April 16, 2005 (Regina, Sask.) – Taking a cue from their winter sport counterparts, Canada’s high performance summer sports and their Olympic and Paralympic sport partners have begun planning their own version of the Own the Podium program to achieve success at upcoming Olympic Games.

At an all-day meeting in Regina on April 14, representatives from summer National Sport Federations, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) and Sport Canada many of whom are in town for the COC’s annual Congress and Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame ceremony set out specific goals and committed to a set of guiding principles for the program.

“We believe that Canada’s summer athletes deserve the same chance to succeed as those who compete in winter sports,” said Mark Lowry, COC Executive Director of Sport, who facilitated the planning for the meeting and was a key driver of the recently announced Own the Podium 2010 winter program. This is a collaborative effort to help Canada achieve a 16th-place finish at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and an eighth-place finish in 2012.

“With 31 summer sports in addition to more team sports as compared to the winter program, this initiative requires a high level of planning and coordination,” said David Bedford of Water Polo Canada and chef de mission for Canada’s Olympic team in Athens. “After a very good session today, we will continue to meet as a group to develop a program focused on achieving excellence. “

Bedford was one of the members selected at the meeting to form a steering committee to oversee the development of the program. The other members of the committee include: Mark Lowry (COC), who will manage the program as he did with the winter program; Don Adams (equestrian); Anne Merklinger (canoe/kayak); Charles Parkinson
(volleyball); Alan Roaf (rowing); Rob Needham (CPC) and a Sport
Canada representative.  Over the next few weeks, the committee will select
a sport consultant, along with international sport experts, to develop the
program on behalf of the summer sports.

“It’s great to see the commitment by all the sports and the funders toward helping Canada’s summer athletes succeed,” said Nicolas Gill, a two-time Olympic medallist in judo and a member of the COC’s Athletes’ Council who is currently coaching judo athletes in Montreal. “It will really motivate the athletes to know that a strong program is in place to help them achieve their goals.”

The meeting included a presentation by Phil Schlote, director of the high performance unit at Sport Canada, and sport technical consultant Debbie Muir, who reviewed the results of the recent summer Olympic sport review process by the Canadian Sport Review Panel. The process identified the future sport plans and financial priorities for each summer sport, information that will be invaluable in developing the new summer sport program.

Representatives at the meeting also heard a presentation by Cathy Priestner Allinger, currently VANOC’s Senior Vice-President of Sport, who developed the Own the Podium 2010 program. Launched in January, Own the Podium 2010 marks the first time Canada’s winter sport federations came together with their sport partners to map out a comprehensive plan for podium success. The program is intended to give Canadian athletes the required financial and technical support to help them succeed at the 2010 Games by winning approximately 35 medals in total to help Canada become the top medal-winner at the Games.

The Canadian Olympic Committee is a national, private, not-for-profit organization committed to sport excellence. It is responsible for all aspects of Canada’s involvement in the Olympic movement, including Canada s participation in the Olympic and Pan American Games and a wide variety of programs that promote the Olympic Movement in Canada through cultural and educational means. For more information, see the COC website: www.olympic.ca