Dispute over athlete agreement has Canadian bobsled pilot without funding for 4 months

Chris Spring is a four-time Olympian who's competed for Canada in bobsled for close to a decade. But for the past four months, he's received no federal funding due to a dispute over his athlete's agreement.

"There are some provisions in the athlete agreement that I don't agree with. And so I don't want to sign an agreement that I don't agree with just to get paid," Spring said.

Athletes are required to sign an agreement with their national sport organization (NSO) to receive federal funding. Each sport writes its own agreement, and so they vary from sport to sport.

The 38-year-old last received an Athletic Assistance Program (or carding) cheque on April 11. He should have been paid about $7,000 since then.

"The athletes don't get paid [during a dispute], but everyone else [in the NSO and Sport Canada] gets to receive their cheque, and that's frustrating," Spring said.

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Spring and brakeman Mike Evelyn had Canada's top finish in the two-man at the Beijing Olympics, placing seventh.

His concerns about the new athlete agreement are largely around the language. The agreement breaks down the obligations of Bobsleigh Canada Skeleton (BCS) and the obligations of the athlete.

"It says the BCS 'shall, throughout the term, undertake its best efforts to . . .' and then there's a whole list of things that the NSO will undertake its best efforts to comply with," Spring said. "I don't like the wording of that. What is someone's best effort? And how is that determined? It just comes down to accountability."

The section on athletes' obligations, on the other hand, reads that: "'the athlete shall throughout the term," Spring said, emphasizing 'shall.' "So, you're