KEY POINTS:
For New Zealand's would-be Winter Olympics bobsleigh team, things are edging closer to going rapidly downhill.
The nine athletes selected from an original field of 46 meet for the first time in Dunedin today as an ambitious project to contest the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, Canada, enters its next phase.
Ultimately three of the candidates will be selected to slot in behind Britain-based driver and 2006 Olympian Alan Henderson.
After surviving the initial selection process - which considered applicants from Australia and sand-locked Qatar - the two-day camp is designed to establish training schedules for the rest of the year.
The athletes will be timed sprinting over 40m, have strength testing, plus pull and push an undersized sled over flat ground on an athletics track - weather permitting.
The next camp is planned for June, by which time German coach Gerd Grimme will ideally be on board to trim the squad to six.
From there a four-man squad are expected to travel to Calgary - host of the 1988 Games - for their first exposure to training on ice. The final pre-Olympics phase is participation in next year's world championships at Lake Placid in the United States.
Eight squad members were unveiled last month and yesterday the ninth was revealed as Otago rugby representative Karne Hesketh. Project co-ordinator Dr Angus Ross - himself a three-time winter Olympian - is excited to have the squad together for the first time, although he said Hesketh's involvement might be shortlived because he had commitments with Otago and hoped to securing a Super 14 contract next season.
Ross said other than refining the squad, a sled was a high priority. They do not come cheap however, with a state-of-the-art steel and fibreglass unit costing about $100,000.
"The purpose of this project is not to get a $20,000 crappy one. New Zealand teams have been to the Olympics before and have been pretty mediocre I reckon ... not by design, but through financial and other constraints.
"This time is about doing it properly."
Sparc has contributed $10,000 towards the selection process and although more money may be forthcoming, a sponsor will be required to finance the sled.
* BOBSLEIGH SQUAD
Tom Davie (Otago), 22. NZ junior long and triple jump record holder.
Chris Donaldson (Otago), 32. Two-time Olympian and second fastest New Zealander over 100m and NZ record holder over 200m.
Willie Trew (Otago), 27. Rugby wing and sprinter in athletics.
Mike King (Gisborne), 25. Rugby and surf lifesaving background.
Mark Keddell (Auckland) 33. Atlanta Olympian in 200m, NZ junior record holder over 200m, making a comeback after debilitating back injury in the 1990s, No 2 in NZ's all time 200m rankings.
Sam Higgie (Auckland), 26. Former NZ 400m champion.
Don McDonald (Auckland) 31. Former NZ representative at world champs in 4x100m, No 3 in NZ all-time 100m rankings.
Carl Condliffe (Wellington) 26. Former NZ national high jump champion.
Karne Hesketh (Otago) 22. Otago representative rugby player.
- NZPA
