Of course it is. And it is compounding too! 

It's probably how they got the extra 12%. It's probably not an increase in funding but rather inflationary increases. 

After the UK got serious at the last Olympics and a host of other countries I predicted Australia's days of top 5 finished (and even top 10 finishes) are well and truly over.

The world has caught up and there's no going back.  QF will be devastated.

Its the hubris that comes with the fact Australia plays its own sports, just like america
When the reality is theres 20 million people

Countries like spain, Argentina, portugal (euro champions anyone?) and mexico (122 million) doesnt even have 1 medal? And theyre ok with it

I hope you are not suggesting that Australia reduce its spending on these sports.

I happen to think this is money well spent and it's great how Australia outperforms other more larger countries. It is great that Australia has very high expectations.

It is very good for Australia, that Australia is well represented in International Sport and has been successful over the years.

The only thing I can't understand is Government funding into AFL. A Sport that has no future or position in the International Arena when this money could be better spent on Olympic Sports, Soccer, Rugby, Basketball and Cricket and some other sports, even Winter Olympic Sports. 

We also need to spend some money on promoting sport to school kids. Fitter, and healthier Australians is probably a great investment for our tax dollar. 

Where Australia is literally wasting Billions is with all these inquiries and Royal Commissions we have just because it is a political point scoring exercise and which will achieve nothing. Well they did shut down the Dog racing industry which will cost Australia millions in lost revenue.  Also so many lobby groups hammering the Government for a dollar. 

the thing is, i have a role with community sports on the weekends, and the community involvement is right up there. and it already is quite competitive. its this competitive nature which that can only funnel up to the top. although the train of thought of "you might one day represent australia, beat whats in front of you" is a good policy as well

This community involvement isnt a part of the culture of places like spain, portugal or mexico. I am surprised how the spanish have drawn a blank in the cycling (didnt they have a tour de france winner a few years ago?)

Interesting article for some perspective: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-15/rio-2016-olympics-are-we-doing-better-than-last-time/7716888 

The pressure is on to beat London...yikes!

Australia should at least halve it's Olympic funding and plough that money directly into community initiatives instead of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars in a 4 yearly dick measuring competition.  

Surely little Johnny and Jenny would be better off with reduced sports registration fees rather than our taxes going directly towards a $300 000 charter to take 30 of our swimmers from the US to Rio to take just one example.  

Joke, farce, etc.

So perverted is the money merry-go-round is in Australia the most successful sports get more money thrown at them and the least successful sports get funding withdrawn.  Defies common sense.  Surely if you do bad you need more help not less!?

PS I love the Olympics.

Cultural factors are also at play.

Australians take their sport very seriously and think it is important which it is.

Other cultures, including some of those you mention I imagine, take sport less seriously and focus more on education. They spend all their money on extra-curricula tutoring outside of school to boost their marks and go to university. 

No I have to strongly disagree. I think Australia should spend the money and send the Athletes to RIO to represent Australia.

These Athletes also give the youth good role models, and with other less noble influences taking their attention like drugs, I think it is very good for young kids to develop their skills if they have the talent for it and aspire to represent Australia one day. You can't take this away from them because they raise Australia's flag. 

As fopr registration fees, yes they are massive to the point that it discourages some families from registering their children in sport. I know as I pay these fees for 2 kids. But that is the way things have gone in this country. A big chunk of this money is to buy third party insurance just in case a kid breaks their leg. Never had that in my day.

It's super state nannism type of stuff. 

I thought this was sort of the recommendation of the Crawford review in 2009.  
Less money for Olympic sports and more to cricket and the football codes that Australians play. Instead of aiming for medals, the goal should be to increase participation wherever.
The winter olympics is the worst example of this IMO.

But there is nothing better than winning a Winter Olympics medal. It puts Australia right up there.

And I am pretty sure there are hundreds of other areas where Australia could save money.

Just have a look at all the rubbish stuff Australia spends tax money on just to appease certain loud lobby groups. 

You can disagree all you like.

The role model argument is redundant because the fact is we are either the fattest or 2nd fattest nation on the planet.  There appears to be no correlation between Olympic spending and success and participation rates in general that I've ever read about or seen.

