December 17, 2002
OTTAWA - Canadian
Interuniversity Sport (CIS), announced today the findings of its data
collection on athletic awards provided by Canadian universities. The results
come 2 years after Canadian Interuniversity Sport implemented new athletic
awards rules. At its June 2000 Annual
Meeting, CIS members agreed to report all athletic awards provided to
student-athletes, in a commitment to being open and transparent. It was also
agreed that the amount of financial support to male and female athletes would
be proportional to the number of male and female student-athletes on their
rosters by 2005-2006.
The data collected reveals that in 2001-2002 Canadian universities together provided $3,430,000 in athletic award money to CIS student-athletes. Additionally, student-athletes received in excess of $4.1 million in other award categories (for academic excellence and sport governing bodies and/or federal and provincial governments).
A
November 2002 survey of CIS members showed that universities provide athletic
awards to student-athletes for a variety of reasons including:
a)
To reward and recognize athletic excellence of students who are
demonstrating progress towards furthering their education;
b)
To provide financial support to student-athletes who may be unable to
hold part-time jobs because of their athletic and academic commitments; and,
c)
To recruit athletes, develop and sustain competitive teams, and to
create incentives for Canadians with athletic and academic promise to remain in
Canada.
“We are proud of the academic and athletic
excellence of our student-athletes. It is a trademark of Canadian
Interuniversity Sport - great sport, great scholarship!” says CIS President
Judy McCrae. This year over 1,700 student-athletes (17 %) were named RBC
Academic All-Canadians for having achieved an academic average of 80% or higher
while competing for their universities.
Approximately one
in four CIS student-athletes received an athletic award with the average award
amount $1,405. University tuition in Canada is reasonably priced compared to
tuition south of the border - the average undergraduate tuition for an arts
program in Canada is $4,100.
From the
perspective of a gender comparison, in 2001-2002, 67% of athletic award dollars
went to male student-athletes who represent 54% of all Canadian Interuniversity
Sport student-athletes. CIS is committed to continue progress to meeting its
gender equity goals.
Athletic awards
represent a small portion of the support Canadian universities contribute to
student-athletes. “Universities in Canada make a staggering contribution to the
sport system and to student-athletes through facility development, coach
employment, running competitive leagues and programs and hosting high
performance events and camps,” said Canadian Interuniversity Sport CEO Marg
McGregor.
Although athletic
awards are provided in every CIS sport, the largest number of athletic awards
to men are provided in hockey, football and basketball. For women, the largest
number of awards are provided in basketball, volleyball and soccer.
The data collected
enables Canadian Interuniversity Sport to monitor adherence to its athletic
awards policy in a transparent way and to confirm that Canadian universities
provide athletic awards to student-athletes within the guidelines and policies
established by Canadian Interuniversity Sport and the awarding university.
“This was the second year of data collection so the tool is young and we view
this as a learning exercise. We intend to continue the process of collecting,
monitoring, reporting and analyzing the data. Over time we expect to gather
enough data to spot trends and make robust conclusions,” added McCrae.
For more information
on the awards data please visit: http://www.universitysport.ca/e/story_detail.cfm?id=1910
Canadian
Interuniversity Sport (CIS) is the national governing body of university sport
in Canada. Forty-nine members, over 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie
for 19 National Championships in 11 different sports.
CIS also
provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian
student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 27 World University
Championships. No other sport organization in the country can match the breadth
and scope of such a program.
From Victoria to St. John's, student-athletes compete for national
honours providing the premier line-up of accessible, high quality, live sport
experiences in Canada.
- CIS –
Marg McGregor
Chief Executive
Officer
Canadian
Interuniversity Sport
613 562-6670 ext.
26
cell: 613 612-2551