Calgary's National Sport School gets a year's reprieve from school board

CALGARY -- The National Sport School in Calgary that has produced Olympic and Paralympic champions will survive at least one more year.

The Calgary Board of Education planned to close the school operating at WinSport's Canada Olympic Park when the lease expired in June, and move students to public high schools in a cost-cutting measure.

But the CBE said in a statement Friday "the National Sport School will continue to operate out of WinSport for the 2020-21 school year.

"Programming for the next year will be adjusted based on the CBE's fiscal reality and will reflect funding for a high school of a similar size.

"CBE will revisit the future of the National Sport School in the coming months."

The Calgary Olympic Development Association - now WinSport - and the Calgary Board of Education jointly established the school in 1994 to help athletes both pursue sport at a world level and graduate from high school.

Alumni include Olympic champions Kyle Shewfelt (gymnastics), Jennifer Botterill, Carla MacLeod and Jocelyne Larocque (hockey), Kaillie Humphries (bobsled), Brady Leman (ski cross) and six-time Paralympic swim champion Jessica Sloan.

Two dozen NSS alum competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 6, 2020.