Province Focusing on Participation, Development and Excellence in Sport
TORONTO – Ontario is launching a new sport plan that will help more Ontarians participate and excel in sport.
Building on the success of the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am / Parapan Am Games, the province is releasing Game ON – The Ontario Government’s Sport Plan.
Game ON targets actions in three priority areas:
- Participation: actions that enable all Ontarians to participate in safe, organized amateur sport
- Development: actions that help Ontario’s athletes receive the right support as their skills develop
- Excellence: actions to help Ontario’s high-performance athletes pursue excellence by facilitating access to the latest training, programs, facilities, resources and technical experts
Game ON builds on a strong existing foundation of sport organizations, programs and investments. It recognizes the many ways in which organized sport can be good for people and communities, from the health benefits of physical activity to the economic benefits of hosting major events.
Progress is already underway on a number of initiatives, including:
- Minister’s Advisory Panel: the province has named prominent sport sector leaders and experts to its new Minister’s Advisory Panel to help achieve the priorities set out in Game ON
- Roundtable on Women and Girls in Sport: in early 2016, Ontario will gather sector leaders to explore opportunities for women and girls in sport, built around the plan’s priority areas
- Ontario Sport Symposium: in spring 2016, the province will bring together leaders in the sport sector to highlight research, trends and issues and to plan the best ways to implement Game ON.
Investing in the development of Ontario athletes and providing them with more opportunities to succeed is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.
“Participation in sport improves health and wellness and helps to strengthen people and communities. That’s why, I am proud that we are building on the success of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games to launch Game ON – The Ontario Government’s Sport Plan. Through this plan, we will collaborate with our sport partners to create a world-class sport system and support our athletes from the playground to the podium,” said Michael Coteau, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport and Minister Responsible for the Pan and Parapan American Games.
“The sport plan will help address the gaps and ensure we have all parts of the system, from government to education to local communities working together to support our athletes and coaches along the pathway. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Advisory Panel to provide guidance on the new plan for Ontario’s sport system in all contexts, ” added Susan Kitchen, Executive Director, Coaches Association of Ontario, Member of Minister’s Advisory Panel.
- In Ontario, there are at least 2.1 million registered athletes, supported by 121,000 coaches, 58,000 officials and 363,000 volunteers.
- The sport industry contributes an estimated $2.1 billion to Ontario’s GDP and supports 43,730 jobs.
- Ontario has almost tripled its support for amateur sport from $8.78 million in 2003 to more than $25 million in 2015-16.
- The Ontario government is investing almost $985,000 in 2015-16 to provide Sport Priority Funding to 15 Provincial and Multi-Sport Organizations, supporting services and specialized training for athletes and coaches.
- Ontario is committed to providing access and opportunities for our children and students to participate in 60 minutes of physical activity, both in and outside of school. Promoting well-being is a key goal of Achieving Excellence, Ontario’s renewed vision for education.
