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2009 BC Athlete Survey Summary:

The major findings of the 2009 BC Athlete Survey include;

280 athletes from 15 years old to over 55 years old, from 51 different sports in 8 different regions completed the 2009 BC Athlete Survey online at www.bcathletevoice.ca
Athletes from around the province were represented with a positive spread in respondents from larger urban regions to smaller isolated communities.
The overall top issue identified by athletes was “Lack of funding for High Performance Athletes”.

The top ten issues identified by athletes included...

Lack of funding for high performance athletes
Increasing costs of participating in sport
Access to facilities in their community
Competition training and competition environment
Technical knowledge of coaches
Funding for coaches
Number of facilities in their community
Declining number of people involved in sport
Number of coaches
Cost to use facilities in their community

The top issues regionally included...

The top issue for athletes in the Cariboo North region is access to high performance services
The top issue for athletes in the Fraser Delta region is availability to access facilities in the community
The top issue for athletes in the Fraser Valley region is the increasing cost of participating in sport
The top issue for athletes in the Kootenays region is the lack of funding for high performance athletes
The top issue for athletes in the North West BC region is having a competitive training and competition environment
The top issue for athletes in the Thompson Okanagan region is the declining number of people involved in sport
The top issue for athletes in the Vancouver Island & Central Coast region is lack of funding for high performance athletes
The top issue for athletes in the Vancouver & Squamish region is lack of funding for high performance athletes

Athletes rated four different overall community sport topics from excellent, good, average or poor. The results showed;

Coaching in Sport had the highest percentage of ‘Excellent’ responses (27%) and the lowest level of ‘Poor’ responses (8%)
Sport Performance had the lowest percentage of ‘Excellent’ responses (10%).
Sport Facilities had the highest percentage of ‘Poor’ responses (15%).

Comments made in the Participant Long Answers reflected similar themes and topics that came forward through the athlete forums. In general terms this included the following:

Strengths of Sport in the Community

Committed and passionate volunteers, especially coaches.
Social aspects of sport in bringing people together
Strong sense of community support and pride
Opportunities to participate in different sports and at different levels

Major Barriers to Sport in the Community

Access to and lack of training and competition facilities
Competitive environment – not enough athletes
Lack of financial funding and support for athletes
Lack of media exposure and general and specific sport promotion

Recommendations for Sport in the Community

Funding strategy for high performance athletes at different levels
Media, promotions, communications centre for all sport
Strategy for facility access and development to meet athlete and community needs
Support programs in place to reward and retain sport volunteers
Utilizing athletes in the community as leaders and promoters of sport
Establish a greater connection between sport and education at all levels