OTTAWA – The Canadian Paralympic Committee has awarded 18 organizations with 2023-24 Paralympic Sport Development Fund grants to support the development and growth of Para sport programming and initiatives across Canada.
Local, regional, and provincial organizations from seven provinces will receive grants varying from $5,000 to $15,000 for a total distribution of $200,000. The complete list of recipients and their projects can be found HERE.
The 2023-24 funds, which are provided by the Paralympic Foundation of Canada, will be used for various projects to further develop Para sport pathways and opportunities for Para athletes such as purchasing adaptive equipment, building coaching capacities and skill levels, establishing new programming, recruiting new athletes, and providing more competition and training opportunities. The majority of the grantees will focus on a specific Para sport while two organizations have been funded for multi-sport initiatives.
“Congratulations to each recipient of the Paralympic Sport Development Fund and thank you for your incredibly valuable work and leadership,” said Karen O’Neill, CEO, Canadian Paralympic Committee. “At the foundation of a strong, healthy, growing Paralympic sport system is quality programming and opportunities to participate in sport at all levels, just like what the grantees provide.
“It has been a challenging few years for many organizations, but these recipients have continued to introduce more people to Para sport, help their participants further develop their skills, and evolve their overall programming to best fit the needs of their athletes.”
The Paralympic Sport Development Fund was first introduced in 2016-17 and has now granted more than $1.2 million to Para sport organizations in Canada in support of growing the Paralympic sport system.
Photo by Katie Yau / Women's Para Hockey of Canada (A 2022-23 Paralympic Sport Development Fund recipient)
