4. OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
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4.1 Anglophone and Francophone Participation in High Performance Sport
This study set out to determine whether English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians have equal opportunities to reach the highest levels of amateur sport. We began by examining the degree to which members of both official language groups now participate in sport at this level, relative to their presence in the general population.
According to the 1996 census, 24.6 percent of Canadians name French as their first official language, and 75.4 percent name English. If all other factors are equal, we would expect French-speakers to account for approximately 25 percent of high performance athletes in Canada.
Since the population of “high performance athletes” is not a single entity with one definition, we examined the linguistic make-up of various groups of high performance athletes to see whether they differed significantly from general population statistics.
We conducted a mail-out survey of high performance athletes using the Sport Canada data base of carded athletes: those who receive financial support directly from the federal government. The criteria for carding, set jointly by Sport Canada and the National Sport Organization responsible for the sport, are based on performance. At the time of our study, to be eligible for an “A” card, an athlete must finish in the top four, six, or eight in an eligible sport at the Olympic / Paralympic Games or World Championships (depending on the number of entries per country) and finish in the top third of the field. For a “B” card, the athlete must finish in the top 8, 12 or 16 at these games and finish in the top half of the field. “A”, “B” and “C” cards have since been amalgamated into a single “senior card” with a higher monthly allowance, but the performance criteria remain the same for the time being. Among other factors, the quality of international competition will determine the number of Canadians who hold senior cards.
The carding system in effect at the time of our study also had several categories of developmental cards, for athletes who demonstrate the potential to achieve A or B card levels. The criteria for developmental cards are negotiated between Sport Canada and the NSO and are normally based on results in designated competitions (domestic, international, or both). The number of athletes holding developmental cards thus depends on the quality of training programs and on competition results within Canada.
The table in Appendix 6.1 shows the first official language of carded athletes in various sports. The linguistic profile of individual sports varies widely: from fencing and judo, which have a majority of French speakers, to field hockey and curling, where all carded athletes are English speakers. Overall, 18 percent of carded athletes name French as their first official language and 82 percent name English. Francophone participation is low, but this should not be surprising: in 1992, Ekos Research Associates Inc. noted that 19 percent of developing athletes were French speakers.9
