The Manitoba government is encouraging more Manitobans to reach their athletic potential and making sure sports are inclusive of everyone through increased funding to Sport Manitoba, Sport, Culture, Heritage and Tourism and Minister Glen Simard announced today.
“Sports create a sense of belonging for children and youth across our province, and we need to make sure players, parents, coaches, officials and volunteers involved feel welcomed and supported,” said Simard. “This additional funding will play an important role in ensuring every child in Manitoba has fair and equal access to programs that promote athletic excellence and enjoyment.”
The province will provide an additional $500,000 of funding starting in 2024-25, for a total of $14.3 million annually. This increase will help support the Safe Sport strategy and enhance initiatives to address racism in sport and make sports more equitable. The funding will also support the implementation of a third-party mechanism to report and investigate when someone reports being harassed, discriminated against or mistreated in sport.
Sport Manitoba and Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries have also established a $3.8 million three-year partnership to address challenges in the amateur sport system.
The partnership aims to address the following priorities:
- safeguarding sport (Respect in Sport and coach screening);
- coach, official and volunteer recruitment, training and retention; and
- Provincial Sport Organization (PSO) development (capacity building and rural sport development).
“Thank you to Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries for recognizing the many benefits sport can bring to individuals and our communities, and for investing in creating a strong, resilient and safe sport system for Manitobans to excel,” said Janet McMahon, president and CEO, Sport Manitoba. “We look forward to continuing collaborating with our partners in sport to put our plans into action as we diligently tend to some of amateur sport’s biggest challenges.”
The province continues to work collaboratively with partners like Sport Manitoba by supporting sport partners with new grants, training, sponsorships, campaigns and more. New coaches and officials will also have access to more training and mentorship programs, and rural athletes will have increased opportunities to gain exposure to new sport programs, the minister noted.
This additional funding and partnerships are a direct result of the minister’s mandate to develop policies to end racism in sports so every child knows they have the right to play, added Simard.
