It is with great excitement that Canadian Sport Institute Pacific (CSI Pacific) celebrates a 5-year working relationship with Financial Literacy Counsel (FLC). Since 2014, FLC has been providing support to CSI Pacific registered, Game Plan eligible athletes by way of workshops and individual financial counseling.
During this time, their services have had great impact on the financial stability and outlook of high performance athletes.
In the past five years, the team at FLC has assisted 275 athletes with financial counseling, and they have led 29 workshops that have seen over 480 attendees in total.
They consistently bring new ideas and activities into their work with athletes, which excites participants about a topic that can sometimes bring about feelings of unease and nervousness. Further, FLC takes it upon themselves to stay current in their knowledge of the financial considerations of amateur athletes.
Under sometimes challenging circumstances, FLC has a special way of advising their clients, empowering them to feel confident when it comes to financial management, decision making, and planning.
FLC was founded in 1999 as a university student club to help students understand financial basics, while teaching financial skills necessary to pay off debts and save money. In their business today, they are working with national team athletes across the country as well as families, institutions, and corporations around the world.
The impact of FLC’s work on the lives of high performance athletes is showcased in a testimonial provided by Emma Lunsden, a biathlete from Vernon, BC:
“FLC’s education session helped me understand a lot more about ways I could take control of my personal finances and start saving smarter towards both short and long-term goals. The group session was really valuable for me to first get a more solid grasp on basic financial topics such as tax-savings investments like TFSA’s and RRSP’s, and the follow up one-on-one with the financial advisor allowed me to take an in-depth look at my own unique situation as an athlete, and talk over possibilities on how to manage my finances in a more productive way.
I would tell other people to attend this session because I think it’s important to have a financial plan for the future, and the work I’ve done with FLC has introduced me to many savings options I would’ve never otherwise considered. It’s helped me to feel more in control of my own financial future, and I’ve also felt very supported in regards to any questions that have come up along my financial journey. It was also quite interesting for me to hear the different ways that my teammates and I handle our finances, and I was able to take some ideas and experiences from them that we wouldn’t have otherwise discussed. I’m really happy I made the choice to attend the FLC session in Canmore, as it’s turned into a valuable resource for my personal financial planning.”
Athletes interested in accessing this service should email CSI Pacific’s Game Plan Advisor, Sarah (skiengersky@csipacific.ca) to learn more about how to access services from FLC.
About Financial Literacy Counsel
FLC is a boutique financial education and financial planning company committed to “building financially literate generations”. We are Financial Educators and Financial Planners who provide a team-based approach for athletes. Over the last five years, FLC has worked closely with CSI to provide athlete specific financial education. When designing curriculum for Athletes, we have considered your life, sport, and finances.
About Game Plan
Game Plan (mygameplan.ca) is a collaboration between the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network (COPSIN), and Sport Canada to provide the best resources this country has to offer to our national team athletes – a team that has given so much and inspired so many.
Game Plan is a holistic approach to athlete development and total wellness throughout an athlete’s high-performance sport career, and beyond. It is a world-class program to develop mentally stronger athletes who apply what they have learned as leaders in sport to the betterment of themselves and their communities.
Game Plan is a source of competitive advantage for Canada and for Canadian athletes that will position Canada as a global leader in the sport community.
About Canadian Sport Institute Pacific
Offering world-class Olympic and Paralympic training environments in Vancouver, Whistler and Victoria, Canadian Sport Institute Pacific (www.csipacific.ca) is committed to Powering Performance. Inspiring Excellence. Working with national sport organizations and fuelled by our national and provincial partners such as Sport Canada, viaSport, Own the Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee, Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Coaches Association of Canada, we are driven by our mantra to Collaborate. Serve. Innovate.
Our team of sport science, sport medicine, coaching & life services experts provide leading-edge programs and services to athletes and coaches to ensure they have every advantage to win medals for Canada.