THE PRICE OF GOLD

Debate is raging in Australia over the price of fame -- Olympic fame, that is.

Australia, the country which has fought above its weight throughout the entire history of the modern Olympics, is now fighting a funding battle to maintain its lofty international status.

Remarkably for a nation of only 22 million, Australia finished fourth on the medal table with 16 golds in Sydney 2000, fourth again with 17 golds in Athens in 2004, and sixth with 14 golds in Beijing in 2008. Already, though, the forecast for London 2012 is for a 50 percent decline in gold medals and a 10th place overall.

The trend is clearly heading south and the reason, according to the Australian Olympic Committee, is funding. The AOC says more is needed to finance talent identification, training, preparation etc.. to present teams with the optimum chance of success.

But the Crawford report into Australian sports funding rejects that proposition. It says the public purse should be redirected into Australian-centric sports, community sports and, importantly, those sports high on participation numbers. Which doesn't necessarily include the likes of rowing, canoeing, sailing, archery, water polo and others, which have contributed significantly to Australia's recent Olympic gold medal tallies.

So the debate goes like this: what is the price of Olympic success, and how many people really care about that success? And would the money be better spent elsewhere, even away from sport altogether?

On one hand, who can forget the national excitement and joy of the Sydney Olympic Games 9 years ago? And does not the huge majority of our population become spellbound every four years for the Olympics, cheering on and celebrating Australian victories as if it were their own? And treat the victors as heroes and celebrities on their home-coming?

What is the price of that euphoria? We can't expect to embrace it without cost.

And there must be a huge cost, for Australia to compete with the sporting giants of the USA, China, Russia and, now, Great Britain. One of the reasons is our geographic isolation and seasonal diffential. Performaning with distinction at the Olympics is not just about what happens over the 16 days of competition -- it's about the months and years leading up to the Games.

Regular international competition is vital to the overall programme, and that means Australian competitors must constantly travel and base themselves in Europe or the US. That, in itself, is a huge impost on the sports budget and then consider this. Much of Australia's past medal success (not always gold) has come in team sports like rowing, hockey, basketball, water polo. Even sports like equestrian, sailing, canoeing. Consider the expense in preparing not just an individual, but a team and, in some case, with vast equipment freighted to further add to the bill.

The price is success is not cheap.

So then, what about the other alternative? Redirecting funds to more domestic pursuits, many of them featuring nowhere near the Olympic radar. Like AFL, rugby league, netball, surfing, surf lifesaving, lawn bowls? Where participation numbers are high.

Well, yes, those sports may well be deserving of more. And health and lifestyle issues are of paramount importance.

But surely not at the expense of our performances on the international stage. Anecdotal evidence suggests Olympic success triggers an interest and participation in sports at a grass-roots level.

And therein lies the conundrum. More participation at grass-roots level requires more funding -- but to take it away from the very beast that inspired the grass-roots participation in the first place? Really..

So it can't be a case of either/or. Funding it required at both ends of the spectrum. Perhaps the way to do it, and it seems ridiculous we haven't gone down this path before, is a national sports lottery. It's proved to be a bonanza for sport in Great Britain and it's hard to see why that wouldn't be the case in Australia as well. Take some of the impost off the Federal Government and allow the sports to benefit from the proceeds.

Works for me.