Cash crisis for Olympic stars

New Zealand’s Olympics boss has revealed that unless his organisation gets a cash injection athletes like world champion shot putter Valerie Vili may have to help pay their own way to future games.

Eion Edgar – the president of the New Zealand Olympic Committee – told Sunday News last night the organisation is facing a $2.5 million deficit in the four-year lead up the 2012 Games in London.

“It’s possible that unless we increase our funding, athletes who want to compete may have to pay part of their own way,’’ Edgar said.

The NZOC is struggling to keep up with the improving standard of New Zealand athletes.

The size of the team that will travel to the Beijing Olympics in August is expected to be the biggest ever sent from New Zealand despite the NZOC raising their qualification standards.

"We are getting more teams qualifying and then you get situations like rowing we will have one of our biggest rowing teams ever in Beijing.

"It demonstrates how well New Zealand does on that wide world stage.

"I'm excited about it but equally that's why we have to plan to make sure we are in a well placed financial situation in 2012.

"What we were looking to do is raise our profile and increase the understanding of what our long term goals are.

"At the moment we are in good shape but looking out, if you take the long term view and plan for the next five or six years as any responsible board should, we need to increase our funding. There's no hiding from that."

Edgar said the NZOC will always look to fund athletes for Commonwealth and Winter and Summer Olympic Games.

But, he said, "With the number of Games, for some of them we may have to say `You have to pay part of it."'

The teams almost certain to feel the trickle down of any financial troubles at the NZOC will be teams selected to compete at youth games.

Those include the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival, the 2010 Youth Olympic Games and the 2012 Winter Olympic Youth games the breeding ground for New Zealand's Olympic and Commonweatlth Games teams.

Said Edgar: "That would be disappointing because they are our future but we have to be practical because there are only so many things we can do financially.

"A quarter of their costs may have to be paid by the athlete or their sport."

- © Fairfax NZ News