Local sports clubs from Oshawa, Pickering and beyond to benefit from Ontario Sports Network cash

The Ontario Sport Network has launched a $7 million Emergency Relief Community Sport & Recreation Grant to provide financial assistance to community level organizations looking to reintroduce sports and recreation programming to their community.

As part of the provincial government’s pandemic recovery plan, the grant will aid in providing economic support through sport and recreational activities.

The grant money is part of $30 million in funding support for local sports and recreation organizations awarded by the Ontario government’s Ministry of Sport, Recreation, Tourism & Culture this week. The cash is meant to stabilize various levels of Ontario’s sport and recreation sector and bring Ontarians back to doing the sports and recreational activities, said Sport, Recreation, Tourism & Culture Minister Lisa MacLeod. “Ontario’s sport and recreation sector was among the first and hardest hit by the pandemic,” she said. “As we emerge from the pandemic, this investment will help ensure families and athletes are able to return to the sports and activities they love.”

The funding includes:

• $20 million to ministry-recognized provincial sport organizations (PSOs) and multi-sport organizations (MSOs) to distribute to their local member clubs such as soccer, karate and volleyball.
• $3 million to help the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) and its 17 teams meet their academic scholarship commitments for current and former players.
• $7 million to the Ontario Sport Network (OSN)

The OSN funding is open to sport and recreation organizations that benefit Ontario’s local communities and have experienced hardships due to the pandemic, beyond the traditional Ministry-recognized Provincial Sport Organization (PSO)/Multi-Sport Organization (MSO) system and Member Clubs. Including, but not limited to, grassroot clubs, teams, leagues, and associations, including both for-profit and non-profit, whether that be a local dance club, lacrosse league, yoga studio or euchre team.

“We are excited to be working with Minister MacLeod and the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries in providing an emergency relief fund targeting community level sport and recreation organizations, and associations to deal with financial hardships due to COVID-19. We recognize the critical importance of providing support to enhance the sustainability of our provincial sport sector.” says Patsy Coyle, Managing Director of Ontario Sport Network. “We recognize the critical importance of providing support to enhance the sustainability of our provincial sport sector.”

Applications will be evaluated by a review panel of four to six specialists within the community sport and recreation field to provide monetary grants to eligible organizations demonstrating financial need for recovery and possessing a programming plan to optimize the grant. Grants can be used at the organization’s discretion to remedy operational costs linked to various challenges of the pandemic.

The Emergency Relief Community Sport & Recreation Grant application window is from April 4, 2022, to April 29, 2022 and applications can be found at www.ontariosportnetwork.ca/emergency-grant. Applications will be evaluated during the month of May with funding issued by June 15, 2022.

For more information on Ontario Sport Network, membership benefits and OSN’s This Is Your Sport campaign please visit www.ontariosportnetwork.ca and OSN’s social channels on Instagram (@ontariosportnetwork), Twitter (@ontariosportnetwork), LinkedIn and Facebook.