Besides all that AFL and Netball have shitloads of participants and they're not even at the Olympics.

I think it goes well beyond that, such as putting Australia on the world stage.

I believe it is money well spent. You can't get a bigger bang for buck when a Billion or 2 viewers are watching Australia win Gold. 

The obesity argument can only get worse if Australia cuts funding to sport.

Australia also recognizes the health benefits to enrolling kids in sport which is why they actually fund a $100 rebate through Medicare with sports fees. I don't know how many millions that equates to under the Medicare scheme. But I do agree with that expenditure as well. 

I notice from your posts you like to swim against the tide a bit so as an intellectual exercise consider the following.
 
Explain, without referring to Greece, how 'You can't get a bigger bang for buck' and how there is 'nothing better than winning a Winter Olympics medal' and why that is good for Australians in general besides having a warm and fuzzy feeling for 10 minutes.

And if you read my initial post I didn't say they should cut funding to sport I'm saying cut funding to the Olympics program and channel that into general sports activities, facilities and programs to get more people into sport.

Yep, it's not about reducing funding , its about getting more value.  There is very little evidence Olympic success translates to increased participation/ better health outcomes.

Crawford review..

• More government funds are provided for archery than cricket despite the fact that cricket has more than 100 times the number of participants.
• Water polo receives as much high performance and AIS funding as golf, tennis and lawn bowls combined—even though these sports can rightly claim to be ‘whole of lifetime’ sports and significant contributors to a preventive health agenda.

Toughlove:

Explain, without referring to Greece

:):)

thats what I suggest

Dont expect success, be pleasantly surprised by it.
Countries like Argentina, Spain, Portugal are big countries but they arent assuming winning 69 medals is success or a chance to be recognised on the world stage. Theyre doing just fine and they are successful countries

The idea that of how the mens 4 x 100m relay swimming team is the be-all of australian sporting/ identity sickens me

On the flipside- kids playing soccer and winning on the weekend is good enough. Or me playing my local sporting pitch is good enough. 

I love the olympics too, but so what if "we" dont win? I agree with the argument on the winter olympics

Let me put it to you this way. Australia is famed for its sporting heritage. I have traveled wide and far, and usually many people overseas are in awe of Australia's performances in international sport, because Australia does punch well above its weight in terms of its size and population base.

This, for many countries that do perform well like USA, Russia, Germany, UK and a few others, requires funding and this funding is very important in building facilities at Rowing Clubs, Athletic Tracks, Equestrian Courses, Freestyle Skiing complexes and so on and so on. Our children are well in their rights to take advantage of this funding by participating in the various programs that exist and which are funded. Saying that some are lazy is no excuse for not providing young people with the right opportunities.

All of the above is very good in my opinion. It is also money that is spent and which creates some activity in the economy as well as provide Australian's with the right facilities and development.

And of course there is the Nationalistic point of view too, which is not only exclusive to Australia. It is a proud moment for any country to see their country rise to the top on the international stage, and this can only increase participation.

I pay tax too, and I have no issue when that tax is spent on proper initiatives such as Education, Health, Universities, Infrastructure, Defence and Sport etc. What i get upset about is all the unnecessary wasteful spending of our tax, and believe me there is literally several billions in wastage. In fact, the waste far exceeds the deficit, but it is almost political suicide to cut them because of the public outburst.

Sports funding is not going against the grain either. I believe most of the population has no issue with it as opposed to slashing it which I believe would upset a massive chunk of the population. There are big benefits to sport, and I see no difference to this or education.  

I am fully supportive of the private charters to RIO for the Athletes. The Athletes have to be in peak condition, and they have a right to benefit from the tax payer as much as anyone else. Their life is one of sacrifice. It takes years of training and dedication at their own expense before they get even close to qualifying for the Olympics. 

In the end, we have to ask what kind of society or country do we want. Is it ok to turn our backs on these Athletes or give them a bit of a break? 

Either you can't read or you are the A grade troll everyone says you are.  No one said to cut funding.  I suggested, as others have, we redistribute it.

