Quest for Gold – Ontario Athlete Assistance Program 2019-2020 (OAAP) is funded by the Government of Ontario, through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS), and operated through the Sport, Recreation & Community Programs Division. The overarching goal of the Quest for Gold – OAAP is directly related to the High Performance Sport goal of the Canadian Sport Policy – that Canadians are systematically achieving world-class results at the highest levels of international competition – by improving the performance and number of Ontario athletes performing at the national and international level, thereby contributing to the improved performance of Canada at international competitions. .
Specific objectives of the program are:
a) To help athletes continue their pursuit of athletic excellence at the highest levels of national and international competition;
b) To encourage athletes to stay in Ontario to live and train;
c) To compensate athletes for earnings lost while training;
d) To enable athletes to successfully pursue excellence in sport while fulfilling their educational goals;
e) To increase athlete access to improved high performance coaching; and
f) To enhance training and competitive opportunities available to athletes.
The intent of the OAAP is to provide funding to individual athletes that have been identified as next generation national team athlete based on their demonstrated commitment to high performance sport, allowing them to continue to pursue athletic excellence at the highest levels of national and international competition. Only those athletes that meet the required minimum performance standard detailed in this Selection Criteria will be considered for this program. Ideally an athlete will first receive a Quest for Gold “Ontario Card” for 1 to 3 years, which will allow them to train towards the goal of a national team position in subsequent years. Once an Ontario athlete reaches the national level and becomes a recipient of Sport Canada’s carding program, they become eligible for the Quest for Gold “Canada Card”. Athletes who are not planning to train towards this level of competition should not apply for this program.
We finally have the green light to launch the Quest for Gold program supported by the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. Please refer to the Selection Criteria Document for full details.
Since the program is launching a little bit later this year, we have done some light modification to the criteria (see section 6 for details) that will stabilize the program in the long run regardless when the program is launched during the season without changing the fact that people who “should” receive the funding will, according to the program’s goals.
Please keep in mind that taking part in the High Performance Development Program is mandatory to be eligible for the Ontario Cards as in the past 3 years now.
A draft list will be posted by April 8th 2020 here and athlete wanting to appeal any decision will have to contact the PSO (max_bc@fencingontario.ca) as described in the document (see section 11 for details)
Read the document carefully (pending Ministry approval to be final) and if you have any questions, contact Maxime Brinck-Croteau at max_bc@fencingontario.ca
