Canada’s “Own The Podium” Program
Canada hopes to be on many of these
Not intent on just hosting the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada is hoping to make a splash on the medal stand. You’ll probably hear some talk of “Own the Podium” during the hours and hours of coverage on NBC, so you best know what it is.
“Own the Podium” refers to a program started by the Canadian government back in 2005 which centralized much of the funding and training of the country’s Olympic athletes in hopes that the collaborative effort would yield a better medal performance in 2010. More specifically, Canada is focused of finishing with the most medals of any country this winter. Athletes seem pleased with the program, but many believe the $110 million spent on the program between corporations and the government would have been better suited toward many other endeavors.
One side will argue that paying to increase performance in an amateur event where the focus is supposed to be on the spirit of competition more so than the results is disheartening and wasteful. The other side will argue that it’s money well spent because Olympic success could translate to many improvements for the country – tourism, increased revenue in Canadian sporting events, etc.
Read on:
USAToday.com – At these Olympics, Canada wants to win, not just host
Wikipedia.org – Own the Podium
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