Athlete Eligibility Policy

  1. In order for an athlete to use SAC to raise money for their athletic endeavours, they must meet the following criteria:
  2. Be a member in good standing of the National Sport Organization (NSO) governing the sport and discipline in which they compete;
  3. Be a Canadian Citizen and represent Canada in international competitions (this is to prevent Dual Citizens who complete for another Country from using SAC to raise money to represent that other Country); 
  4. Have a training and competition plan approved by their NSO, PSO/TSO coach;
  5. All athletes who are current members of a Canadian National Team or National Development Team as evidenced by their name appearing on the NSO website shall automatically qualify as SAC eligible athletes;
  6. All athletes who are current members of a Provincial Team or Provincial Development Team as evidenced by their name appearing on the Provincial or Territorial Sport Organization (PSO/ TSO) website shall automatically qualify as SAC eligible athletes;
  7. Athletes who are removed from their NSO, PSO/ TSO or Club Team for disciplinary reasons, shall cease to be eligible as a SAC athlete unless the Board of Directors of SAC determines  otherwise on a simple majority vote of the SAC Directors. Any money raised by that athlete shall be held by SAC and disbursed or allocated at the direction of a majority of the SAC Board of Directors.

  8. Outlier Athletes: SAC acknowledges that there may be circumstances in which an athlete is not on a National or Provincial Team but has demonstrated sufficient commitment, skill and ability that they should be eligible as a SAC athlete. In such cases the following factors shall be considered by the SAC President in consultation with the Board of Directors if the President deems this necessary:

    -The applicant athlete must be at least 16 years old;

    -FIS points in the relevant discipline;

    -PSO/TSO or NSO has confirmed that athlete has met minimum requirements for participation in the event the athlete is raising funds to attend; 

    -Ranking in the most recent World Cup Standings, or in the case injury, the World Cup Standings prior to the injury;

    -Past performances that may not be captured in the current FIS Points or World Rankings including U16 events, and other non-FIS ranked events; 

    -An official from the relevant NSO or PSO/TSO requests the athlete be allowed to work with SAC to raise money;

    -Previous membership on a National or Provincial Team;

    -Injuries that prevented the athlete from qualifying for the National or Provincial Team;

    -Demonstrated inability to pay the National or Provincial Team Fees;

    -Results from National or Provincial Team selection process (for example a person may not be named to a team despite their ranking);

    -An athlete who is not on an National or Provincial Team but who has been selected to compete at an international event that requires in excess of $2000 to attend including travel and accommodation costs, equipment costs, entry fees, etc.;

    -A letter from a qualified coach that speaks to the athlete’s skill and level of commitment to their sport;

    -Other unanticipated similar types of factors the President may deem relevant.

    -Other eligibility requirements as determined by the Board of Directors from time to time.

PSO/ TSO Eligibility

  1. This eligibility criteria apply to Provincial and Territorial Sport Organizations recognized by their respective Provincial or Territorial Governments;
  2. The PSO/ TSO must be a Not-for-profit corporation in good standing with the Provincial/ Territorial authorities;
  3. The PSO/ TSO must have a ranking and selection policy applied annually for the selection of athletes to their PSO/ TSO teams that is duly approved by their organizations Board of Directors;
  4. NSO provides a Letter of Endorsement confirming the PSO/ TSO’ alignment in programming, governance, training and certification standards.
  5. Submit a proposal to the SAC President outlining the project(s) for which they intend to solicit donations through SAC. The SAC President will consider whether or not the proposal aligns with the Objects of SAC as set out in the SAC Articles of Incorporation. Only projects that align will be approved.

Accounting/ Expense Policy

  1. A fee of 4% is charged on all donations received.  These funds will be used to fund the operations of SAC.
  2. Additional fees charged by credit card processing (eg. Paypal) or interac (eg. Click2pay) also apply.  Currently this is 3%  for credit cards. Donations by cheque or direct deposit including interac attract only the 4% fee as set out in paragraph 1. 
  3. Funds donated to athletes will be redistributed after 1 year of inactivity after an athlete retires from active participation in their discipline unless they are injured or notify SAC of some other sensible reason their funds should not be redistributed. The decision to redistribute funds shall be made with an abundance of caution. 
  4. Athletes may only access funds raised by way of submitting an expense claim in the approved format (available on request) and must attached electronic versions of all receipts associated with the expense claim. The only exception to this rule is that athletes may claim $65 CDN/ day for unreceipted food expenses while on the road for training and competition. Proof of travel is required (eg. results, airline tickes, etc.)
  5. Organizations may only access funds raised by way of submitting an expense claim in the approved format (available on request) and must attach electronic versions of all receipts associated with the expense claim.
  6. Donation cheques must clear at the bank before those funds are available for reimbursement.
  7. Athletes should attempt to submit expense claims that are as close as possible to the amount they have raised in donations (auditing requirement) by requesting an update on funds available for reimbursement. 
  8. SAC will not allow athletes or organizations to make more than one claim using the same receipt.  For example, an athlete who has raised $700 but makes a claim for that money using a receipt for $1000.  The balance of $300 cannot be claimed in a subsequent claim as it is simply far too complex to manage such an accounting system. This may be modified in the case of large claims made by organizations funding capital expenses, but express permission must be obtained in advance by the organization.
  9. Reimbursements for expense claims will be issued by way of EFT’s to a bank account of the athlete’s/organization’s choosing as they provide the most secure (audit approved)  process.
  10. In certain special cases, expense payments may be made directly to the vendor if pre-approval is sought on a case by case basis. (eg. an athlete could request a team fee to be paid directly or a large expense for an extended stay at a hotel, a capital equipment expense for a Provincial training centre)
  11. All expense claims must break out HST if incurred and any HST rebate shall be used to fund the operations of SAC. 
  12. All expense claims are subject to the approval or non-approval of the SAC President, who shall determine in his / her absolute discretion whether or not the expense is legitimately related to a particular athlete’s sport. Generally, expense claims should not be made for capital items unless they will likely depreciate to a nominal value within 1-2 years (eg. skis).  
  13. Things like vehicles and other capital expenses for National Sport Organizations (NSO’s), Provincial and Territorial Sport Organizations and Clubs may be pre-approved in special circumstances but pre-approval should be sought in advance of the claim.  Sometimes this will mean that SAC will retain ownership of the capital item which it could then lease to the organization that will use it. This generally involves a written agreement specifying the nature and purpose of the organization’s planned use of capital item (eg. lease for a nominal sum/ year, renewable every 5 years)
  14. All financial transactions shall be done electronically to the greatest extent that is practical. 
  15. Should Provincial or Territorial Sport Organizations wish to work with SAC to raise money and their project is approved, in addition to the 4% fee deducted from all donations there will be a one-time fee of $200, to be taken out of the first $200 donated.