I know. It's a really.... It's tough for me, as someone representing British Columbia, to ask for money from the federal government for amateur sport. I'm here representing Sport B.C.. There's obviously inherent value in investing in sport.
I guess I just urge you, as you sit around the table making budgetary decisions, to probably heed the lesson that Australia learned after the 2000 Sydney games. The idea was that the great performance that Australia had on the podium in 2000 would just lead to increased participation and great infrastructure in the amateur sport system. It did not happen. They've just completed a ten-year summary report, called the Crawford report, that really shows that the one area in which they lacked following the games was a focus on youth participation and participation among young adults. That's where they failed. They did a great job of getting to the podium, but after that the infrastructure wasn't in place.
The biggest fear we have in B.C. is that all these young snowboarders, hockey players, and downhill skiers who saw the great performances of Vancouver 2010 will go to their local clubs and not be able to participate for the lack of infrastructure, whether that be coaching, or facilities, or the fact that they can't afford it.
We're just looking to make sure that this is at the top of everyone's mind, looking forward.