The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Results released last week from the Visa Olympic spirit survey reveal that Canadians are optimistic about Canada's medal hopes for the upcoming 2004 Athens Olympic Games. On average, Canadians expect our Olympic Athletes to bring home 16 medals from Athens, nearly 15 percent more than those won in Sydney. Canadians also expect the Canadian team to bring home six gold medals, twice the number of gold medals won at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. While optimistic about Canada's chances at the upcoming Olympic Games, Canadians also believe that our amateur athletes need more funding. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they thought Canadian amateur athletes should receive more funding, while three percent said they should receive less, and 25 percent felt that current funding levels were adequate. "The Visa Olympic spirit survey shows that although Canadians are optimistic about our medal chances in Athens, they believe more can be done to help our Canadian amateur athletes in their pursuit of sport," said Brenda Woods, Vice President, Consumer Products, Visa Canada. Visa is doing its part to help Canadian amateur athletes with its long-standing support of the Canadian Olympic Committee. This year, Visa Canada also launched a new program, Team Visa. Team Visa provides four aspiring Olympians with funding, and their own mentor, Olympic Gold Medallist, Bruny Surin, whom they turn to for advice and valuable training pointers. "We've seen a great showing by some of our athletes in events leading up to the Olympic Games," said Bruny Surin, Olympic Gold Medallist, and Team Visa Mentor. "This may be the reason why Canadians are more optimistic about our medal chances than they were in the past. Speaking from experience, I can't emphasize enough how important it is that Canadians show their support for Canadian Olympians." The Visa Olympic spirit survey shows that Canadians welcome the idea of bringing the Olympic Games to Canada. Eighty-one percent of Canadians said they were in favour of hosting the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver/Whistler. Conducted by Maritz: Thompson Lightstone for Visa Canada, The Visa Olympic spirit survey showed that one out of five Canadians have dreamt of competing at the Olympic Games while 64 percent of Canadians say they plan to watch the Games on television. What events appeal to the Canadian viewer? The most popular sports for Canadians to watch are aquatics (swimming, diving), and track and field. Swimming also came out on top when respondents were asked what their favourite Olympic sport was (20 per cent), and what one Olympic sport they wished they could participate in (20 per cent). Track and field came in second in both categories, at 14 percent. Canadians overwhelmingly favour the Olympic Winter Games compared to the Summer Olympic Games by a two-to-one margin (55 percent vs. 27 percent).While Canadians as a whole agreed on most of the questions in the study, here are some regional highlights: Atlantic Canadians are the most optimistic about Team Canada's chances at the Games, expecting Canadians to take home an average of 19 medals, seven of them gold. Quebecers appear to be the best informed about the upcoming Olympic Games, with 57 per cent knowing that the Games will be held in Greece. Ontarians are the most excited about the upcoming Olympic Games, with 44 per cent saying they are somewhat, or very excited about the Games. Residents in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are also very optimistic about our medal hopes, saying they expect 17 medals overall, seven of which they expect to be gold. The national telephone survey was conducted between June 24th and June 30th 2004. A total of 1,502 male and female respondents 18 years of age and older were interviewed. The findings are accurate, plus or minus 2.5 percent, 19 times out of 20.
