a learn and play program that adapts curling for people with mobility challenges. | $1,600 |
Grand Forks | Flippin Fun Gymnastics Club | Flippin Fun Gymnastics Club – offers recreational and competitive gymnastics classes for participants of all ages. | $3,000 |
Invermere | Toby Creek Nordic Ski Club | Junior Development Program – allows 200 more children and youth to participate in the upcoming season. | $2,500 |
Kamloops | River City Squash Organization | After school squash for at-risk-youth – invites at-risk-youth to play squash after school, during school hours, on weekends and during school breaks. | $3,000 |
Kamloops | Cerebral Palsy Sports Association of B.C. | Kamloops Sledge Hockey program – offers sledge hockey opportunities for people with disabilities in partnership with the Kamloops Adapted Sports Association and the City of Kamloops. | $3,000 |
Kamloops | BC Snowboard Association | ElleBoard program – trains female coaches to become Learning Facilitators for the Canada Snowboard Coaching Program and provides training and competitive opportunities for female athletes. | $3,000 |
Kamloops | Kamloops and District Minor Baseball Association | Girls Winterball – introduces girls to baseball through customized indoor baseball training. | $500 |
Kelowna | The Kelowna & District Society for People in Motion | Adaptive Snow Sports Program – trains volunteer instructors and offers sit and ski programs for adults with disabilities at Mount Baldy Ski Resort. | $3,000 |
Keremeos | Keremeos Senior's Pickle Ball | Keremeos Seniors Pickle Ball – provides opportunities for participants to learn and improve their pickle ball skills in a fun and social environment. | $1,000 |
Kimberley | Kimberley Nordic Club | Kimberley Nordic Masters – provides skill development, waxing clinics, video analysis, loppets trips and après-ski socials for participants aged 19 and older. | $3,000 |
Masset | Gwaii Storm | Gwaii Storm – A basketball program for girls aged 13 to 17. The funding will purchase new equipment, pay for coaching and potentially expand the program to include 10- to 13-year-olds. | $2,000 |
Mission | District of Mission Parks, Recreation and Culture | Club Kids – a licensed after school program in 10 schools which allows kids to participate in a different sport each week for eight weeks. | $3,000 |
Moberly Lake | Saulteau First Nations | Offers a 10-week golf program at the Moberly Lake golf course for participants facing financial barriers. | $3,000 |
Nanaimo | BC Wheelchair Basketball Society | Let's Play – teaches participants basic basketball and life skills. | $3,000 |
Nanaimo | Nanaimo and District Track and Field Club | Trains Nanaimo and Ladysmith high school teachers in physical literacy and track and field events so they can coach students in afterschool track and field. | $3,000 |
North Vancouver | Vancouver Adaptive Snow Sports | Adaptive Ski Club – provides trained, certified adaptive ski coaches and recreational programming for skiers with a disability. | $3,000 |
Pemberton | Lil'wat recreation | Offers recreation programming for local residents, including new introductory lacrosse programs. | $1,800 |
Powell River | Powell River Gymnastics and Cheer | Certifies coaches in recreational parkour and provides programs for up to 140 participants. | $3,000 |
Prince George | North Central Badminton Academy (PG) Society | Offers an Introduction to Para-badminton (wheelchair) Program for people with and without disabilities. | $1,300 |
Prince George | Caledonia Nordic Ski Club | Caledonia Nordic Mobile Outreach Program – provides cross country ski and cycling programs and equipment to schools and Indigenous communities. | $3,000 |
Richmond | Richmond Little League Baseball Association | The funding will allow the Richmond Little League to offer more levels of play. | $3,000 |
Richmond | WEqual Foundation | Come Try Badminton – provides introductory badminton for girls aged four and over, with a special emphasis on the social aspect of sport. The program strives to reach new Canadians or others with language barriers. | $3,000 |
Rossland | The City of Rossland | Beginner Skater / Hockey for Women – provides coaching and instruction for beginner skaters and women who want to play hockey. | $3,000 |
Saanich | Gordon Head Lawn Bowling Club | Junior Lawn Bowing Development Program – offers coaching and training for junior lawn bowlers aged 12–25. | $3,000 |
Salmon Arm | Salmon Arm Boxing for Wellness Society | Offers seniors' boxing, circuit weighted training and body weighted training programs. | $1,100 |
Salt Spring Island | Salt Spring Island Rowing Club | Salt Spring Island Junior Rowing Club – the grant will allow the club to support learn to row programs for youth. | $3,000 |
Smithers | Bulkley Valley Gymnastics Club | Child Development Centre Class – provides fitness and movement program for children with disabilities and others who need to develop their early gross motor skills. | $3,000 |
Surrey | Canadian Amateur Sport Society | Pacific Sport XploreSport2 – invites kids to try a different non-traditional sport each day for a week, to help them find an activity they want to pursue. | $1,920 |
Taylor | Peace Passage Skating Club | Peace Passage Skating Club – teaches participants figure skating, hockey and speed skating skills. | $1,500 |
Vancouver | Vancouver Quidditch League | Offers the first low-contact quidditch league in British Columbia. | $2,300 |
Vancouver | NEC Native Education College | NEC Wellness Warriors – certifies coaches and allows Wellness Warriors dragon boat team to compete in various regattas. | $3,000 |
