The West Vancouver Community Foundation has partnered with viaSport to launch a new athlete assistance grant aimed at helping First Nations athletes participate in high-performance sport.
Athletes training and competing at the regional, provincial and national level can apply for funding ranging from $500 to $2,000 through the grant, which is financed through the Aboriginal Sport Youth Legacy Fund. The endowment was created in 2002 from a partnership of the Province of B.C., the Squamish Nation, Lil’wat Nation, and the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation. The fund was established to act as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“This grant is a testament to the lasting impact of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and the partnerships the Games helped build,” stated viaSport CEO Sheila Bouman in a release. “The Aboriginal Youth Sport Legacy Fund helped many successful and hardworking Indigenous athletes realize their potential through sport, and we look forward to the new high performance grant doing the same.”
viaSport British Columbia is a not-for-profit organization created with the support of the provincial government in 2011 as a legacy of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
“Making sport more inclusive and supporting athletes as they pursue their dreams is an important element in building thriving and vibrant communities,” stated Adine Mees, CEO of the West Vancouver Foundation. “We applaud viaSport for introducing this new funding which will have a lasting impact on Indigenous athletes and their families. We are very proud to be a community partner on this initiative.”
Priority will be given to athletes participating on provincial or national teams, as well as competitors in events featuring Indigenous athletes such as the North American Indigenous Games.
Details of the grant application process can be found here on the viaSport website.
