Own the Podium - 2010

Own the Podium - 2010, or À nous le podium en 2010! in French, is a Canadian sport technical program launched in January 2005 to prepare Canada to become the top winter sporting nation in the world by 2010 — when Canada will host the next Winter Olympics. This achievement will be measured by whether Canada becomes the top medal-winning nation at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver and Whistler, and places in the top three at the 2010 Paralympics Winter Games. To achieve the goals of 2010, the focus of the program is to provide additional resources and high performance programming to Canadian athletes, coaches and support personnel.

History

After Canada's failures to obtain a gold medal at both the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal and the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, the Canadian Olympic Committee has pledged to make Canada the top medal winning nation at 2010 when Canada hosts the Olympic Games for the third time.

The determination to boost Canada's performance came just months after Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Games in July 2003. Canada's 13 winter national sport federations, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Sport Canada, the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), and the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC) met in Calgary in February 2004 to discuss their goals for the 2010 Games.

Based on the principles and framework developed at the meeting, the COC contracted an independent consultant to analyse the sport projections, provide recommendations on changes and resources required, and determine if the goals were achievable. Cathy Priestner Allinger was selected to perform this study who recruited experts in sport and sport systems. The final report was submitted to the partners later that year. A subcommittee called the "Own the Podium Steering Committee" was then created to manage the implementation of the report's recommendations.

The 13 winter national sport federations include:

In 2006, the Canadian government announced the creation of Podium Canada, an umbrella body for the Own the Podium and Road to Excellence sport programs. While Own the Podium focuses on winter sports, Road to Excellence's vision and strategy is for Canadian teams to improve their performance at the Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games in 2008 and 2012.

A 2006 survey indicated that almost 3 out of 4 Canadians approved of the goals set in the program, and that nearly 70% of them say it is important for Canada to be a top medal finisher in 2010.

Program

Even before its inception, the program has been a collaborative project supported by sport federations and their funding partners. This program marks the first time Canada's winter sport organizations have come together with their sport partners to map out a comprehensive plan. The sporting system in Canada has been marked by fragmented funding which would be replaced by a high performance body to distribute funds to winter sports based on annual sport reviews and an accountability model. This body would be governed by a board made up of funding partners and winter sport federations representatives.

The report analyzed Canada's potential to be the top medal winner at 2010, which concluded that Canada in fact has the potential to reach its goal given a new approach to sport delivery. The report called for support by the federal government and sport leaders in Canada as well as a $21-million annual increase in funding for winter sports over the next five years. The report found that Canada has the talent in certain sport disciplines to increase the number of potential medallists to 211 for 2010. To achieve the goal of approximately 35 medals, the projected first place finish in 2010, a 50% success rate for the potential medallists would be necessary. The program also aims to improve Canada's success rate through increased preparation, technology, research and development, and human performance research.

The report predicted that without implementation of the recommended measures, Canada could only be expected to win 17 medals in 2006 and 16 medals in 2010.

Partnerships

The program relies on support and commitment from government, corporate, sport and performance partners. Supports include direct funding, investment, sport expertise and service delivery.

Preparation for 2010

The first three years of the program focused on the development of sport organisations; coaches and leaders; and programs for the athletes.

The remaining two seasons will focus on training at the 2010 venues and competing in international events. This will familiarise athletes and coaches with the sporting venues and prepare them for top level competition conditions.

Results

Since the launch of the program, the 2006 Winter Olympic Games has been the first litmus test of the program's effectiveness. The program has been credited for the success of Canada at the 2006 Games despite its short existence. The COC had set a goal of 25 medals and a top three medal standing for Canada in the 2006 Games, in part considering the increased funding and resources as a result of the program. By the end of the 2006 Games, Canadian athletes achieved the country's best ever medal performance in the Winter Games by winning 24 medals, and Canada placed third in terms of total medals.

The program has been credited for the success of Canadian winter athletes in the 2007-2008 season of World Cup and World Championship competitions. Forty-nine more World Cup event medals were won than in the previous 2006-2007 season. Together with medals won in Paralympic sports, Canada led in medals among all contending nations.

ee also

* Project 119 (China)
* Mission 2012 (UK)

External links

* [http://www.ownthepodium2010.com/ Own the Podium - 2010]
* [http://www.olympic.ca/splash.html Canadian Olympic Committee]
* [http://www.vancouver2010.com/ Vancouver 2010]