Milestone gift boosts plans for Centre for High Performance Sport
By Althea Blackburn-Evans
 
As it celebrates the first season at the new Varsity Centre, the Faculty of Physical Education and Health is already dreaming about what comes next. That dream came closer to reality this week, with an $11 million gift from the Goldring Family.
 
The largest individual gift ever made to university athletics at a Canadian university, the Goldring commitment bolsters the plans for phase two of the Varsity Centre project – the Centre for High Performance Sport.
 
Approved by U of T’s Governing Council in June 25th, the centre will boast a 2,000-seat basketball and volleyball court, a strength and conditioning centre, a state-of-the-art sport medicine clinic, and teaching and research labs that will explore a range of issues relating to health and athletic performance.
 
“U of T is setting a new standard of excellence for every aspect of sport in Canada, from research and teaching to training and competition to medical innovation and sport science,” says Bruce Kidd, dean of the Faculty of Physical Education and Health. “The synergies created by the Centre for High Performance Sport will be felt far beyond the U of T community, boosting the standard of high performance sport across the province and the country.”
 
The centre fills a critical facility gap in Ontario. “This will contribute significantly to the creation of the sports institute environment that we very much need in Ontario,” says Chris Rudge, CEO of the Canadian Olympic Committee, citing the tremendous decline in the percentage of Ontario Olympians in recent years.
 
The university aims to raise funds for the $53 million facility by the end of the year and begin construction in the fall of 2009. The campaign kicked off with an $11 million lead gift from the Goldring Family, the largest gift ever made to athletics at a Canadian university.
 
“Our aim is to help create a world-class facility that will attract top rate researchers and athletes, and ideally foster new Olympians,” says Blake Goldring, on behalf of the Goldring Family. “These are the things that really motivate and excite us.”
 
The centre will also be a place for U of T students to learn, conduct research, work out and enjoy a Varsity Blues basketball or volleyball game.
 
“The University of Toronto is a world-class institute,” says Goldring. “We are delighted to contribute to a project that will enhance the experience of students attending this university in the years ahead.”