We take you behind the scenes this month with our timely Vancouver Games Blog, an insider perspective on sport medicine and science headlines, talking points, statistical data and emerging trends
Despite not succeeding in Own The Podium’s ambition of winning the most medals Canada leads all countries in gold medals collected at the Vancouver Winter Games. With so many incredible moments by our country’s athletes watched by millions of Canada’s from coast to coast to coast support for continued and increased funding of programs like Own The Podium is soaring to new heights according results from a just released Angus Reid survey supported by sportmatters.ca:
“We asked some very direct questions and received a very clear response from Canadians. They fully support the investment Own the Podium has made in our Canadian athletes and coaches,” said Ian Bird, Senior Leader of the Sport Matters Group. “It’s clear that Canadians want more of what they’ve seen during the Games and that they value public support for initiatives like OTP which assist our athletes and coaches in their quest to be the best. This is a major shift in mindset with significant implications for the future direction of high performance sport in Canada. Leaders in Canada’s sport system have a new job ahead – to surpass the expectations for sporting success now held by Canadians who have felt the impact of the results in Vancouver.”
Consistent with a poll conducted prior to the Games on February 2nd, this poll also sought the views of Canadians on the impact of our athlete’s performances on a number of national priorities. Canadians hold very strong opinions that the results achieved at the Olympic Games in Vancouver have made us proud (74% very positive impact, 92% positive impact) and have brought us together as a nation (57% very positive impact, 83% positive impact). Canadians also closely link the performances of Canadians athletes to their own motivations towards sport participation (78% positive) and physical activity (75% positive).