BTW the socceroos needed a charter (not paid for by the taxpayer) because of a short turnaround for the Uruguay match.  The swimmers arrived a fortnight before from the same timezone.  They didn't need one.  

I don't mind if they get a charter I'm just annoyed that my tax dollars help pay for it.

Anyway I'm out because you refuse to engage the points put forward regards no increased participation rates and what actual good a gold medal does for the wellbeing of an ordinary Australian besides going to work feeling warm and fuzzy.    

You evidently have a different opinion (maybe) and I won't be sucked in like the other clowns here.

No I can't agree with any redistribution. Other sports like Soccer also get substantial funding. One club alone (West Adelaide) got $9 million to build its own stadium so we really can't complain about that. 

I am very supportive of the current sporting support infrastructure to remain.

The fact that Soccer did not get a private charter is irrelevant to me. The Australian Cricket Team doesn't get their private charter either, and that is actually mainstream. The olympics only come around once every 4 years, so the charter is fine by me. 

It's also only slightly more expensive than flying commercial because the Australian Olympic team could have filled 2 B777 aircraft with all the coaching staff, administrators and Athletes. The Australian Cricket team or Socceroos wouldn't fill such an aircraft. It also means the Athletes are better able to arrive and beat jet lag for peak performance. 

Enjoying the Olympics, although it is difficult to watch everything one wants with so many events on.

But that's not the salient statistic. Australian expenditure needs to be looked at in relation to expenditure from other countries. Relative to specific other countries, Australia is not spending more money on elite sport.

:crying:

Sad times. It's made all the sadder by the fact that we're now shithouse at cricket, will battle with rugby in the future and not particularly decent at football. It would probably be easier to stomach poor returns at the Olympics if Australia won the Ashes in England and started to replicate the football form of the Golden Generation.In saying that, it would always be nice to do well at some Olympic sports, particularly the most basic of all sports- athletics. But it has been a while since Aus has done well there and, for the most part, is genetically disadvantaged.

You're right about other nations having caught up with Australia, to some extent. The question is whether or not Australia achieves top five or top ten finishes is tied to that. But it's not so cut-and-dried.

The problem is this... Australia went into these games with a stronger squad, on paper, than it had for London 2012. Especially for swimming, but elsewhere too.

But too many of the Australian competitors couldn't handle the pressure. It was mental. The funding part (although other nations have caught up) wasn't the heart of the issue this time (it was in London and it may be again). These games (even more so than London, which is staggering) have been related to a lack of mental strength and preparation. Funding doesn't have too much to do with that.

There needs to be some soulsearching about the mental side.

There are other sports where Australia can realistically improve; equestrian, rowing and cycling. Australia has pedigree there and it's swings and roundabouts. If you get those things right, come into the Olympics with the form the swimmers had and actually manage to produce PBs in the those areas then it's possible to achieve a top five finish.

If the Crawford Report is fully adopted that'll be a disaster. Aspects of it are reasonable, but sapping various sports of funding would lead to results which make us an absolute laughing stock compared to other developed nations.

Yes, cricket shouldn't get less funding than archery. But fuck diverting funding for sports where we do well in the Olympics towards Aussie Rules and netball. I'll actively support Portugal in sport over Australia if we do that.

It's also misleading to put down funding water polo rather than golf, tennis or lawn bowls on the grounds that the latter is not a lifetime sport. It seems to assume that this leads to better health. Swimming is the sport which brings the most health benefits of any sport. Water polo, one of the most physically demanding sport I can think of, gets people involved in swimming. And swimming is something people can do for most of their lives. Plus, if somebody plays water polo for their youth (and providing they eat relatively healthily), they'll reap the heath rewards for decades longer in ways they would not simply by playing golf or lawn bowls continuously.

Depends where we redistribute it. As I say, if it goes towards things like Aussie Rules and netball then vom. We mustn't reduce funding towards sports where we do well (or at least have the potential to do well); swimming, cycling, rowing, etc. Also, it seems sensible to encourage growth in tennis, cricket, football and basketball. We have the potential to do well there, too.

