The Canadian Press

Canada’s summer Olympians now have an extra reason to cheer when their Winter Games compatriots win gold in Vancouver.

Toronto investment firm Sprott Asset Management has pledged to donate $100,000 to the Canadian Athletes Now Fund each time a Canadian tops the podium in Vancouver.

When 2008 Olympic rowing gold medallist Ben Rutledge needed a new training boat, he knew he couldn’t afford it on an athlete’s $18,000 annual income.

So he turned to the Canadian Athletes Now Fund.

Rutledge is a five-time recipient of money from the fund and said it allowed him to train his hardest and eased worries about how he would pay for day-to-day living expenses.

“We’ve endured a lot of physical, mental challenges that sometimes seemed impossible to conquer, but we had support along the way. That support was coaching, teammates and as well one of the big things: financial support,” he said.

Vicky Sunohara, a two-time gold medal winner for women’s hockey in 2002 and 2006, received funding along with 16 other members of the 2006 team.

Sunohara, a new mother of twins, said she loves hockey, but at the end of day, athletes have to pay bills and weigh their priorities.

“The CAN Fund really helped and took that out of my mind,” said Sunohara, who received a $6,000 grant for training in Calgary before the 2006 Olympics.

“(An athlete’s income) is hard to live off of. Anything on top of that is a benefit and will take stress off you financially … it helps you focus on what you need to focus on and that’s training and competing and doing everything you can do to be the best.”

Twice a year Canadian athletes can apply for direct funding and can receive up to $12,000 a year.

The fund has helped 80% of the teams representing Canada in Vancouver this year, said its executive director Jane Roos.

She said many people are unaware of the funding gap athletes face, adding that 42% of Canada’s winter athletes rank in the Top 10 globally but still have negative incomes

“Many of our athletes will leave the games having accumulated debt … some have racked up their credit cards, they give everything they’ve got to get there … and they really rely on us to come through for them,” she said.

Roos approached Eric Sprott, CEO of Sprott Asset Management, last month when 35 Canadian athletes remained on the waiting list for funding.

He agreed to donate $210,000 to clear the backlog of winter athletes’ funding requests.

He also wanted to do more for Canadian athletes, and decided to celebrate Canada’s victories with donations.

“Sprott’s generosity helps ensure our winter athletes’ success will fuel the dreams of summer athletes in the future,” he said.

Sprott hopes Canada wins at least 15 gold medals, meaning he’d be donating $1.5 million to the athletes.

He called on other members of Canada’s business community to make a similar pledge, adding that it’s a historical time to celebrate victory, since Canada has never won Olympic gold on Canadian soil.

Sprott Asset Management is a subsidiary of Sprott Inc. (TSX:SII).