Kayaking: Cash cooling canoe comeback

HUNGARY - It is ironic that, just as Sparc has reallocated its high performance financial resources excluding canoeing as an elite sport, the team at the world kayaking championships feel they are getting closer to the glory days of the 1980s.

That was when Kiwis were captivated by the likes of Alan Thompson, Paul MacDonald, Grant Bramwell and Ian Ferguson propelling themselves down Lake Casitas to haul in four gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, then helping the country to a record medal haul of 13 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

There is some way to go to return to those levels - canoeist Ben Fouhy was the only New Zealander to make an A final at the world championships in Szeged, Hungary, yesterday, as fastest qualifier in the K1 1000m.

Fouhy won the K1 1000 world championship in 2003 and went on to take silver at the Athens Olympics a year later, although divisions surfaced about coaching resources in the team, led by Ferguson. While Fouhy's funding (as an athlete in the world's top 16 in his sport) is secure, the sport's is not, as it is not one of the six recognised elite sports that will attract 70 per cent of Sparc's $33m funding of sport in this country.

But the 12-strong New Zealand athlete and management team in the kayaking stronghold of Hungary feel they have turned the corner following the resource-strapped stress which emerged two years ago during and after the Athens Olympics.

Since that intense introspection, kayaking has tried to rejuvenate using a recipe of past icons, pooling future talent, and harnessing an old boys network to give the sport more pep.

On the national front, former arch-rivals and teammates Thompson and Ferguson have the reins - Ferguson, the mild-mannered but determined four-time Olympic gold medal hero still as official coach; and Thompson as manager, the no-nonsense character who you suspect has a healthy sense of larrikinism underneath his bristling salt and pepper moustache.

But turning the corner does not mean they have waved farewell to the perennial problem of funding. Thompson stresses it can be a financial burden."I know what Ferg puts in and I know what I put in and it gets scary at times what comes out of your own pocket."

As someone who feels the direct effect of such financial strain on the water, Fouhy recognises it is a catch-22 - until there are more results from a broader range of people, resources simply won't come. "It's no reflection on Canoe Racing New Zealand because they're as hamstrung as anyone but the battle should be on the water, not off the water getting resources to run a campaign.

"For the most part, we're up against professionals who have trained their athletes for a long time with plenty of information and systems in place. Sometimes I think there's too much of a 'she'll be right' attitude. She won't 'be right'. It's like with Athens where I knew I wasn't prepared enough - I knew I had to do better but I didn't know how to do it, or have the necessary backing.

"We have people who are doing their best but who also run businesses to support their families.

"That's just how it is - severely compromised. For me personally, I haven't been able to have a full-time coach and that's what I need for reassurance."

Ferguson reinforces that view, dedicating a good deal of time to his business in summer so he can afford to travel overseas each year - but he warns any sort of professional environment won't come easily.

"We're starting to develop high performance centres such as in Auckland, to improve the training culture through economies of scale.

"Regrettably, with our budget, we still have the scenario where coaches volunteer their time - and because they are amateur you can't demand anything of them. You can only hope they'll upgrade themselves."

Sustained efforts have been made to get things right after the grumblings of Athens. Thompson admits that, yes, there were problems, but those are long resolved.

"We've got the right balance in the team now - Ferg and Ben get on, there's no question about that. It's a sign of maturity that we can progress. What we had two years ago was an under-resourced team developing selection criteria and policy as it went and that was a mistake.

"If you've got a situation like that with Ferg doing 90 per cent of the work, you're going to come unstuck. There were a lot of gray areas and with gray areas comes friction. We've now got better policy and criteria as well as athletes who know where they stand with contracts."

But Fouhy concedes there is still a way to go before he can reach his full potential as an athlete, especially with Beijing less than two years away.

"I like getting a lot of information from my coaches and injecting that into my training. But without someone full-time to address the details, I expend an enormous amount of mental energy analysing it and find myself running out of steam.

Thompson wants to see the fine print but is concerned Sparc has overlooked some of kayaking's past resourcefulness.

"A sport doesn't have to be enormous to produce the goods. If it's got the knowledge, it's still worth the investment, especially with guys making finals in international events."

The last, and possibly prophetic words in this debate go to Fouhy, who's eking out a successful career against kayaking's K1 1000 heavyweights. "Champions will always prove themselves regardless of their resources."

A lot rides on his paddle and, as this paper was rolling off the press, he may well have gone some way to helping the sport recover.