Section 8: Financial Benefits

This section sets out the policies and procedures associated with AAP financial benefits.

8.1 Policy

The AAP offers three types of financial support to eligible athletes:

• Living and training allowance;
• Tuition and deferred tuition support; and
• Special-needs assistance.

Athletes may opt to have their AAP payments deposited directly into their Canadian bank account or have a cheque sent to their mailing address.

8.2 Living and Training Allowance

Athletes approved for carding by Sport Canada are eligible for a living and training allowance. This allowance is usually paid in advance every other month.

The allowance paid varies with the athlete’s carding status, as follows:

Carding Status	Monthly Allowance
Senior Card	$1,500
Development Card	$900

Development Card

$900

8.3 Tuition and Deferred Tuition Support

Policies

General

The Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) tuition support is intended to help athletes obtain a minimal post-secondary level education. The following policies apply to both tuition and deferred tuition support.

• AAP tuition support applies only to post-secondary schooling.
• To defer tuition credits, carded athletes must be eligible to attend school at the post-secondary level.
• Athletes who are eligible for AAP tuition support and receive an academic or athletic award from any post-secondary school will remain eligible for AAP tuition support unless that award is designated specifically to offset full or partial tuition fees.
• Tuition fees will be supported as outlined in these policies; however, this support is limited to a maximum of $10,000 annually.
• The following incidental school costs, which may be included with tuition fees, are not supported by the AAP:
  • Medical fees
  • Health fees
  • Dental fees
  • Bus passes
  • Parking fees
  • Interest charges
  • Late fees
  • Taxes (GST, for example)
  • Textbooks
  • Any other fees that are optional to the student
• AAP tuition support is subject to predetermined course limits. The AAP will normally support a maximum of 40 university undergraduate courses toward the completion of an undergraduate degree.
• Athletes must successfully complete the courses for which they receive support. Those who fail or do not complete courses risk being unable to complete their degree, diploma or certificate program with the tuition support for which they are eligible from the AAP.

Schools Eligible for Tuition Support

Athletes attending Canadian publicly supported universities or colleges are eligible for tuition support.

Athletes attending other educational institutions may be eligible for tuition support. The AAP must approve those educational institutions for tuition support on a case-by-case basis.

If approved, tuition support for athletes attending private schools or schools outside Canada cannot exceed the average course cost for a full-time undergraduate program, as determined by the AAP, at Canadian publicly supported universities.

Programs Eligible for Tuition Support

Full-time or part-time degree, diploma, or certificate programs at eligible schools are eligible for tuition support. Degree programs may be undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate or professional.

Courses that are recognized as legitimate credits toward apprenticeships in trades or professions and correspondence/on-line courses leading to a legitimate degree, diploma, or certificate, as determined by the AAP, may be eligible for tuition support.

Tuition Support for Carded Athletes

The AAP provides tuition support to athletes who are able to attend post-secondary school and meet high-performance training and competitive requirements. This support is available for the period during which the athlete is carded.

Athletes who attend school while carded are required to claim eligible tuition fees in the year they are attending school. This will be verified when deferred tuition credits are accessed.

Tuition support is not usually available for schools outside Canada. Any exceptions must have the full support of the NSO and be approved by the AAP. In addition, carded athletes must be able to maintain their full training and competitive commitments to the satisfaction of the NSO and Sport Canada. The NSO must show that it has a system in place for monitoring athletes while they train outside Canada.

Carded athletes are eligible for tuition support at approved Canadian post-secondary institutions for each year they are carded.

The maximum allowable tuition support is as follows:

• College/CEGEP/apprenticeship: 4 full-time semesters or equivalent (unless the standard program length exceeds 2 years);
• University undergraduate degree: normally 8 full-time semesters or equivalent;
• University graduate degree: normally 4 full-time semesters or equivalent (unless the standard program length exceeds 2 years); and
• University post-graduate degree: normally 4 full-time semesters or equivalent (unless the standard program length exceeds 2 years).

Deferred Tuition Support

Deferred tuition support was put in place to assist carded athletes who are unable to attend post‑secondary school full-time because of their involvement in sport.

The AAP automatically calculates deferred tuition credits for eligible carded athletes. This allows athletes to use available deferred tuition credits once they have retired from sport or are no longer carded.

In situations where an eligible athlete has not been able to access the allowable tuition credits while carded, deferred tuition credits may be applied toward post-secondary education. 

Athletes who have accessed the equivalent of eight full-time semesters (40 courses) of tuition support while carded are not eligible to defer tuition credits.

Deferred tuition credits may be accessed in any year an athlete is no longer carded, provided that year is within five years of the last day of carding support.

Athletes who are attending post-secondary schools outside Canada and are receiving an athletic or academic scholarship are not eligible to defer tuition credits while in receipt of the scholarship.

The AAP does not make deferred tuition payments directly to the athlete’s school.

Athletes are allowed to defer a maximum of 10 courses (two full-time semesters) for each year they are carded and eligible to receive tuition support, up to a maximum of 40 deferred course credits. For example, a carded athlete who attends school part-time and takes four courses is eligible for six deferred tuition course credits for that carding year. If, however, in the next carding year the courses taken total 11, the remaining deferred tuition credits would be five course credits.

