The 2023 Canada Winter Games, hosted in Prince Edward Island, left another legacy, in the form of a $5.5 million fund open to applications from amateur sports groups and communities across the province.

The money will be used to ensure Island athletes, coaches and officials have what they need to succeed, which could include better equipment and facilities.

The president of the event’s host society said the surplus represents the largest legacy fund in Canada Games history.

Wayne Carew sees the fund as “what I hope will be a lasting legacy for future Island athletes who are getting back on their feet, that will give them a little boost, an opportunity that they might not usually have… so they can compete at a national level.

“It’s a transformative change for amateur sport. We don’t get that kind of money pumped into island sport.”

Wayne Carew, president of the 2023 Canada Winter Games host society, says the legacy fund is the largest in Games history. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

Prince Edward Island welcomed more than 3,600 Canada Games athletes, coaches and managers from across the country over a two-week period in February 2023.

Around 5,000 volunteers were ready to welcome them and prepare every element of their experience.

Infrastructure legacies include a $63 million residence hall at UPEI, a $10 million Olympic-sized ice rink in North Rustico and a $5 million multi-purpose dome.

Carew said the host company raised $9.3 million through sponsorships, ticket sales and the sale of branded clothing and other equipment.

The Community Foundation of Prince Edward Island will oversee the surplus fund and review applications.

Applicants may be municipalities or local, regional or provincial non-profit sports organizations based in PEI.

Funding categories include capacity building, equipment, introduction to sport and facility development.

Rhonda Pauls, executive director of Baseball PEI, says the organization will certainly seek funding to improve existing venues and build new ones. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

Rhonda Pauls, executive director of Baseball PEI, plans to apply for legacy funding to help the organization build and improve venues for Island baseball players.

“This is real money. Real money can go a long way toward addressing one of the biggest challenges we face here. [which] these are places,” she said.

“We have a lot of kids playing baseball, we have a lot of young adults playing baseball, we’re trying to expand our leagues.”

Communities or organizations interested in applying for the Canada Games Legacy Fund can do so through the Community Foundation of Prince Edward Island website.