Elitism bothers NZOC

Sparc's high-performance strategy has received qualified support from the New Zealand Olympic Committee - but it has also been reminded not to forget the importance of those sports which did not make the Big Nine.

The Government sports funding agency this week identified nine sports to receive up to 70 per cent of a $33 million pot until 2012: rugby, cricket and netball - because of their importance to New Zealand and potential to win their world titles by that year - and athletics, cycling, rowing, sailing, swimming and triathlon.

The other 30 per cent will be available on what Sparc called a contestable basis, that is sports must present better cases for support than their rivals.

NZOC chief executive Barry Maister supported several of the Sparc document's general themes, but called on the agency to "continue to work for all sports ... and to regularly and transparently review the status of each National Sporting Organisation, and the category they fit into".

Maister added: "We believe all NSOs should have the opportunity to meet the qualifying criteria for Sparc's targeted high-performance funding."

The NZOC wants flexibility to allow sports outside the Big Nine to progress on to what it calls "the favoured list".

Maister pointed out that about 40 per cent of New Zealand's Commonwealth Games medals have been won by sports outside the nine. One of Sparc's targets is 10 or more medals at the London Olympics in six years.

Maister added that the NZOC did not want to see Sparc's strategy work against historically successful sports.