The Canadian Olympic Foundation is committed to excellence in sport and to supporting Canadian athletes in realizing their Olympic dreams. To achieve this, the Foundation's long term goal is to provide funding support in five priority areas.

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  Own the Podium 2010 - Vancouver, Canada - Now Complete

  Own the Podium (Winter) is a program supported by the Canadian Olympic Foundation, in collaboration with Canada's 13 Winter National Sports Organizations. This program is designed to help our high performance winter athletes achieve unprecedented podium results by providing additional leadership and resources in the areas of training, technology support and high-performance programming. This program is a promise to our athletes that they have the critical support needed to be number one in the world.

  Canada's results on the international scene have steadily increased since OTP's inception in 2005. Canada finished 3rd in total medals at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games, 2nd in overall World Cup podiums in 2007-08 and first in overall World Championship podiums (29) in 2008-09. At the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Canada finished third in the medal standings (26), setting new team highs in total medals, gold medals (14), top-5 (50) and top-8 finishes (72). Its 14 gold medals set the new standard for international success as they represent the most for any nation at a single Olympic Winter Games.

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  Own the Podium 2012 - London, England

  Own the Podium (Summer) is a program supported by the Canadian Olympic Foundation designed to help Canada's high performance summer athletes achieve unprecedented excellence in sport, and to realize significant success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012. This program is a promise to our summer athletes, that they will have the leadership and support of the national sport system; in addition to elite programming, policies and resources that will help them achieve world class results in 2012 and beyond.

  Currently a number of our corporate donors are giving to Own the Podium 2012 through their corporate donations. Please stay tuned, as a public campaign will be launched in the near future.

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  Games Preparation & Podium Performance

  The programs funded under Games Preparation and Podium Performance provide the Canadian Olympic Team with critical support in the final months leading up to the Games, and ensure there is a world class at-Games environment that will maximize an athlete's performance.

  Pre-Game, a series of seminars and programs are implemented to help educate, motivate and inspire athletes, coaches and support staff, in order to build a cohesive environment that ultimately will produce the best Games results.

  During the Games, Canada's Olympic Team is provided with the best health services available by a team of care specialists, state of the art performance technology equipment and support, and a superior training environment in order to help alleviate external concerns and to provide services that increase Canada's podium standings.

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  Athletic Excellence

  Canada's Athletic Excellence programs provide Olympic athletes, across all sports, with financial incentives to achieve podium success. Our goal is to help Canada be the number one nation (in total medals) at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and be within the top three nations (in gold medals) at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

  Top 5 World Standing: A financial award, valued at $5000 is given to any athlete who finishes in the top five at a World Championship or Olympic Games.

  Olympic Medal Winner Program: A monetary award is given to all Canadian Olympians for each individual medal that they win at the Games: $20,000 for gold, $15,000 for silver and $10,000 for bronze.

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  Youth Engagement

  The Canadian Olympic Foundation's Youth Engagement initiative is designed to enhance participation of school-age children and youth in high performance sport through community and school-based programs.

  Programs such as "Adopt an Athlete," allow students the opportunity to personally invest themselves in the journey of their 'athletic hero' by writing letters and or fundraising to help the athlete achieve their dreams. We believe the collaboration between athlete and youth helps to reinforce the value of pursuing excellence through sport.

  For that reason, our goal for the Youth Engagement program is to promote a message of health, fitness and teamwork to the youth of today, so we can produce the Olympians of tomorrow.

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  Coaching Excellence Program

  The Coaching Excellence Program is designed to ensure that our Canadian athletes have the best coaching available in order to achieve their maximum potential. By providing our high performance coaches with the top resources and professional tools required to effectively compete against the best in their sport, our athletes will be able to achieve unprecedented podium results in 2010 and beyond.