Alysha Newman reacts after her vault at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, on Aug. 7.Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Erin Gee is the host of the Alt-Text podcast and a former full-time member of Canada’s national softball team
After Alysha Newman won an Olympic pole-vault bronze medal last week,an interviewer asked what had kept her going throughout a sometimes tumultuous career.
Of course, “there is nothing quite like sports,” said Ms. Newman, the first Canadian woman to win an Olympic medal in her field. “We stick to our guns through this because of this feeling tonight.”
But Ms. Newman also said: “I do make good money [when I’m] off the track, and I’m very proud of my entrepreneurial skills.”
Ms. Newman is a noted OnlyFans influencer, and she is not the only such athlete.
There is nothing wrong with that. Making money on OnlyFans is hard, and Ms. Newman has every reason to be proud of her entrepreneurial skills. But the fact that she and so many other athletes have side hustles shames us as a country.
Athletes spread a country’s name abroad, and they uplift their compatriots back home. It’s a service to their nation. That has value. Maybe it’s difficult to quantify. But when you watch an Olympics stream and gain some enjoyment from it, and then talk about it with friends afterward, there is no doubt you are reaping a little bit of that value.
But as a country we don’t want to pay for that. At home, we fail to provide athletes with the support they need, even as we expect them to bring home the gold on the world stage.
I remember receiving my first cheque for playing softball; I was in complete disbelief. I was making money to do what I loved, being a full-time member of the women’s national team and pursuing my dream of representing Canada at the Olympics. But reality quickly set in.
As an Athlete Assistance Program (AAP) recipient with a Senior-level card for several years under Softball Canada, I received $3,000 every two months to offset the living and training costs of being a national-level athlete. At the time, the coaches of the softball program lived and worked (i.e., coached at NCAA Division I universities) in the United States, which meant that any off-season training – outside annual winter training camps – with the coaching staff required athletes to cover those costs themselves. This meant taking time off work or school to spend thousands of dollars to visit Las Vegas and Lincoln, Neb.
During that period, I was fortunate to be in my last year of university and living with my parents, but since I had completed my four years of collegiate eligibility, I was left to do much of my training alone with the costs of trainers, gym memberships, practice equipment, and various health care professionals ballooning. I worked part-time but had to accommodate my priorities: school and training. Holding down a job – even a part-time one – was challenging since I needed long periods off, especially in the summers. The $1,500 would be spent quickly when I was travelling for training and paying for services previously received for free.
It was one of the best times in my life, but it was also hard. Looking back, I realize that I should have been better supported to improve my skills and achieve my dreams.
Sport in Canada is funded in two ways. The first is AAP, a federally funded program that “seeks to relieve some of the financial pressures associated with preparing for and participating in international sport and assists high-performance Canadian athletes to combine their sport and academic or working careers while training intensively in pursuit of world-class performances.” The carding system requires athletes to meet certain eligibility criteria to receive a monthly stipend. AAP-carded athletes are also eligible for tuition support.
The second way Canadian athletes receive funding is through Own The Podium (OTP), founded in 2006. OTP is a non-profit that assesses the performance potential of high-performance sports and through a series of criteria, identifies sports that have the highest likelihood of podium prospects for the Olympics and Paralympics. This process determines how funding is allocated to Canada’s sports associations, with the organizations with the highest probability of podium finishes receiving the most support.
The result? Funding between sports is wildly different. For example, swimming received more than $4.5-million this Olympic cycle (with eight medals), and both judo and fencing received more than $200,000 with one medal each. (Athletics, of which Ms. Newman’s pole-vaulting is a part, did receive $4.7-million, which is on the high end, but note the sheer number of sports and athletes that label encompasses – a total of 48 events this year.)
Yet, every Olympic cycle the public is shocked to learn that many Olympians – both domestically and internationally – are unable to be full-time athletes, with many having careers, while others lead a more precarious lifestyle with several part-time jobs. United States water polo player Kaleigh Gilchrist told USA Today, “The reality is that’s only the top 5% [that earn money from endorsements]; the rest of us are living paycheque by paycheque.”
When I had a Senior card through AAP, I received $1,500 monthly. That amount is now over $1,750, but would not cover rent in most Canadian cities. Gym memberships, personal trainers, physical therapists, facility rentals, travel to meet with coaches – all those things cost money. Not to mention the sheer volume of food a high-performing athlete must consume to fuel their body.
Winning a medal (or several – hi Summer McIntosh!) doesn’t mean you’re suddenly a household name that no longer needs to live paycheque to paycheque. Forbes reported that 33 countries will provide medal winners with a cash bonus with only 15 paying more than US$100,000. American gold medallists will bring home a US$37,500 bonus while Canadians will receive $20,000. AAP will provide carded athletes who win medals with additional funding based on a sliding scale dependent upon their annual income. Those earning over $65,000 are not eligible for funding, while those earning less than $60,000 can be given $6,000.
Undoubtedly these bonuses will help any athletes who receive them, but it is not enough to allow them to quit working and focus on their sport. Instead, they continue to uphold the systemic issues that persist. Corporate sponsorship can go a long way to help alleviate the financial stress of athletes yet so few businesses invest in Canadian athletes and Canadian culture.
As the Olympics wind down this weekend, we can be hopeful about what Milan 2026 will bring for Canadian athletes. But we can also wish they received better financial support from all the various entities, including corporate partners. Canadian pride won’t pay the bills.