ANENDRA SINGH: Even in sport, you get what you pay for

There's nothing more heartbreaking than having to drop children from sports teams because they can't afford to pay tournament fees or buy gear.
As an age-group cricket coach several years ago, I worked in tandem with my team manager to successfully buy - through social welfare - cricket whites for a talented schoolgirl.
The youngster thoroughly enjoyed herself at the Riverbend Camp and was instrumental in helping the team keep its unblemished record intact.
While I do not know where she is today and whether she still plays cricket, I would like to believe the camp experience left a lasting impression on her in terms of achievement, camaraderie and a sense of community spirit.
One only needs to ask parents how much it costs to kit out children these days to appreciate how demanding it can be to raise funds once the bar is raised for a child showing potential.
The TodaySport department is fielding increasing numbers of calls from youngsters, in pursuit of higher honours, appealing to the community, businesses and anyone else who might help them realise their dream.
Hawke's Bay examples include schoolboy snooker player David Meier-Bailey, who last year got the backing of comedian Mike King to raise funds for his trip to sharpen his cue skills in England.
The 17-year-old Taikura Rudolf Steiner student was only too happy to promote his province as a tourist destination on his amateur world under-21 championships waistcoat in Bahrain last year and to follow that up once he realises his goal of potting the black at The Crucible in Sheffield, England.
Even Hawke's Bay rowing twins Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell were no strangers to the funding struggle, even considering doing a nude calendar shoot - with the blessing of their mother, Fran - if they had to.
Calls in the past few days from Australian-based Havelock North triathlete Callum Millward and New Zealand taekwondo junior representative Benjamin Evans, of Havelock North, emphasise the dire need for a monetary foundation for the champions of tomorrow.
Perhaps the plight of Melbourne Commonwealth Games-bound 800m runner Jason Stewart, of Napier, has to be at the top of the agenda.
The Germany-based Olympian reckons if he doesn't return with some bling-bling after next month's Games then his athletics career will be over and he will be banished to the European meetings as a pace maker.
Okay, so he's not shy to shoot from the lip but one has to admire Stewart's principles - mainly that aspiring sportspeople must put their hand up first before putting their hand out for funds.
So why are high achievers such as Stewart getting crumbs? Is it because they are individuals and we cannot get past the notion that it's a self-driven conquest? Hey, Meier-Bailey's offer wasn't too unreasonable.
The gold medal-winning Evers-Swindell twins today are probably inundated with invites to sink their teeth into juicy sirloins as businesses scramble for their services. Their adopted hometown of Hamilton has also beaten the Bay in erecting a monument to acknowledge their feats.
How forthcoming were we when they were just two young rowers with a dream and putting their hand up? Perhaps we feel that popular codes such as rugby, soccer, netball and cricket, who have the lion's share of television coverage, are superior to the lower-profile sports and, therefore, are more representative provincially or nationally.
Sports Hawke's Bay have gone the extra yard to establish a secondary schools' high performance academy but maybe we should seriously look at a G7 of Bay money backers to ensure the Jason Stewarts of tomorrow don't fall through the cracks.
Do you have an opinion? To contribute: e-mail sport@hbtoday.co.nz, fax 06 8730811 or write to Box 180, Hastings.