YELLOWKNIFE (February 10, 2015) – The recipients of the 2014-2015 High Performance Athlete Grant (HPAG) were announced today by Minister of Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) Robert C. McLeod and Maureen Miller, President of the Sport North Federation.
“Supporting Northern athletes competing at the national and international levels is an important part of sport development in the NWT,” said Minister McLeod. “These athletes inspire our youth, provide strong leadership in the sport sector, and set a positive example for all youth and our future sport stars.”
The Sport North Federation is an important partner in delivering sport programs across the North and also recognizes the value of this program.
“This program aids NWT athletes in a variety of sports to pursue their goals and dreams,” said Sport North President Maureen Miller. “ Training at a high level in sport is a costly pursuit involving expenses for coaches, travel and equipment. The High Performance Grant program provides and enables athletes to compete both nationally and internationally and serve as role models for NWT youth. The Sport North Federation wishes to congratulate all of the grant recipients for their achievements in the pursuit of excellence.”
One of the NWT athletes who has benefited from this program and will be representing Canada on the world stage at the Snowboarding World Cup in Turkey is Andrew Matthews.
“The NWT High Performance Athlete Grant is the crucial catalyst that northern athletes like myself need to take the next step in their athletic careers, whether that step is competing with the best athletes in Canada or the best athletes in the world this program makes it possible,” said Matthews. “The funding makes a massive difference in allowing Northerners to be competitive with the Canadian provinces as well as internationally. The difference can be seen in the increased success of not only top NWT athletes participating in the Olympics but also the increasing number of young athletes being successful in their various sports across Canada. Investing in high performance sport is giving young people an opportunity to strive for greatness in athletics and in doing so the NWT is investing in the potential and future of northern youth.”
One of the NWT’s most recent Olympic athletes, Brendan Green had this to say about the High Performance Athlete Grant: “The High Performance Athlete Grant has been instrumental in my career as a high performance athlete. Since the initiation of this program, Northern athletes have developed into some of the best and most resilient athletes in Canada. I truly believe the NWT is leading the way in amateur athlete support, and there will be many more incredible athletes to come out of the North. This is just the beginning!”
The High Performance Athlete Grant program provides financial support to high performance athletes from the NWT. The Sport North Federation and MACA jointly approve all recipients. More details on the High Performance Athlete Grant program can be found on the MACA website at www.maca.gov.nt.ca.
Backgrounder: 2014-16 HPAG Recipients
Media inquiries:
David Maguire
Communications and Web Advisor
Municipal and Community Affairs
Tel: 867-920-3092
Email: david_maguire@gov.nt.ca