Funding for the Quest for Gold Program comes from the net revenues generated by the Quest for Gold lottery game, run by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLGC). The Ontario Athlete Assistance Program (OAAP) is one of the three funding streams being implemented in 2007-08 under the Quest for Gold Program.   Two carding designations make up the program, the Canada Card and the Ontario Card:

 

Awarded to Ontario athletes who are carded by Sport Canada. A Canada Card will provide up to an additional 33% in funding over and above the full value of the carding designation the athlete is receiving from Sport Canada – the actual amount is dependent on funding available. 

Awarded to Ontario athletes who are 21 years old or younger, as of December 31 of the year in which the Quest For Gold awards are provided. 

 

All the Selection Criteria included herein, must be in agreement with Provincial Selection Criteria. The selection criteria must meet the highest standards of transparency and fairness, and should be immune from appeal.

Freestyle Ski Ontario (FSO) has been awarded 8 full cards (4 female cards and 4 male cards). FSO has also decided to exercise the option available in 2007-2008 to split up to 30% of its carding allotment (i.e. issue ½ cards in designated developmental categories). Allocation is guided by the following principles:

 

 

To recognize the developing status of Park and Pipe, FSO has decided to award Park & Pipe 2 full cards in ½ card format (ie: 2 male half-cards and 2 female half-cards) for the first time to support our initiatives of creating a program in Ontario and Canada.

No more than 30% or 2 of FSO’s 8 cards can be assigned to Ontario National team athletes who are not nationally carded (one for each gender); Ranking will be as per final 2006-07 FIS points.

 

A National Team Athlete must have skied with the FSO in the year prior to joining the National Team Program (National Development Team, World Cup Team, Olympic Team) in order to be considered for this award.

 

If there is no eligible national team member, card returns to FSO carding pool for further assignment.

 

The card allocation for each of the four female and male athletes will be:

a). Two full cards for highest ranked qualified Ontario aerialists 1 male and 1 female. This proportion is based on the current relative enrollment in aerials and moguls, and further Aerial cards will not be considered until there are greater than 15% as many aerialists in Ontario as opposed to mogul skiers registered with the FSO. If there are no qualified aerialists, the cards return to FSO carding pool for further assignment.

 

b). Two full male and two  full female cards for the highest ranked qualified Ontario Mogul skiers. If there are no qualified mogul skiers, the cards return to FSO carding pool for further assignment.

 

c). Two full cards split into four half cards (2 male, 2 female) for the highest ranked qualified Ontario Park & Pipe skiers. If there are no qualified Park & Pipe athletes,  the cards return to FSO carding pool for further assignment.

 

Athletes will be considered for Quest For Gold nominations if they compete in activities that are considered World Cup, Olympic, Ontario Winter Games or Canada Winter Games events, in the current carding season, or the following carding season. In addition, athletes must be part of a Provincially and Nationally recognized program of training, coaching and competition in their discipline.

 

 

Citizenship                 Must be a Canadian Citizen or landed immigrant

 

Residency                  Must be a resident of Ontario from January 1^st  of the year of his/her nomination for carding status with a combination of a legal Ontario address, and either an Ontario drivers License or Ontario Health Card.

 

Athletes must be training and continuing to train in Ontario. Exceptions will be made providing that the athlete can substantiate that:

 

 

FSO/CFSA Status    Athlete must be a member in good standing with FSO if still skiing at the Provincial level, or with the National Team Program if skiing above Provincial level, and also with the CFSA.

 

Training and Competitive Requirements:

The athlete must be committed to a year round training and competitive program and meet the training and competitive requirements for their sport discipline

The training requirements for each discipline must be approved by      the high performance director of FSO or NDT.       

An athlete must demonstrate a commitment to the training program by attending the minimum number of mandatory training camps and fitness testing specified in the approved program, and have signed an agreement to follow an agreed upon training program for their respective sports disciplines

Athletes must be instructed by a coach who has been trained and certified in the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) Minimum Level 2 or equivalent.

 

Athletes must not be receiving financial assistance from the Foundation for Athletes and Sport Training (FAST) in the same fiscal year.

 

Provincial level athletes must remain as active competitors and continue to compete for FSO during the carding year at Canada Games and other national competitions involving provincial team competitors as required by the FSO Team Eligibility Requirements. No athlete may receive a Q4G award if they are currently skiing for another Provincial Team.

 

If a carded athlete ceases to compete for FSO, OAAP Q4G funding will be awarded pro-rated on the length of time spent on the team, from April 01 of the previous competitive season to March 31 of the current season. The FSO Board will notify the Ministry of Health Promotion that any previously selected athlete has been de-selected as of a specific date.

