Sport and recreation

SportsFunder Lottery Overview

Lottery Overview

To help strengthen British Columbia’s amateur sport system and in celebration of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, the British Columbia government has approved a new suite of SportsFunder lottery products, which will directly benefit amateur sport in British Columbia. The new lottery is expected to generate about $20 million for amateur sport in British Columbia over the next six years. This is new money for amateur sport will be in addition to funds available through the Direct Access Grant Program.

In 2006/07, $2.177 million benefitted amateur sport:

  • KidSport™ - $327,000
  • Youth Travel - $740,000 ($550,000 for youth members of eligible Provincial Sport Organizations and $190,000 for school team travel to BC School Sports provincial championships)
  • Coach Development - $300,000
  • Team BC - $545,000 for Canada Winter Games athletes and coaches; $115,000 for Western Canada Summer Games athletes and $100,000 for Aboriginal Team BC
  • High Five (BC Recreation and Parks Association's standards training program) - $50,000

The following documents are reference documents for organizations receiving SportsFunder revenue.

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Four Key Funding Areas

SportsFunder is the first cause-specific lottery in the BC Lottery Corporation’s history, and will support four key areas of sport development:

KidSport™: For many British Columbian kids, registration and equipment costs are a barrier to sport participation. Since 1993, KidSport™ has provided over $1.6 million to more than 16,000 kids between the ages of 6 and 18 all over the province. This has meant more opportunities for more kids to play. Time and time again, KidSport™ hears from families who could not afford to register their children in sport and recreation programs without the support of the KidSport™ program. SportsFunder will help expand this exceptional program so that even more kids can play. Up to 2,000 more kids from low-income families will benefit from SportsFunder every year.

Youth Travel Program: As transportation costs continue to rise, British Columbians in geographically remote communities face disproportionately higher costs to get from one competition to another compared with those living in the Lower Mainland. SportsFunder will help level the playing field and provide travel subsidies for major regional and provincial competitions. SportsFunder support will be provided to Provincial Sport Organizations (PSO) and BC School Sports for distribution to PSO youth members and student athletes competing at BC School Sport provincial championships (please see SportsFunder Program Information and Guidelines Adobe Acrobat Required [24 kb] for details on how funds will be accessed).

Coaching: In British Columbia, every athlete at every level deserves a competent, qualified coach. Whether an athlete participates for fun or for medals, his or her experience is shaped by the men and women who coach them. About 98 per cent of the 5,000 coaches registered with the Coaches Association of BC are volunteers. While the sport system may not ever have the resources to appropriately compensate every coach, providing resources to the men and women responsible for developing provincial athletes and helping to promote certification for community and regional coaches will go a long way in recruiting, training and retaining coaches in B.C. SportsFunder will provide coaching grants to about 500 coaches a year and will subsidize National Coaching Certification Programs throughout British Columbia.

Team BC: Every four years, British Columbia sends its best provincial athletes - known as Team BC - to compete at the Canada Games and Western Canada Summer Games. SportsFunder will provide additional resources to Team BC for leading-edge sport technology, sport medicine, athlete development programs and better equipment, giving our athletes a better shot at the medals and flag point standings. As Canada Games are often stepping stones to Olympics, Paralympics, Commonwealth and other major international competitions, SportsFunder support these athletes from more than 60 communities across British Columbia will help build future local and world champions.

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Lottery Products

Players can look for the SportsFunder logo on their favourite lottery games for a chance to win great prizes and support amateur sport in their community.

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Funding Administration

The additional resources provided to British Columbia amateur sport through the SportsFunder lottery games will be directed through Sport BC, Coaches Association of BC, BC School Sports and provincial sport organizations, These agencies reach to all parts of the province and will define the process and the appropriate delivery agents to ensure all communities can benefit from the new funding.

For more information about SportsFunder visit the BC Lottery Corporation website.