Ottawa – The Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) is a sport funding program that contributes to the pursuit of excellence. AAP support seeks to relieve some of the financial pressures associated with preparing for and participating in international sport and assists high-performance Canadian athletes to combine their sport and academic or working careers while training intensively in pursuit of world-class performances.
NEW: The 2023 Status of the High-Performance Athlete Final Report is now available. This public opinion research report presents the results of an online survey conducted by EKOS Research Associates Inc. on behalf of Canadian Heritage.
Eligibility details
The AAP financial support is limited to athletes participating in a National Sport Organization’s high performance sport program. This high performance program must meet the national team and high performance minimum delivery or performance standards evaluation criteria and be receiving funding from Sport Canada through the Sport Support Program (SSP) and a quota from the AAP. Athletes from non-SSP funded sports may, however, be eligible to access AAP support if their performance is in the top 16 at the World Championships, Olympics, or Paralympics in an event of the program of the upcoming Olympic or Paralympic Games.
To be eligible for support through the AAP, an athlete must be nominated by their NSO and meet all of the following requirements:
- be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada
- adhere to their athlete/NSO agreement requirements
- meet the eligibility requirement of the sport’s international federation as they pertain to citizenship and residency status and be available to represent Canada at major international events, including World Championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games
- meet the carding criteria as a member of the Canadian Team at international events or in domestic events or events sanctioned by the NSO for their sport
Athletes are usually required to live and train in Canada. Assistance for athletes living and training outside Canada may be approved by Sport Canada, if justified by the NSO for academic or athletic reasons.
What you need before you start
To apply to this program, you need to contact your National Sport Organization for application forms and related information. Please read carefully section 6, “Application for and Approval of Cards,” of the AAP Policies and Procedures.