The saying in sports is that winning a championship takes 110 per cent. That might be a well-worn cliché but it’s hitting home with high school athletes this year.

The difference is it will take more than extra effort to make up that 10 per cent – it’s more likely going to come from parents’ pocketbooks.

“Teams will have to fundraise (even more), or we’ll be asking for more money from kids,” said Saanich’s Mount Douglas high school athletic director Bernie Kidd.

More than a month into the school year, student athletes are starting to feel the effects of the province’s decision to slash gaming grants in half.

Those cuts have meant school parent advisory committees get $10 per student, down from $20. And that is putting athletic directors in a tough spot.

“It’s the primary funding for most of the sports teams,” said Kidd.

Sports programs applying to their local PAC have been asked to minimize their budget in hopes of easing the PAC decision process. Any group in the school can access the money, including sport teams, the band or the drama club.

“We’re trying to see where the PACs are at (financially). But, for most PACs, that’s a significant amount of money (lost),” said John Bird, president of the Victoria Confederation of Parent Advisory Councils.

“They’ll have to look at both extra-curricular activities and funds they’ve channelled into classrooms.”

And the biggest hit for sports teams will come if they win and qualify for an Island or mainland championship tournament.

“Every school does it different,” said Kidd. “Some can cover the entire cost of entering a championship. But at Mount Doug, traditionally, we’ve covered the entrance fee and the travel and accommodation for the (volunteer) coach, and the travel cost for the players -- but asked them to pay for their accommodation.

“More than likely we’ll have to ask athletes to pay a percentage of their travel cost,” he said.

Other suggestions include the introduction of a ticketed entrance fee for tournaments, if the host school isn’t doing one already.

“One of the things that’s challenging is you never know how successful your teams are going to be, and it becomes very difficult to try and create a set budget at the start of the year,” Kidd said.

“What’s frustrating is seeing the Olympics run a huge deficit while the legs are being cut out of amateur athletics. For the (Olympic) legacy it seems like a bit of a (paradox).”

sports@vicnews.com