COC to invest $132 million into high-performance sport
Organization also announces layoffs to its staff
The Canadian Olympic Committee is heralding a "bold new vision for the future of Team Canada" that includes increased funding while still announcing layoffs.
"Status quo is never going to be enough to maintain our competitive standing in the world," CEO Chris Overholt told an audience at a downtown Toronto club. "Costs are going up, and we need to be constantly re-evaluating how we are supporting high-performance sport in Canada."
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Canada is coming off a successful Summer Olympics in Rio, where medal predictions were surpassed and charismatic future stars like Penny Oleksiak emerged. The COC said Canadians can expect more success "as the average age of Canada's medallists in Rio was under 24, and 52 of Team Canada's top-eight finishes came from first-time Olympians."
The COC wants to build on that success, announcing $132 million in funding Thursday for high-performance sport, including athlete development and coaching. Overholt announced continued support for Own the Podium (OTP), which targets athletes that have the greatest opportunity to win medals. The OTP will receive $37 million over the next four years. Overholt also announced $16 million to help "fuel the growth and development of the next generation of Olympians."
Overholt also said that the COC will be cutting staff.
"[The] COC had streamlined its organizational structure and workforce plan to align itself with future needs in order to be in a better position to deliver for athletes and partners."
Overholt later told CBC that the organization took a hard look at the structure and workforce when planning for the next four years.
"We concluded that our current staff complement, which was built for the last four years, does not reflect our future needs and strategy," he said.
The COC wouldn't confirm how many people are being let go or from what departments. It did confirm the layoffs aren't linked to the Marcel Aubut affair, which continues to linger over the organization.
Aubut was ousted from his job as president of the COC last October after allegations surfaced of unwanted sexual advances and touching during his time with the organization, dated back to 2010. He has not been criminally charged.