Athletes, sport organizations optimistic about new federal money to boost participation

Competing in the Winter Olympics this past February cost Melissa Lotholz more than $77,000.

It was money the veteran bobsledder, who has competed on Canada's national team for more than a decade, raised to give herself the best chance to perform on the biggest international stage.

Two years earlier, Lotholz and a teammate slept on cots in a church loft for free while competing at an event in Lake Placid, N.Y.

"That's what it took to finish in sixth place at the Olympics," Lotholz said in an interview with CBC Sports. "In the women's [bobsleigh], the two countries that medalled, those are the countries that are pouring millions into their program."

As she weighs her career heading into the next Winter Olympics in 2030, Lotholz is optimistic that a new federal cash injection to national sport organizations will make a difference.

"I think a lot of athletes are kind of weighing that idea of like, OK, at what point can I actually keep on putting off getting a job and working full time and getting an income, because you can't live the broke athlete lifestyle forever," Lotholz said.

The announcement, which came in the federal government's spring economic update on Tuesday, pledged the money over five years. It's targeted specifically at increasing participation in sport among children and youth, particularly in underrepresented communities, and improving safe sport mechanisms.

It's not yet clear how much each national sport organization will receive and exactly how that money could affect the day-to-day lives of athletes like Lotholz.

But sometimes making sport safer is also connected to funding it better, the bobsledder said. To find ways to cut corners in the last Olympic cycle, Lotholz found herself making decisions that