 

Mogul athletes must compete in both duals and moguls.

 

Park & Pipe athletes must compete in both Table Top and Half Pipe

 

Doping Sanction       Athletes must not be under confirmed official sanction by the CFSA as per the Canadian Anti-Doping Policy.

 

Education                   Athletes must be attending an educational institution fulltime (i.e. primary and secondary schools).

Exceptions will be made providing that the athlete can substantiate that his/her training will not allow for full-time attendance.

 

Athletes who have completed their area of study at the secondary level and who continue to train for participation in major national or international competitions will also be given consideration.

 

Athletes attending any foreign post-secondary education institution and are receiving an athletic scholarship in any sport are not eligible to receive OAAP support for Ontario cards. (Athletes who become eligible for Sport Canada carding support during temporary periods when not under scholarship would be eligible for OAAP Canada Card support.) Athletes who have achieved Canada Card status are not eligible for Ontario Cards.

1). The athletes must meet the general eligibility criteria stated above in order to be considered for carding status.

 

2). FSO will appoint a nomination committee of a minimum 3 people. These individuals must not include any parents of athletes who are to be considered for Q4G awards, or any persons with a conflict of interest. The nomination committee may include any members of the FSO Board and employees of the FSO, if no suitable members or employees are available for the nomination committee, the FSO Board will ask Board Members of the Regional Teams to sit on the nomination committee. The Regional Team board members must be free of conflict of interest.

 

The FSO Board of Directors approved the Selection Committee as follows:

 

                        Elisa Kurylowicz, Head Coach - Ontario Provincial Mogul Team

Dustin Foreman, Head Coach - Ontario Provincial Park & Pipe Team

Jane Curtis, FSO Employee - Executive Director

 

3). The nomination committee will rely on the rankings used in the official ranking system for FSO, which will have been previously posted on the FSO website, and/or are available from the FSO Administrator.

 

4). The Competitive Rankings from the previous season will be used to rank athletes for nomination for Quest for Gold Awards.

 

 

5).The nomination committee will forward their nominations to the FSO Board for approval. The FSO Board will forward the names to the Ministry of Health promotion.

 

6). If an athlete is eligible for a Quest for Gold nomination on the basis of the previous year’s competitive ranking they must be nominated for the award unless:

 

a). they are not skiing for the current competitive season because of injury, school or personal reasons, or,

b). they are not meeting the training and competitive requirements of the FSO Team. In order to be considered ineligible under this provision, the athletes must have received an written Official Warning Notice from the High Performance Director that they are failing to meet the training and competitive requirements of the FSO Team. The athlete must be given a reasonable time to remedy the failure. The athlete must be able to appeal this Official Warning Notice, and this appeal must be exhausted before this provision is considered in force to exclude an athlete from Q4G funding. This provision may exclude an athlete from initial consideration for Q4G nomination, and can also be used to recommend to the Ministry of Health promotion that an athlete be stripped of Q4G funding during the competitive season.

 

7). All athlete(s) to be nominated for the card will:

o       be committed to a year round training and competitive program, supervised by an NCCP Level 2 (or higher) qualified coach, with a letter of recommendation from this coach;

o       have actively participated in nationally sanctioned aerial events during the past 12 months;

o       Mogul skiers must compete in both Moguls and Dual Moguls events. Park & Pipe skiers must compete in both Half Pipe and Big Air events.

 

8). If no suitably qualified male or female athlete is eligible the card will revert to the pool.    

Athletes selected for the 2007-08 season will be named for the period from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008. 

 

Payments will be processed by March 31, 2008 and will be made directly to the athletes.

Actual funding levels will depend on the success of the Quest for Gold lottery. 

-          no more than 30% can go to able bodied Ontario athletes no longer eligible for “junior athlete” status and must be identified by CFSA as a national team athlete or potential next generation national team athlete. 

-          “Junior athletes” is defined as those athletes who fall within the eligible age range for the Canada Games - 11-22 years of age

-          These athletes would ordinarily compete in one of the following developmental categories:

o       National junior team/National Jr. Development Team or Training pool

o       Canada Games Level

o       Provincial age group/ Elite club/ Ontario Games Level

 

Both the sport and athlete eligibility criteria must be met before financial assistance can be awarded to any athlete.

