April 30, 2008 – The Canadian Olympic Committee believes that amateur sport plays a vital role in the health and well being of Canadians. Millions of Canadians are involved in amateur sport at some level whether it be by competing, officiating or volunteering their time and/or services. No other single activity cuts across the cultural, regional and socio-economic barriers in Canada as effectively as amateur sport yet it continues to be an area with very little television exposure.

A national research study has confirmed:

* Amateur sport in Canada is dramatically under-served in terms of television broadcast exposure;
* In fact, most amateur sports receive little or no public exposure whatsoever;
* Most elite athletes who have trained tirelessly in their discipline for years, compete in virtual obscurity;
* Canadians recognize the value of amateur sport within their communities and its positive influence on our youth as a whole;
* Canadians want to see more of their amateur athletes;
* Most amateur sports receive little or no direct sponsorship support from corporate Canada.

A vicious cycle exists:

No national television profile/exposure = no financial support
No financial support = no national television profile/exposure, and so on.

CASN/RSAC is an initiative of the COC that will cover all of amateur sport – COC members and non–members alike. Amateur sport simply cannot play its vital nation-building role successfully without significantly more exposure and the financial support that this will in turn generate.

With the assistance of a team of professionals and experts in the sports and marketing community, the COC has launched an initiative to apply for an English language national digital broadcast license to operate as the Canadian Amateur Sports Network (CASN) and a French language national digital broadcast license to operate as Réseau des sports amateur Canadiens (RSAC). This team is chaired by Richard Pound, International Olympic Committee member, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games Board member, Canadian Olympic Committee Executive Committee member and first Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Please visit www.casn-rsac.ca.