In answer to your point earlier about cutting funding from sports which are struggling. I also feel bad about it and sorry for the athletes. Much like I feel sorry for people whose majors are cut by the universities (and I oppose the loss of the VCA's independence). If they're doing that, it seems they're following the British model. Which basically is like a clever business model- promote the areas where there are strengths; the sports I've already mentioned. And they mustn't suffer funding cuts. It would be disastrous if that happens. But I think they need to find ways to keep other sports afloat.

I agree with Aikhme on this that we need to promote success in sport. Other developed countries do. So it would be rather pathetic if we just give up altogether.

Plus, broader correlation or not between level of fatness and Olympic success, speaking anecdotally I found a link. I've grown up with a lot of people who did rather well at swimming and that was directly tied to there being a really healthy competition a lot of success at the top end. That's what motivated them.

Same with cricket, tennis and (to a lesser extent) football. Because of the success of the national teams/athletes in those respects, all the kids I used to hang out with would be be in the nets after school, playing football on the street or on the tennis court. Seeing success stories motivated us.

I've said it before. We should now look to emulate some aspects of Britain's funding model.

In the UK, they pour truckloads of money into elite sport (not sure what impact the Brexit will have, but probably not much as I predict only a nominal Brexit).

The way they do this is they use the revenue from the National Lottery and channel a good deal of it towards UK Sport. So, as I understand it, the National Lottery is basically owned by the British Government but run privately (and is, thus, more efficient). A good deal of the revenue goes towards elite sport (and cultural pursuits, film, etc.). This means that taxpayers cannot whinge about their taxes being used on sport and still fucktons of money go towards elite sport.

Unfortunately, I do not think the Federal Government would have much success if it attempted to create its own national lottery. Those idiots from Tattersalls or whatever it's called would kick up a fuss. And, unfortunately for such an idea, Australians don't tend to get around the lottery in quite the same way that Brits do.

You have to look at what kind of gambling Aussies spend money on. Pokies and sports betting. Pokies especially destroy lives.

The government should tax those things even more so that from the ill-gotten gains, the money should be channeled into elite and grassroots sport. If it was successful, they could use less ordinary tax revenue for such things and just make sport funded off gambling tax revenue.

Here is a incomplete list of countries that are doing worse than us at the moment on the medal tally board;

South Korea
Netherlands
Spain
New Zealand
Canada
Switzerland
Belgium
Sweden
Denmark

So explain to me who's laughing their arses off at these collection of 'laughing stocks".

I wouldn't mind betting, without any research at all, that most of those countries have less obese populations and better health outcomes than we do and are probably happier too. 

I wonder if you can explain to the uneducated what actual benefit does the Australian get from an athlete winning a gold medal because it sure as eggs doesn't translate to higher participation rates.  Aikhme didn't want to have a swing at it maybe you do.

For someone who professes to be a citizen of the world with a dislike of nationalism/patriotism I find this obsession you have with Australia's performances at the Olympics confounding.

As an aside does Anna Meares surely has the biggest arse at the Olympic games.  (Not including hammer throwers.) 

Klisina appeal successful, she's back in.

Our women's hockey team kicked out convincingly by the Kiwis in the quarter final. There can be no greater ignominy.

First time since Los Angeles 1984 that both the Australian men and women have failed to medal.

Watching the athletics tonight I'm getting more and more pissed off at that 10k runner (Almaz Ayana) that broke the WR by 14 seconds. 

Absolute bullshit.  Beat a WR held for 22 years by a self confessed drug cheat.  The WR before that was 22 seconds slower.  So she actually beat the last 'clean' (maybe) WR by 36 seconds and looked like she could have run another 5k.

Cheating cunce.  It must be so depressing to be an athlete who is clean.  If there is such a thing.

http://fittish.deadspin.com/wada-discovers-world-record-factory-ethiopia-does-almos-1769983123

And the bloke that won from lane 8 today in the 400m from South africa.  Never has anyone won a final from that lane before and not only that he smashed the WR.

And hello what's this?  The South African lab had its accreditation suspended?  You don't say.  

http://summergames.ap.org/article/wada-suspends-accreditation-africas-only-doping-lab

Fuck me dead.