Members of Canada’s Paralympic nordic ski team have learned that their government funding has been cut in half, and they are now seeking private sponsors. There is only enough funding left to attend one international event this year-the world championship-but that won’t be enough to compete with the world’s best, Paralympic athlete Mark Arendz told CBC News.
Photograph of Mark Arendz courtesy of CPC and John Sims.
“In order to be fast at world championships, we need to go to world cups, go to training camps, have our sports scientists working with us,” Arendz was quoted as saying. “That’s what we lose with this funding cut.”
There is no money left for coaches or support staff, who will be gone in the fall. Members of the team are hoping to pool their individual sponsorship money to hire them back.
The 20-year-old Arendz competed in his first Paralympics in Vancouver, finishing seventh in the three-kilometer biathlon.
