Cam's Corner: Funding and winning go hand in hand

Cameron Leslie feels the cut in funding for the British Wheelchair Rugby side is part of the brutal nature of sports. Photo / Aaron Aldridge

Last week the British media erupted with news of their wheelchair rugby team losing their funding.

So far the reaction of the funding cut has players saying it is "unjust", "the beginning of the end" and it has "slashed the tyres" of the Great Britain wheelchair rugby team.

Sadly though, this is the way high-performance sports works - you are funded to win. If you don't, unfortunately there goes the funding.

I do find the Great Britain reaction frustrating yet entertaining, but also mixed with empathy and sympathy.

This is nothing new to New Zealand's wheelchair rugby team who lost its government funding around the 2009/10 season.

At that time we felt similarly ripped off, especially when wheelchair rugby was the poster boy for Paralympic sport - much like it is in Great Britain.

In 2004, the Wheel Blacks won gold at the Paralympics - shocking the wheelchair rugby world. From 2004-2008, we stayed at the top with consistent podium finishes.

However, that all came crashing down - as it did for Great Britain - at the Paralympics.

The Kiwi team was expected to achieve another podium finish in Beijing but ironically missed out courtesy of single-goal losses to Great Britain and Australia.

In the six years since we lost our funding we have done what is needed to keep the sport alive in New Zealand, internationally and domestically.

Admittedly, we haven't been able to reach the same heights as the 2004-2008 Wheel Black team did.

We have, though, kept the sport alive and are now embarking on a new journey to ensure the sport, from participation through to podium, never suffers the same fate again.

Now, we have a strong board who are working to make NZWR as robust as possible and focus on a winning culture and winning mentality.

This will support growth in numbers, existing players and pathways to challenge the solid group of existing Wheel Blacks.

However, nothing happens overnight.

While my sympathy does extend to Great Britain, I feel it is not the end of the world.

I know Great Britain can come back from this and at the end of the day if the players want it that bad, they will play on.

As sportspeople, we don't do it for the money.

About wheelchair rugby:
- It is a sport designed for people affected by disability or weakness to three or four limbs. This includes - but is not limited to - tetraplegics, amputees, cerebral palsy, and some forms of dwarfism.
- It is a sport for both males and females.
- The game consists of four eight-minute quarters.
- It is played indoors on a court, with four players per team.
- A volleyball type ball is used for games.
- There is a shot clock, much like basketball, and rules that encourage full chair-on-chair contact.