I think the government support has elevated the visibility of Paralympic sport and sport for athletes with disabilities. Without that federal support, we wouldn't have the ability we now have to seek out sponsors. Because we had no visibility, what could we market to them? Once the federal government raised it to the status of “Here's your funding; here's your baseline”, and we got some coverage of the Paralympics, whether on CBC online or elsewhere, the visibility of our sport increased. As you said, when people see it on TV.... I got emails from strangers during the games asking me a million questions. They would say, “It's a tremendous sport. You're a role model for my children”. Their children aren't disabled, but they just really had a passion for wheelchair basketball and an enthusiasm. If we're not visible, that doesn't happen. We can't tap other marketing sources.
We've been very fortunate with the policy that existed to ensure there's baseline funding and some equality between men and women in sports at the federal level.
Now, in the public realm, the funding that's available and the access to sponsorship are slightly different.