December 2, 2004 – Athletes CAN, the association of Canada’s high performance athletes, in partnership with Investors Group is pleased to announce that the application forms for the Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund 2005 are now available on line at www.athletescan.com

The Amateur Athlete Bursary Fund, established by Investors Group, distributes $100,000 annually among 20 of Canada’s top amateur athletes. Building on an ongoing commitment to the achievement of personal goals and excellence, Investors Group created the fund to assist Canada’s amateur athletes in covering training and competition costs.

The Fund, administered by Athletes CAN, awards twenty bursaries of $5,000. The Bursary Selection Committee is comprised of nine members including the Chair of Athletes CAN or a designated representative of the Athletes CAN Board, as well as active and retired National Team athletes.

The bursary fund is open to any active senior national team athlete who:
– is deemed eligible and in good standing by the appropriate National Sport Federation representing the sport ( including Paralympic, Pan American, Commonwealth, Olympic and National Team athletes)
– is a Canadian citizen or landed immigrant permanently residing in Canada
– is committed to training and competing for Canada in the upcoming year
– has a gross income, from all sources in the preceding year of less than $50,000.
This bursary is available to athletes twice during their athletic career. Please see the application form for full eligibility criteria.

For complete details and an application form for the Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund, please see Athletes CAN’s website www.athletescan.com

Since its establishment in 1992 as the national representative organization of Canadian athletes, Athletes CAN has worked with others in leadership, advocacy and education to ensure a fair, responsive and supportive sport system for athletes.

Investors Group is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to more than one million Canadians, through a network of close to 3,200 Consultants located in 100 Financial Planning Centres. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds, managed asset and other investment vehicles, Investors Group offers a wide range of mortgage, insurance, brokerage and banking services. Investors Group is part of IGM Financial Inc. and a member of the Power Financial Corporation group of companies.

For further information, please contact:
Athletes CAN
Suite 301 — 1376 Bank St.
Ottawa, Ontario K1H 7Y3
Tel: 613-526-4025 or 1-888-832-4222
Fax: 613-526-9735
athletescan@sympatico.ca
www.athletescan.com