Quest for Gold Funding

The Quest for Gold Program is funded from net revenues generated by the Quest for Gold lottery, created by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG).

The $10 million investment for 2009-2010 brings the province’s total investment in the program to over $42 million since 2006.

Quest for Gold funding benefited 69 per cent of Olympic and 86 per cent of Paralympic athletes from Ontario who participated in the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. Quest for Gold will also provide support to many Ontario athletes who are training to represent Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games, and athletes who hope to represent Canada at the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games.

Revenue from the Quest for Gold lottery game will be distributed through three funding streams within the Quest for Gold Program. They include:

• Direct Financial Assistance to Athletes
  Direct financial assistance is provided to eligible Ontario athletes to offset living, training and competition costs. Assistance is provided through two carding designations:
  
• Canada Card – For Ontario athletes who are carded by Sport Canada. The Canada Card provides up to an additional 33% in direct financial assistance over and above what an athlete is receiving from Sport Canada – dependant on funding available.
  
• Ontario Card – For Ontario junior age athletes aspiring to compete at the highest levels of national and international competition. These athletes are nominated for carding status by their Provincial Sport/ Multi-Sport Organizations.

Enhanced Coaching Funding

The Enhanced Coaching funding stream provides Ontario athletes with increased access to better-qualified coaches. It provides more high performance coaching hours for provincial Canada Games level athletes and funds coach development initiatives.

Enhanced Training and Competitive Opportunities Funding

This funding stream provides money for enhanced training, services and competitive opportunities for junior age athletes. Funding is also used to enhance the Ontario Games Program and strengthen Team Ontario’s performance at the Canada Games by providing additional training opportunities and enhanced sport science services for athletes competing on provincial teams.