Financial Misunderstanding in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, December 27. DUE to a misunderstanding between Swimming New Zealand and Sparc, the government agency that funds athletics in New Zealand, many swimmers from the nation are facing financial concerns. The issue revolves around grants designed to reward performances in major competition.

According to a report in the Sunday Star Times, the government agency and Swimming New Zealand originally came to an agreement that performance grants would be awarded based on finishes at the Commonwealth Games. However, Sparc later changed its mind and deemed the World Short Course Championships as the event that heavily determine performance grants.

When swimmers were notified of the change, there was obvious anger and disappointment because performance bonuses were lower than anticipated. With fewer nations participating in the Commonwealth Games than the World Short Course Champs, it was easier to post higher finishes at the Commonwealth Games. More, assuming the bonuses were based on Commonwealth results, athletes geared their training to that competition, not the World Short Course Championships.

There was a thought of filing legal action against Sparc by Swimming New Zealand, but a move of that kind was considered too costly. The reports from New Zealand indicate that some grants were presented based on Commonwealth Games results after SNZ and Sparc hashed out the misunderstanding.

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