KEY POINTS:
Hockey New Zealand is in damage control after a crippling cut in Sparc funding.
The women's Black Sticks programme has been singled out and given nothing for next year. It received $400,000 this year.
But HNZ chief executive Ramesh Patel said the implications were far-reaching for the sport as a whole.
"We expected there would be a cut after the women's world ranking dropped to 11th, but we never imagined it would be zero dollars," said Patel. "We are gutted by that.
"We know how difficult it is to get on to the world rankings and we can't just abandon the women's programme, just as we know we can't use the money Sparc have given the men for the women. We have to support both campaigns which will mean cuts elsewhere."
A likely target is the National Hockey League (men and women) which could revert back to the old-style tournament format which Patel estimates could provide a $70,000-$80,000 saving.
The crucial Junior World Cup campaigns - scheduled for Boston and Singapore/Malaysia - are also in jeopardy. Ironically, Sparc chief executive Peter Miskimmin was in Australia yesterday - as coach of the Junior Black Sticks men - when the funding allocations were announced.
Miskimmin, a 150-test veteran for the national side, referred all questions to high performance manager Marty Toomey but said: "You have to prioritise when the demand is far greater than the available funding. The decision [to cut the women from their list] was made with due consideration".
The savage cut is particularly hard on the national body which has long been prudent in its spending and has a deserved reputation of living within its means and remaining under budget at a time when many other sporting bodies have "blown the bank".
The planned announcement of a new women's national coach to replace long-serving Kevin Towns is now in doubt.
"We sat around the table at a board meeting last Friday aware there was likely to be a cut," said Patel. "But certainly not to this extent. It is a body blow to our organisation.
"Whatever happens, we have to do everything we can for the women. They have their Oceania Championships next year in New Zealand and the Champions Challenge tournament in South Africa.
"If you don't play in tournaments like that you lose your ranking points, which in turn can effect you entry to events like the Commonwealth Games, which we have in 2010, [and] the World Cup in Argentina."
