KEY POINTS:
Sports funding agency Sport and Recreation New Zealand (Sparc) has allocated hockey and basketball almost half of its $5.63 million contestable high-performance funding.
Sparc yesterday said it would invest in 17 sports that submitted applications for the contestable high-performance investment in 2007 and beyond.
Of that, basketball will get $1.18 million, hockey $1.15 million, paralympics $970,000, canoeing $700,000 and equestrian $600,000 - $4.6m - or 82 per cent - of the total funding.
Seven sports that applied for funding came up empty handed - golf, gymsports, motor-sport, rugby, table tennis, university sport and tennis.
Sparc chief executive Nick Hill said he could understand some sports would be disappointed.
"We are focusing our resources in order to build depth in results - capable sports that align with our mission," he said.
"We can certainly understand why some organisations might be disappointed, but it's important to keep in mind that we provide substantial financial investment to these organisations that is separate from our high performance investment.
"One of our overriding goals is to give as many teams and as many athletes the opportunity to qualify for Beijing and for world championships. Once we know the performances from 2007, we'll be able to make our investment decisions for 2008."
Hockey and basketball both missed out on reaching Sparc's top investment tier, when it laid out its high-performance plan for the next six years.
Sparc said then its mantra was "New Zealand athletes winning in events that matter to New Zealand".
It aimed the bulk of its high-performance investment at athletics, cycling, rowing, sailing, swimming and triathlon.
That left basketball, golf, squash, hockey, equestrian, bowls, and paralympics with about 25 per cent of the Sparc pot of gold, and pushed them into squabbling over the contestable funding.
Basketball New Zealand (BBNZ) said it was feeling an element of relief after the announcement.
It had been concerned about funding for the Tall Blacks efforts to qualify and the Tall Fern's build-up for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The announcement meant both campaigns were now on track, and preparations would not be dogged by uncertainty, BBNZ chief executive Bryn McGoldrick said.
"While the $1.18 million awarded is less than requested ... it will certainly enable BBNZ to put together a credible programme for its elite teams."
The Tall Blacks are ranked 12th in the world out of 213 member countries, while the Tall Ferns are 17th-ranked.
Sparc received applications from 26 organisations for project-based investment, the vast majority of which targets future world championships, Olympic and Commonwealth Games performances.
Decisions regarding additional high performance investment directed at targeted sports were expected to be announced in early December, and will be as much as $11 million.
Those sports included cycling, rowing, swimming and triathlon.
LATEST WINNERS
Basketball $1.18m
Hockey $1.15m
Paralympics $970,000
Canoeing $700,000
Equestrian $600,000
AND LOSERS (NOTHING)
Golf
Gymsports
Motorsport
Rugby
Table tennis
University sport
Tennis
- NZPA
