June 14, 2009 – Cross Country Canada has gathered information on various coaching grant opportunities that are available this year. Please read below for more information on these opportunities and click the supplied links for more details. Timelines for grants vary throughout the year, keep checking thes links for updates!

CAC Coach Internship Grant
Through this project, the Coaching Association of Canada (CAC) is offering subsidies of $12,000 to enable sport organizations to hire young professionals for coaching positions leading to permanent full-time employment. Info here.

Female Coaching Professional Development Grants (up to $2,000 each)
The purpose of the Professional Development Grants is to assist women who are interested in a career in coaching by providing an opportunity to upgrade their education. A grant allows the coach to participate in coaching seminars or conferences, attend major competitions, or consult with a recognized sport expert. A grant may also be used in combination with support from other cost-sharing partners to help coaches broaden the scope of their learning options.

To be eligible, the coach must be certified at Level 3 of the National Coaching Certification Program and be an approved Level 4/5 candidate. Info here.

Women in Coaching National Coaching Institute Scholarships
Scholarships are awarded annually to women coaches who attend one of seven National Coaching Institutes located across Canada. Women coaches are eligible for a scholarship if they meet the following criteria:

– Canadian citizen or landed immigrant currently coaching Canadian athletes,
– NCCP Level 3 certified,
– Have been accepted into the full-time or part-time diploma program at one of the seven National Coaching Institutes across Canada. Info here.

National Team Apprentices
The National Team Coaching Apprenticeship Program is designed to provide opportunities for Canadian women coaches to work with their national team programs leading up to and during the 2008, 2010, and 2012 Olympic Games and major international events i.e. world championships, etc., which fall within the specified time frame. The Women in Coaching National Team Apprenticeship Program (NTAP) runs in a 2.5 year cycle. The current group of coaches finish their program March 31st, 2010. A call for applications for the next group of WiC NTAP coaches will come in the fall of 2010. Info here or contact Britany Gordon, CAC bgordon@coach.ca.

Canada Games Apprentices
A joint initiative of CAC’s Women in Coaching program, the Provincial/Territorial Coaching Representatives Committee, the Canada Games Council, and Sport Canada. The Canada Games Apprenticeship Program aims to provide women apprentice coaches with domestic multi-sport Games experience. The current group were selected for the 2009 Canada Games, the next group will be for the 2011 Canada Games – Halifax. The selection process will occur in early 2010 (around February). Info here or contact Britany Gordon, CAC bgordon@coach.ca

NCI – BC: Grants
NCI – BC has scholarships available for approved coaches. Please contact the NCI-BC for more information at dphill@uvic.ca or phone: (250) 721-8830.

GM Club Coaching Grants
This grant is open to sport-specific clubs, local sport associations, and/or leagues, operating at the community level and directing the majority of their programs towards children and youth (e.g. minor hockey associations, alpine ski clubs, soccer clubs, etc.).Clubs will be able to develop and implement a season plan to train their coaches and improve the skills of their athletes. Info here

GM High Performance Coach Grants
General Motors and the Coaching Association of Canada are committed to improving Olympic performances by creating unique competitive advantages through customized grants for coach development that will benefit athletes.

Ten grants of $10,000 will be awarded annually to coaches for the purpose of enhancing coaching excellence and expertise that will support their athletes’ drive to the podium. Info here.

Petro Canada Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence Program
The Fuelling Athlete and Coaching Excellence (FACE)â„¢ program focuses on providing equal funding to pre-carded national Olympic and Paralympic athletes and their coaches. FACEâ„¢ helps to provide the athlete and their coach with the resources necessary to close the gap and achieve national carded status for the athlete in the short-term, and improve coaching skills over the long-term. In cooperation with our partners, the FACEâ„¢ program identifies 50 athlete and coach pairings to provide funding grants for each athlete and coach team. All Olympic and Paralympic sports are eligible for FACEâ„¢ funding and follow the Sport Canada review process to qualify. Athletes and coaches are not required to submit their application. National Sport Organizations (NSO) will select and nominate candidates across Canada who will best benefit from the funding.
Info here.

Cross Country Canada AltaGas Club Professional Coach Support Program
The AltaGas Club professional coach support program is designed to increase the number of Canadian clubs delivering year round, full service programs. Through the sponsorship and support of AltaGas, CCC will identify clubs whereby financial support can assist in creating sustainable full time professional club coaching positions. The plan is to offer a three (3) year program to clubs. Grants range from $15 000 the first year to $12 000 the second year to $8000 the third and final year. Info here. Contact James Cunningham at CCC for more details jcunningham@cccski.com.

National Cross Country Ski Development Association Grants
The National Cross Country Ski Development Association was established through the foresight and donation of Bob Disbrow. It is the desire of the Association to aid coaches, athletes and competitive racing programs in western Canada, with the long-term goal of boosting Canada’s hopes to be increasingly competitive at the international level. This grant program is delivered through Cross Country Canada. www.cccski.com. Contact James Cunningham at CCC for more details. jcunningham@cccski.com