I respectfully acknowledge that the work of Sport BC and our members takes place across the entire province, and that our office is located on the unceded, traditional territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
My name is Rob Newman. I am a proud Métis sport leader and citizen of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan. I grew up in rural Saskatchewan where sport and volunteering taught me the value of community, leadership, and belonging.
Thank you for the opportunity to speak today about the needs of BC’s amateur sport sector. I am here representing Sport BC, a non-profit social enterprise with 78 member organizations, which together support more than 815,000 British Columbians who participate in organized sport across the province.
On behalf of our members and the sport sector, I want to be very direct about where the system is at.
Core provincial investment in amateur sport has not meaningfully increased since 2010. For more than 15 years, sport organizations have been asked to do more—serve more people, meet more requirements, and take on more responsibility—without a corresponding increase in core funding.
At the same time, costs have risen significantly. Facilities, staffing, transportation, insurance, and program delivery have all increased, while expectations around Safe Sport, reconciliation, inclusion, accessibility, and governance have expanded.
The result is a sector under real and growing strain.
A recent Sport BC survey makes this clear:
• 80% of organizations report they do not have sufficient funding to meet their mandates
• Nearly half lack the staffing or resources to fully implement Safe Sport requirements
• 80% are experiencing employee turnover, including leadership turnover
• Over one-third operate on budgets under $500,000, despite serving increasing participation demands
This is not about efficiency. These are well-run organizations operating beyond capacity.
We are also seeing the impact through programs like KidSport BC.
KidSport BC has funded nearly 39,000 children and youth over the past five years, investing almost $13 million to remove financial barriers to sport. Since 1993, more than 110,000 children in British Columbia have been supported, with over $30 million invested in sport participation.
But demand is accelerating. KidSport BC has seen grant demand double between 2022 and 2024 alone, driven by rising costs of participation.
Importantly, this support is reaching communities that often face the greatest barriers:
• About 25% of grants support newcomer children and youth
• About 15% support Indigenous children and youth
At the same time, fewer than 40% of Canadian children are meeting recommended physical activity guidelines. The gap between those who want to participate and those who can is widening.
What this tells us is simple: demand is rising, costs are rising, and access is becoming harder—not easier.
Sport is one of the most effective investments we can make in population health, mental health, youth development, community connection, and long-term wellbeing. It reduces pressure on other public systems and strengthens communities in ways few other sectors can.
But the system is no longer keeping up.
The expectations placed on amateur sport in 2026 are very different than they were in 2010. Yet core funding has remained essentially flat for more than 15 years.
That is the gap we are here to address.
Our collective request remains an increase of $15 million in core funding over three years for BC’s amateur sport sector. This investment would directly support affordability, Safe Sport implementation, reconciliation, inclusion, and the volunteer and staff capacity needed to sustain delivery across the province.
We also acknowledge the recommendations of the Future of Sport Commission, which identified many of these same challenges. While recent federal investments are appreciated, it is still unclear how those dollars will flow through to provincial sport organizations and community-level delivery partners. Stable provincial core funding remains essential.
Sport is not an optional service. It is part of the social infrastructure that keeps communities healthy, connected, and resilient.
After more than 15 years without meaningful increases, incremental change is no longer enough.
We respectfully ask for your support in advancing this request into the 2027 Budget process.
Thank you for your time, and I welcome your questions.
