Applying to become a registered Canadian amateur athletic association

This page contains information about the application process and required criteria in order to become a registered Canadian amateur athletic association.

To apply

To apply to be an RCAAA under the Income Tax Act, complete the online form available through MyBA.

1. To access your association’s account through MyBA, you need a business number (BN) and a pending RR account. Follow the instructions under the tab “Applicant organization” to obtain them and to log into MyBA.
2. Once logged into MyBA, under your RR account, select the link “Apply to be a registered charity or RCAAA”.
3. You can now start completing the online form Apply to be a Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Association (RCAAA) under the Income Tax Act. For more information, see Tips about the online form.

If you have difficulty accessing the digital services, or have questions regarding the application you can contact the Charities Directorate.

Authorized representatives can use Represent a Client to apply on behalf of their client organization.

Criteria

To be registered as a Canadian amateur athletic association, the association that is applying must be created and resident in Canada and it must have the promotion of amateur athletics in Canada nation-wide as its exclusive purpose and exclusive function.  

The following could be considered as advancing the exclusive purpose of the promotion of amateur athletics in Canada on a nation-wide basis:

• regulate a sport and the way it is played
• promote a sport
• oversee a structure of local clubs, and regional, provincial, and territorial bodies involved in a sport
• deliver a training program that brings promising athletes from the grassroots level to national and international levels through various qualifying competitions
• manage a national team to participate at international competitions
• stage and sanction local, regional, provincial, territorial, and national competitions
• act as a Canadian representative of an international federation controlling a sport
• provide a training and certification program for coaches and referees
• carry out fundraising activities and redistribute funds for local, regional, provincial, and territorial member organizations

To be registered, the association must also devote all its resources to its exclusive purpose and function.

No part of the association's income can be payable to or available for the personal benefit of any proprietor, member, or shareholder of the association unless the proprietor, member, or shareholder was a club, society, or association whose primary purpose and function was promoting amateur athletics in Canada.

Organizations that cannot be registered

Certain clubs and organizations, like those listed below, are not eligible for registration because they do not function on a nation-wide basis:

• organizations of a local, regional, provincial, or territorial character
• organizations whose primary purpose is to train and field a single team of athletes, regardless of the level of competitions
• organizations that operate a local training or other facility that is not directed toward high-performance athletes, regardless of whether this facility is open to athletes from across Canada in theory or in practice
• organizations that use sports as a means to achieve another more primary purpose 

Related links 

• CRA login services
• List of charities and certain other qualified donees
• Issuing official donation receipts
• Books and records
• Sanctions and objections