Triathlon New Zealand Applauds Sparc
Triathlon New Zealand is applauding SPARC for the increased funding made available to elite athletes, saying it can only help both the individuals concerned and the sport to grow and achieve yet more success on the international stage.
SPARC has just announced significant increases in Performance Enhancement Grants (PEGs), money that is effectively earned by athletes or teams in Olympic events based on performances at a pinnacle event each year.
Triathlon New Zealand has for some years now been one of New Zealand’s most successful international sports with numerous medals at Commonwealth, Olympic and World Championship events.
Triathlon New Zealand National Coach Greg Fraine is delighted with the increase in funding.
“It goes without saying that athletes must first and foremost bring dedication, hard work and natural talent to the table if they are to succeed on the international stage,” said Fraine from the Tri NZ high performance camp in Germany.
“However, in order to give themselves the best chance of success, they must secure the necessary funding to allow them access to the best training facilities, advice and of course the best events around the world.
“Much of that must come from sponsors or their own pockets. PEGs however reward those who make it to the top and can go some way to compensating for the earlier sacrifice and loss of income. The best and first incentive is the desire to win, but a significant reward in the shape of a grant such as this most certainly helps them continue to train and achieve at the very highest level.”
As well as the increase in funding, SPARC has introduced a ‘multi-year’ aspect to the grants. This allows for an athlete with a proven track record in their sport at pinnacle events to plan long term without fear of losing financial support in the short term.
“This is a truly progressive step and is something that we have been angling towards to help keep our athletes in the sport throughout a four year Olympic cycle,” said Fraine.
“This will allow the likes of Bevan Docherty with two Olympic medals to ease back just a little on outright results driven goals in the short term as he works on specific areas of his sport with a view to being on the podium again in London 2012.”
In total five New Zealand triathletes earned PEGs in 2008 courtesy of their finishing position at the Beijing Olympic Games. Bevan Docherty, Andrea Hewitt, Debbie Tanner and Sam Warriner all finished inside the top 16 in Beijing. 2008 world number 12 and ITU World Cup winner Kris Gemmell also received funding on a special circumstance basis following his injury pre-Beijing that clearly impacted on his performance.
The changes come in to effect immediately with grants back dated to July 1st; this however won’t affect the triathletes as the pinnacle event has not yet taken place, with the ITU World Championship Series due for completion with the Gold Coast round in September.