By TRT Staff with notes from canada.ca
NATIONAL — On January 11, Sport Canada announced that the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee will be put in place to ensure that athletes are at the centre of decision-making.
According to The Government of Canada, the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee (MAAC)is an important initiative to ensure that athletes’ perspectives and advice inform Sport Canada’s activities.
The Minister of Sport and Physical Activity will engage the Committee to identify opportunities to incorporate high performance athletes’ perspectives in the development and implementation of Government of Canada programs and policies in sport and physical activity.
Since the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity will chair the Committee, the call for at-large applications is reopening for high performance athletes at the national senior team level.
Those chosen for positions can expect to offer perspective on topics such as funding programs, including the Athlete Assistance Program, Sport Support Program and Hosting Program, sport system governance and accountability, athlete representation and equity, diversity and inclusion.
It can be noted that the applications received last year will still be taken into consideration.
This call-out is seeking applications from Canadian senior national team athletes for at-large athlete members to the Ministerial Athlete Advisory Committee.
To be considered for one of the at-large high performance athlete positions, applicants must be at least 18 years of age, be a high performance athlete, and not be convicted or otherwise sanctioned for various rules regarding programming.
For the Committee’s purpose, a high performance athlete must meet all of the following requirements to be defined as such: be a member of a Senior National Team for one of the federally funded National Sport Organizations, be an athlete whose sport has a world championship competition, be an active athlete or having retired within the last 8 years as a retired athlete can be considered for membership within 8 years of their retirement, even if the duration of their term on the Committee spans beyond the eighth year.
Sport Canada will review all submissions in the coming weeks and effort will be made in the selection of the Committee members to ensure the group reflects gender balance as well as Canada’s diversity with respect to its regions, official languages, ethnicities, cultures, disabilities and life experiences.
The selection committee intends to confirm the full membership of the MAAC early 2024 with a first meeting soon thereafter.
Each at-large member may serve for a term of 2 years, with the opportunity to be considered for 1 additional term. Those interested and qualified are encouraged to seek out Sport Canada social pages to be redirected to their active website.