An exception to the maximum number of 40 courses for deferred tuition support may be considered in a pre-Olympic year. An athlete in a graduate or post-graduate program who wishes to train full-time in a pre-Olympic year may apply in writing to the AAP for deferred tuition support. The athlete’s NSO must endorse the application.

The monetary value of a deferred tuition credit is established by the AAP and equals the average tuition cost of two full-time undergraduate semesters (in eligible programs at Canadian publicly supported universities) in the carding year for which the deferred tuition credit is awarded, divided by ten.

Once the athlete retires or is no longer carded, the monetary value of deferred tuition credits can be applied to the completion of post-secondary education. It should be noted, however, that the monetary value of the deferred tuition credits may support fewer courses than the credits for which they were awarded.

Procedures

Application/Payment Procedure for Tuition Support when Carded

• The AAP approves tuition support based on AAP policies and procedures.
• The AAP provides tuition vouchers to the NSO.
• The NSO completes the appropriate part of the tuition voucher and then provides the tuition voucher to eligible carded athletes who are attending Canadian publicly supported post-secondary schools.
• The athlete completes the appropriate section of the tuition voucher and submits it to the eligible school.
• The school completes the tuition voucher and either lists the courses being taken or attaches an official school registration form with a list of courses being taken.
• The school sends the AAP an invoice along with a copy of the completed tuition voucher and a breakdown of incidental costs.
• If it is not possible for the AAP to pay tuition support directly to the athlete’s school, the athlete will be reimbursed directly. To be reimbursed, the athlete must forward to the AAP the original official receipt of payment, along with the official list of the courses in which he or she is registered, the fee for each course, and a breakdown of incidental costs.

Application/Payment Procedure for Deferred Tuition

• The AAP approves deferred tuition support based on AAP policies and procedures.
• The athlete submits to the AAP a current official student transcript from his or her school(s), along with a completed Deferred Tuition Form (available from the NSO).
• On receiving this information, the AAP reviews the athlete’s file and determines the number of deferred tuition credits for which the athlete is eligible, as well as the monetary value of these credits.
• The athlete submits an official original receipt of payment to the AAP. This may take the form of an invoice stamped by the school indicating payments made or a written receipt of payment on official school letterhead. The receipt must include a breakdown of the fees paid.
• The AAP reimburses the athlete directly up to the monetary value of the deferred tuition credit(s) for which the athlete is eligible.

8.4 Special-Needs Assistance

Policies

Certain special needs have been recognized by the AAP as deserving of financial support under the AAP.

Generally, special-needs requests are considered only from athletes for whom AAP support is their primary or major source of income or for athletes who must relocate for sport purposes.

Special needs assistance is limited to a maximum of $5,000 annually.

All special-needs requests must be for the current carding year.

The following expenses are eligible for special-needs assistance:

• Child-care expenses
  • Consideration will be given to granting child-care assistance when an athlete must obtain the services of a baby-sitter to attend approved training or competitions and when the NSO certifies that the athlete must be absent from home to attend approved training or competition and no member of the family or other ongoing daycare service (including nannies) is available to provide the baby-sitting service.
  • Child-care assistance is limited to a maximum of $1,000 annually.
• Relocation expenses
  • When both the NSO and the AAP have determined that a carded athlete must move to or from an approved single-sport National Team Training Centre, the AAP may assist in offsetting some of the relocation costs.
  • The AAP will support only two moves during an athlete’s career: either from home to the training centre or from the training centre to the athlete’s home.
  • Relocation assistance is generally limited to one-half of actual transportation costs associated with relocation, to a maximum of $500 per move.
• Retirement expenses
  • Athletes who have been carded for a minimum of three years may receive some support for their adjustment to retirement through a special-needs application.

The following expenses are NOT considered special needs and are to be supported by the athlete through monthly allowances or other sources:

• Local transportation (taxi, bus, car rental, etc.);
• Food supplements and vitamins;
• Training equipment and clothing;
• Personal clothing;
• Furniture and appliances;
• Food and rent (phone, hydro, etc.);
• Club fees;
• Coaching expenses;
• Medical, dental, physiotherapy or chiropractic expenses; and
• Lost-time expenses (any lost wages are expected to be supported through the monthly living and training allowance).

Procedure

• The athlete sends his or her special-needs request to the NSO.
• Athletes requesting special-needs assistance for child-care or retirement expenses undergo an assessment of financial means:
  • The athlete provides a statement, with supporting documentation, of his or her current income and expenses, as well as income and expenses expected over the next year; these expenses include rent, food, transportation, and sport-related expenses. This statement also explains why the athlete is seeking special-needs assistance.
  • The athlete’s supporting documentation must include a copy of Revenue Canada’s Notice of Assessment for the most recent taxation year.
  • The statement of income and expenses must be verified and approved by the NSO as part of the request for special-needs assistance.
  • The athlete provides original receipts for expenses associated with special needs and must not have claimed this expense for income-tax purposes.
• The NSO forwards its recommendation regarding the request for assistance to the AAP Manager for approval.
• The AAP Manager approves or denies the request for assistance. If the AAP Manager determines that the athlete can adequately support the special needs for which he or she is requesting support, the request for support will not be approved.

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