Vancouver | Southlands Therapeutic Riding Society | STaRS capacity building program – offers therapeutic horseback riding for people with physical, developmental and psychological disabilities. | $3,000 |
West Vancouver | West Vancouver Field Hockey Club | Fearless Females in Field Hockey – provides mentoring, technical skills development and role models for females aged 13–18. | $1,680 |
Victoria | Greater Victoria Youth Rowing Society | Lower Vancouver Island School Sports Association – provides rowing programs with a particular focus on athletes with visual and physical disabilities. | $2,000 |
Victoria | Victoria Screamers Boccia Club | Boccia Training – helps boccia players of all abilities to transition from recreational players to provincial- and national-level athletes. | $1,000 |
Victoria | Victoria Ultimate Players Society | Ultimate Sport Youth Program – allows youth to learn the sport or improve on existing skills. | $3,000 |
Victoria (View Royal) | Shoreline Community Middle School Association | Nights Alive – provides sessions where boys and girls can participate in an evening of sports ranging from basketball to soccer. | $3,000 |
Whistler | Whistler Legacies Society | Provides physical literacy after school programs led by NCCP certified coaches at the Spring Creek Elementary school. | $2,900 |
Williams Lake | Williams Lake Cross Country Ski Club | Bull Country Rekindling – provides coaching sessions and equipment to more than 100 elementary students and the club's Jackrabbits program. | $3,000 |
Williams Lake | Special Olympics BC – Williams Lake | Offers programs for people with developmental disabilities in Williams Lake's 15 First Nations' reserves. | $3,000 |
103 Mile | Canim Lake Band | Burton Snowboard Riglet Program / Get Ready to Snowboard – teaches snowboard skills to kids in a gym to help them gain confidence to try snowboarding on a large hill. | $3,000 |
57 Projects | $145,000 | ||
2018–19 Provincial Sport Development Fund Grant Recipients | |||
Recipient | Program | Program Description | Amount |
PacificSport Regional Sport Centre – Fraser Valley Society | MOVE | This funding provides training for recreation, education, sport and early-childhood instructors to deliver Move to Learn and Move to Connect programs. | $30,000 |
BC Freestyle Ski Association | Girlstylerz | Girlstylerz helps girls develop skills, self-confidence and emotional well-being through freestyle skiing. | $30,000 |
BC Wheelchair Basketball Society | School & Community Participation Program | The School & Community Participation Program invites children and youth with disabilities to play basketball from specially modified chairs. | $29,800 |
British Columbia Lacrosse Association | BC Wheelchair Lacrosse Program | This program introduces British Columbians to the new discipline of wheelchair lacrosse. | $30,000 |
Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre Society | Wîcehtowin | Wîcehtowin gives Indigenous youth the opportunity to build skills, self-confidence and life skills through sports such as gymnastics, yoga, archery, basketball and soccer. | $30,000 |
Volleyball BC | 12U Club Volleyball and YMCA Atomic Program Expansion | This partnership between Volleyball BC and the YMCA Atomic introduces kids under 12 to the sport of volleyball with coaching and courts tailored to their age and size. | $20,000 |
Sport For Life Society | Aboriginal Long-Term Participant Development Pathway | The program provides education and training to provincial sport organizations on how to deliver sport programs to meet the needs of Indigenous participants. | $30,000 |
British Columbia Wrestling Association | Beat the Streets | Beat the Streets introduces inner city youth and new immigrants to the sport of wrestling. | $26,000 |
BC Wheelchair Sports Association | Bridging the Gap | Bridging the Gap provides training to leaders and organizations on how to introduce and provide opportunities in wheelchair sports. | $27,200 |
Ray-Cam Community Association | Moresports Youth Leadership Model | This program helps 150–200 youth to develop leadership skills in sport through courses and community service. | $30,000 |
Cerebral Palsy Sports Association of BC | Access Power Soccer and Boccia | These programs train coaches and loan equipment to allow British Columbians with disabilities to participate in soccer and boccia. | $30,000 |
Special Olympics BC | Special Olympics BC Cultural Inclusion Project | This program gives British Columbians with intellectual disabilities opportunities to try and get involved in various sports. There is a special focus on reaching individuals from various cultural backgrounds. | $26,000 |
BC Seniors Games Society | Step Up Your Game | The Step Up Your Game program provides athletes aged 55 and over with technical instruction from qualified coaches in safe and supportive environments. | $30,000 |
BC Amateur Softball Association | Softball BC – CANhit Rural Community Development | CANhit trains athletes (aged 7–18) and coaches in fundamental, step-by-step skills in hitting softballs. This program is being expanded to communities outside the lower mainland. | $13,000 |
Judo BC | Judo After School Program | This program helps young children build skills and self-confidence through judo. | $18,000 |
15 Projects | $400,000 | ||
SOURCE Canadian Heritage
(media only), please contact: Daniele Medlej, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Science and Sport, 343-291-4204, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, 819-994-9101, 1-866-569-6155, [email protected]; Carla Wormald, Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Government Communications and Public Engagement, 250-208-4309, [email protected]
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