Australians may be out for count in Beijing

AUSTRALIAN sport is facing a drubbing at the Olympic level unless there is urgent reform of the way sport is funded and administered.
Senior sports administrators have told The Sunday Age that, at best, Australia might salvage a haul of 42 medals in Beijing — down from the record 58 in Sydney and 49 in Athens — and the tally could slip to below 30 at the 2012 London games.
In her first interview since being appointed federal Sports Minister Kate Ellis has acknowledged that there are "major challenges" facing sports administration and funding, which she pledged to address quickly.
"We need to take a very close look at who is taking responsibility for sports funding, the different roles being played by federal, state and local governments," Ms Ellis said.
"We need to get all the key stakeholders together, work out where the gaps are, and develop a unified long-term goal.
"It's a case of other countries pouring money into elite sport, and basically looking at what Australia has been doing and taking our approach."
The Australian Sports Commission deputy president, Sydney broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones, has told The Sunday Age that Australian sport is suffering from a combination of factors.
"Firstly, the Howard government failed, in our view, to commit the sort of money we have been asking for several years and there is no doubt we are suffering from that," Jones said.
"But other serious challenges are that countries overseas are just spending so much more money funding sports that we are slipping behind.
"We are also finding that our coaches are being pinched, and we will struggle to fill the vacuum left by the departure of top multiple medal winners like Ian Thorpe. Those sort of sportsmen don't come along every day."
It was becoming much more expensive to ensure Australian athletes were competing at the top levels, Jones said.
A looming embarrassment for Australian sporting fans is the prospect of being trounced by Britain, where sports authorities are to spend about $21 billion to host the 2012 games.
In contrast, the Australian Sports Commission received $193 million from the Federal Government last year and was able to raise $24.4 million in revenue from sources such as sponsorship and hire of facilities.
From that pie, the Australian Institute of Sport receives 21%, sport performance and development programs 37%, and active after-school communities programs receive 20%.
The Australian Olympic Committee, which receives no government money, will have invested about $33 million over the past four years getting the Australian Olympic team to Beijing.