Andrew Alderson: Finals vital for funding

Silver and bronze medals to Andrea Hewitt, above, and Nicky Samuels respectively at the Stockholm world series last weekend were encouraging, writes Alderson. Photo / Greg Bowker

Triathlon New Zealand's chance for redemption begins at the World Series grand final in Edmonton this morning. The men's and women's elite races are listed with High Performance Sport New Zealand as TriNZ's pinnacle events for 2014.

Podium finishes would justify the lack of Commonwealth Games medals. TriNZ will know by about 8am whether Andrea Hewitt, Nicky Samuels, Simone Ackermann, Rebecca Clarke, Anneke Jenkins or Kate McIlroy have done enough to deliver future funding. Ryan Sissons and Tony Dodds contest the men's race tomorrow morning.

Criticism has been voluble since the Glasgow failure, particularly in the relay when New Zealand slipped from medal contention to a distant fifth.

TriNZ currently receive $1.4 million annually in taxpayer funding. How much remains before the push towards Rio will be determined this weekend.

Silver and bronze medals to Hewitt and Samuels respectively at the Stockholm world series last weekend were encouraging. It was Hewitt's first world series podium since June 2012 and the first time Samuels had stepped on the dais at that level.

Both are ranked in the top 10 this season and the fact 32-year-old Hewitt finished fourth and 31-year-old Samuels 10th in Glasgow hints all is not lugubrious. However, the next generation of Ackermann, Clarke and Jenkins need to start generating similar performances.

Among the men, Sissons, with a season ranking of 14th, and Dodds at 24th, face daunting circumstances at Edmonton and further difficulties when making a case to HPSNZ. Dodds finished 10th and Sissons 13th in Glasgow - disappointing results against the diluted Commonwealth field.

TriNZ are insured to some extent against a drastic funding cut after pitching an eight-year plan after the London Olympics. A resurgence might not be far off if Dan Hoy, Elise Salt, Tayler Reid and Sam Ward fulfil their potential.

The sport also faces introspection. The ITU like showcasing cities for their main events - the infrastructures and logistics help save costs. But cities are mainly built in flat areas, meaning the races are usually decided on the run.

In contrast to Ironman events there are no penalties for drafting which makes pelotons de rigueur. If those conundrums could be solved, or at least balanced, the sport might become less formulaic to watch.