 

Carded athletes receiving funding can spend funding obtained only on the following items:

-          Normal living costs

-          Costs directly associated with training (e.g. coaching, facility fees, other athlete services)

-          Cost associated with attending training camps and competitions (e.g. entry fees, travel costs)

-          Sport specific equipment

-          Tuition and education related expenses (e.g. books, fees)

 

 

ALTERNATES – New for 2007/2008

o        FSO has decided to exercise the option of nominating alternates to those athletes nominated for Ontario Card status

o        Alternates must be those athletes who are ranked directly behind those athletes nominated for the allotment of Ontario Cards in a particular category

o        The names of alternates will be published along with the names of nominated athletes

o        FSO will be permitted to substitute an alternate for an Ontario Carded athlete who drops out or is removed from the OAAP provided that:

§         Alternate is substituted within 2007-2008 fiscal year

§         Funding for athlete being substituted is still available within fiscal year (e.g. full funding for card has not already been paid out to athlete no longer in program)

 

Short-term Curtailment of Training and Competition for Health-related Reasons Health-related circumstances that limit training and competition for relatively short periods (i.e., less than four months) are a matter strictly between the PSO/ MSO and the athlete and should not affect an athlete's Ontario Card status.

Long-term Curtailment of Training and Competition for Health-related Reasons

 

Carded athletes who are unable to maintain full training and competition commitments for periods longer than four months because of injury, illness or pregnancy will continue to receive 100% of the OAAP financial support to which they would otherwise be entitled, provided the following conditions are met:

.           The athlete undertakes in writing to train or rehabilitate or both

under the supervision of FSO 1) for the period of time for which the athlete is unable to fulfil the training and competition commitments that are part of the normal PSO/MSO - Athlete Agreement and 2) at a level that minimizes risk to the athlete's personal health and ensures optimal return to full training and competition at the earliest possible date.

.           The athlete signifies in writing his or her intention to return to

full high- performance training and competition at the earliest date possible following the illness, injury or pregnancy.

.           In the case of injured or ill athletes, a positive prognosis for the

athlete's return to training and competition in the sport within 8 to 12 months is required from an FSO approved physician or equivalent.

Failure to Meet Selection Criteria for Health-related Reasons At the end of an Ontario carding cycle during which an athlete has, for strictly health-related reasons, not achieved the standards required for nomination of carded status, he or she may be considered for nomination for the upcoming carding period under the following conditions, provided the PSO/ MSO has a policy to priorize and card injured, ill or pregnant athletes that is clear, consistent and not arbitrary (this policy must be transparent and accessible). 

.           The athlete has fulfilled all reasonable training and rehabilitation

requirements aimed at a speedy return to full high-performance training and competition during the period of his or her injury, illness or pregnancy and, despite making every reasonable effort to attain the applicable carding standards during the year in which the injury, illness or pregnancy occurred, has failed to do so, in the view of the FSO, for reasons strictly related to the injury, illness or pregnancy.

.           FSO, based on its technical judgement and that of a FSO team physician or equivalent, indicates in writing the expectation that the athlete will achieve at least the minimum standards required for carding during the upcoming carding period.

.           The athlete has demonstrated and continues to demonstrate his or her

long-term commitment to high-performance training and competition goals, as well as his or her intention to pursue full high-performance training and competition throughout the carding period for which he or she wishes to be renewed despite not having met the carding criteria.

Voluntary Withdrawal from Carded-Athlete Training and Competition for Health-related Reasons An athlete may want, for reasons related to injury, illness or pregnancy, to voluntarily withdraw temporarily or permanently from normal carded-athlete training and competition requirements. In these circumstances FSO must notify the Sport and Recreation Branch, of the Ministry of Health Promotion, so that the athlete can be removed from the Ontario Carded list.

The Ministry reserves the right to request the repayment of the whole or any part of the Grant."

 

 

 

A)    whether FSO has followed its published criteria.

B)    whether or not the selection criteria developed and applied by FSO were fair, objective, transparent and free from discrimination or conflict of interest.

 Appeals must be made in writing to the Ministry of Health Promotion by the announced date and can only be made by athletes who have not been nominated by FSO for carding status. Appeals will only be accepted in writing through regular post, registered mail, courier or delivered in person to:

 

c/o Sport and Recreation Branch

Ministry of Health Promotion

NB: Appeals submitted by email or fax will not be accepted.

 

After hearing an appeal the Appeals Committee will have the authority to:

a)     Direct FSO to redo the selection process using the correct criteria/process and submit a new list of nominated athletes;

b)     Deny the appeal;

c)      Allow the appeal and nominate the appellant for carding status.

 

Qualified athletes will receive an application form, as well as a FSO-Athlete OAAP agreement. 

Jane Curtis

Box 437

Collingwood, On

L9Y 3Z7

 

705-444-0239

705-441-0365 cell