Distinguished athletes from St. Albert who have achieved the highest levels of excellence at the national level, as adjudicated by a city committee, will now be eligible for recognition under a St. Albert program.
Council voted 7-1 in favour of amending the Community Recognition Program policy to include athletes who have achieved success as professionals at the national level, a distinction that, under a proposed revision brought before council by the community services advisory board (CSAB), would have limited athletic achievement to prolonged success at the international level.
Coun. Cam MacKay amended the motion to include national as well as international success as a criterion for recognition under the Sports Excellence award category.
"My rationale is quite simple. I think the bar is really high and excludes a lot of sports to which you'd never reach the bar," MacKay said. "There's a lot of athletes who don't meet that (bar) who deserve some sort of recognition in sport."
MacKay cited the Canadian Football League as an example, saying if an individual with strong links to the community excelled in the league over a long period of time, as the policy currently states, that person could not qualify for recognition because of the national nature of the game. While Mayor Nolan Crouse and other councillors wondered about the sheer volume of individuals who might subsequently qualify as a part of the change, MacKay pointed out the original guidelines will keep the number at a manageable level.
"I don't think we'll get hundreds of people. I think we'll get a reasonable amount."
Anna Royer, division business manager for Community and Protective Services, which oversees the program, originally approached council to condense the two sports categories — Sport Excellence and Sport Performance — under the single banner of Sport Excellence.
"This category is for those who are done with their sport and have achieved great things in their careers."
A call for applications went out over the summer. The board had been waiting on the successful amendment to the policy before it went out with another call.
Games Legacy grants
Council also signed off Monday on recipients of two grant programs administered by the CSAB.
Under the Games Legacy Awards Grant, two organizations, one team and six individual athletes were provided with funds to either attend an event or reimburse them the costs of attending an event. The grants can be awarded retroactively.
"They can apply as long as they don't participate in the event before the grant is adjudicated," said Monique St. Louis, recreation services director.
The St. Albert Minor Hockey Club received $2,500 for a 2012 Respect in Sport Coach Courses, while the Fastball Association received $1,000 for batting skills development equipment. The Paul Kane Blues men's basketball team received $1,500 to attend a skills camp weekend in Daytona, Fla.
The remaining six individual athletes, who participated in events ranging from cross-country running events to boxing tournaments, each received $750. In total, the board doled out $9,500 in this disbursement, leaving a balance of $686.
Community Events grant
The CSAB paid out another $17,115 under projects submitted for the Community Events Grant to seven different organizations.
The event that attracted the largest grant was the National Volunteer Week Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon put on by the Community Information & Volunteer Centre (CIVC) at $4,415, which had Coun. Roger Lemieux scratching his head.
"Not knowing the facts, that seems like a lot of money for lunch," Lemieux said. The agency had requested $5,000.
The only other grant allocation to draw interest was the Victory Life Church application for the 2011 New Year's Eve fireworks, at $8,000. Given the board is due to review grandfathered grants in January, council wanted to determine what the best amount would be for the church, given it was originally grandfathered in at $5,000 but received an additional $3,000 this year.
"Let's have an information request to meet with Victory Life and find out what the right amount of grandfathering is," Mayor Crouse suggested.
