53200 Athletes

What this occupation covers

Athletes participate in competitive sports events on an amateur or professional basis. They play team sports such as hockey, baseball, football and lacrosse; or compete in individual sports such as skiing, figure skating, boxing or track and field; or in games such as poker or chess. They are employed by professional team organizations or they may be self-employed.

Official main duties

The NOC profile lists 4 main duties for this code.

• Train under the direction of a coach or trainer to qualify for competition
• Attend scheduled practice and training sessions
• Participate in local, regional, provincial, national or international competitions and sporting events
• Assess performance after an event to identify strengths and weaknesses.

Do not copy these lines into your reference letter. The letter has to describe what you actually did, in your employer’s words. DUTYPROOF flags wording lifted from the NOC as something to review, and an officer reading a letter that mirrors the NOC reads it the same way.

What DUTYPROOF screens for

This is DUTYPROOF’s screening threshold, not IRCC’s decision. For this NOC, screening requires at least 2 of its 4 official duties to be evidenced in your own words, plus the required letter elements. IRCC asks that you performed the actions in the occupation’s lead statement and a substantial number of its main duties — so treat the duty coverage as the number that matters, not the badge.

Codes this one is confused with

The NOC profile names these itself. Choosing the wrong code of a look-alike pair is the most common way genuine work experience fails to establish eligibility.

• 53201 Coaches
• 54100 Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness
• 53202 Sports officials and referees

Excluded from this code

• Coaches (See 53201 Coaches)
• Sports instructor (See 54100 Program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness)
• Sports officials and referees (See 53202 Sports officials and referees)

Job titles filed under this code

A title on this list does not by itself put your experience in this code — the duties in your letter decide that.

amateur athlete · archer · athlete · automobile racer · badminton player · baseball player · basketball player · billiard player · bowler · boxer · canoeist · chess player · chuckwagon driver · chuckwagon racer - stampede · competitor - chess · competitor - gambling · coxswain · curler · cyclist · demolition driver · discus thrower · diver - olympic sport · fencer · figure skater

Employment requirements

• Demonstrated ability in a particular sport, or type of game, is required.
• Extensive training under the supervision of a coach is required.
• Certification with a particular sports federation may be required.
• A background combining athletic training and college or university studies is strongly recommended.