HALIFAX - Ottawa's refusal to give more money to Summer Olympians will prevent them from performing at the same level as their winter counterparts, the president of the Canadian Olympic Committee said Friday.
Michael Chambers, in Halifax for a meeting of the committee's board of directors, said last month's federal budget did not include more money to help athletes prepare for the Summer Olympics.
The Olympic committee had hoped the budget would include $30 million for its Road to Excellence program, which aims to boost Canada's standings in the 2008 Games in Beijing and 2012 Olympics in London.
But while the budget increased funding for athletes preparing for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, it didn't include new money for summer athletes.
"Unfortunately, the Harper government, for reasons only it knows, provided none of that funding in its budget,'' Chambers said in an interview.
"Our concern is that winter athletes are going to continue to perform well and people are going to think that we don't have competitive summer athletes in this country, which is absolutely not the case.''
Chambers said Ottawa traditionally funds winter and summer sports at similar levels, but money for winter sports is spread over just eight events while there are 28 summer sports competing for funding.
He said the disparity means summer athletes have fewer opportunities to prepare and train, which invariably means they win fewer medals.
The committee started the Road to Excellence program this year to improve Canada's often disappointing performance in summer sports.
With 12 medals, Canada ranked 19th in the standings for the 2004 Athens Olympics. The program aims for a top-16 placing in the 2008 Games, a top-12 finish in 2012, and a top-five finish in both the 2008 and 2012 Paralympics.
It's the summer equivalent of Own the Podium, an ambitious $110-million program that aims for a No. 1 finish in medal standings at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
Chambers said the Road to Excellence program has a budget of $10 million this year. About $5 million is coming from the British Columbia government, while the Canadian Olympic Committee is drawing from its line of credit to pay for the rest.
The Olympic committee has been talking with the federal government since the budget was released, but has so far received no commitment to increase funding for summer sports.
"Certainly no responses that the cheque is in the mail, but there wasn't also an abject rejection for what we were suggesting ought to be corrected,'' said Chambers.
The committee is also seeking funding from private-sector sources and provincial governments.
Helena Guergis, the federal minister for sport, was in meetings in Montreal on Friday. A spokesman from her office couldn't be reached for comment.
Les Gramantik, the head coach for Athletics Canada, said the sporting community needs more money to be able to improve its performance on the world stage.
"Obviously, for every one of us involved in summer sports, it is disappointing,'' Gramantik said in an interview from Calgary.
"Winter sport is getting substantially more money for us to be the best nation in Vancouver, which is understandable. However, it's a total discrepancy between what winter sports are getting and summer sports are getting.''
He said increased funding could mean better programs for athletes and more opportunities to compete in international events.
"The medals in the summer end will never be similar to the winter end.... However, we should be able to attain higher representation, better results,'' said Gramantik.
