Rowing and cycling in the money

Sparc is concerned at the gap between NZ and Australia in track cycling. Photo / Brett Phibbs

It was a turbulent year on top of the water for New Zealand sport, but Sparc was yesterday able to play Father Christmas rather than the Grinch when it announced its funding for 2011.

Marty Toomey, Sparc's general manager high performance, said that while much of the year's sporting attention was diverted to the troubles within kayaking and swimming, New Zealanders picked up 16 medals in Olympic equivalent disciplines, their best year-on-year performance.

There are no guarantees that will translate to medals in London, but it was evidence there was more to the year than the spats on the water and a low-key Commonwealth Games.

Of those 16 Olympic-discipline medals, rowing accounted for seven and cycling four, so it is no surprise to see them emerge as the most cash-rich sports next year, though Toomey acknowledged there was a concern that a gap had emerged between Australia and New Zealand's track cycling performances in Delhi.

Rowing New Zealand will receive $3.53 million and BikeNZ $3.85 million, excluding individual Performance Enhancement Grants (PEGs) and Prime Minister's Scholarships.

The Government this year announced it was increasing its investment in sport. The investment in 2010 was close to $45 million, which will increase in $5 million increments over the next four years.

That has meant Toomey has been in the enviable position this year of being able to pay Peter without having to rob Paul.

"If we had to make those calls on additional funding, it would have come at the expense of other sports," Toomey said.

There are sports that have been given the funding equivalent of a "Must Do Better" report.

After a woeful Commonwealth Games, bowls have had their funding slashed by 28 per cent, from $350,000 to $250,000.

But it is swimming and kayaking which are most in the gun after embarrassing years.

Sparc will invest just $825,000 in swimming for the first six months of next year, with funding beyond that contingent on recommendations of an independent review covering all aspects of SNZ's high-performance programme.

Toomey said the initial funding means swimmers can keep training and competing while issues are addressed. A maximum $1.625 million has been earmarked for the sport - no change on this year.

Moss Burmester recently criticised the coaching hierarchy and the high-performance environment at SNZ. As the sport has been seen by outsiders as an underachiever at major meetings for years, it is perhaps surprising the review has been so long in coming.

"That's a fair question," Toomey said, "but what we had this year was a review of the Delhi Commonwealth Games and ... we found issues that were quite deep and to make any investment decision we had to know with a lot more certainty what those issues are."

Sparc's $900,000 investment in Canoe Racing NZ next year, down from 2010's $937,500, is subject to confirmation of a new coaching structure following the very public split at the top level involving leading paddler Ben Fouhy and coaches Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald.

Other sports, such as hockey, are clearly moving in the right direction. Hockey NZ chief executive Hilary Poole was delighted with her organisation's $1.85 million windfall.

"It's at the upper end of our expectation," she said, adding that the money would help fund internationals, with Belgium, Japan and Korea set to play tests in New Zealand in February.

Paralympics and winter sports were also big winners.

WHO GOT WHAT

Targeted sports

* Athletics: $1.8m (+ $250k)

* Cycling: $4.085m (+$500k)

* Rowing: $4.32m (+$800k)

* Swimming: $1.65m*

* Triathlon: $1.585m (+$50k)

* Yachting: $2.5m (-)

* Netball: $1.2m (+$200k)

Contestable funding

Big winners:

* Paralympics: $1.4m (+750k)

* Winter sports: $1.3m (+$476k)

* Hockey: $1.85m (+$435k)

* Equestrian: $900,000 (+$375k)

* Golf: $300,000 (+$300k).

Big losers:

* Canoe racing: $900,000 (-$37.5k)*

* Bowls: $250,000 (-$100k)

* Tae Kwon Do: $100,000 (-$40.25k)

* Dependent on result of Sparc review