Athlete Assistance Program (AAP)

The Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) is a Sport Canada funding program that provides financial support to high-performance Canadian athletes. It seeks to relieve some of the financial pressures associated with preparing for and participating in international sport and assists athletes to combine their sport and academic or working careers while training intensively. Support is limited to athletes participating in a National Sport Organization’s high-performance program that meets Sport Canada criteria, or to athletes with top-16 performances at major international events in some cases.

Financial support (assistances/cards) to help cover costs related to training for and participating in international sport and support combining sport with academic or work commitments.

Athletes must be nominated by their National Sport Organization and be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, adhere to athlete/NSO agreement requirements, meet their international federation eligibility requirements, be available to represent Canada at major international events, and meet carding criteria as a member of the Canadian Team. Athletes are usually required to live and train in Canada; exceptions may be approved by Sport Canada if justified by the NSO.

Athletes must be nominated by their National Sport Organization; applicants should contact their NSO for application forms and related information and follow the AAP Policies and Procedures (section 6: Application for and Approval of Cards).