Lack of funds puts canoeist up creek without a paddle

WERE you asked to think of a quintessentially Australian sport, chances are the slalom canoe would not come to mind.

WERE you asked to think of a quintessentially Australian sport, chances are the slalom canoe would not come to mind.

It's massive in Europe, where the world champions are famous - like Stephanie Rice is famous.

By contrast, Sydney's Robin Bell, who was world champion and overall winner of the World Cup in 2005, can easily walk the streets without getting mobbed.

The fact that canoeing isn't typically Australian means that it is one of the sports likely to face a cut in funding, as the Rudd government reconsiders its support for the Olympic sports.

That's a blow to Bell, who believes he's getting better. His results suggest that he is: he was ninth in Sydney, fourth in Athens, and took the bronze in Beijing.

He's the first to say he's incredibly grateful for the support he's been given by the Australian taxpayer over the past 12 years.

He's been sent all over the world to compete, and he gets tax-free incentive payments when he wins medals. This year, for example, he got $7500 for winning a medal in Beijing, and about $10,000 from the Australian Sports Commission, to help him train.

It's obviously not enough to live on, so 19 days ago, he took a full-time job with the National Australia Bank.

It means he can't train and travel as much, but he has recently married and bought an apartment in Sydney's northern beaches suburb of Manly, so he needs to make a living.

The question facing the government - and, ultimately, the Australian taxpayer - is this: do we care enough about a canoe gold medal in London to support Bell, who is likely our hottest prospect, until 2012? Put another way, should the tax dollars taken from hard-working people on the average wage go into Bell's pocket - and the pockets of other athletes in minor sports - so they can commit their lives to training?

"It's a hard question when you put it like that," Bell said.

"I want people to know that I'm so grateful for everything I've received. I know the government doesn't have to give us anything. But sport is important, and not just the big sports. It inspires people, especially kids."

Bell has never been able to attract commercial sponsorship.

"If you are not in the football codes, regularly getting TV coverage, it's difficult," he said.

"It is hard when I get on the dais and look to the left and the right and the competitors there are on solid wages, sometimes well into six figures. It means they train more often, they travel more often and they don't have to work. That makes a massive difference."

When Bell's canoe was stolen at the end of last year, he had to rely on the Australian Sports Commisison and Sydney University to help him buy a new one.

He knows athletes who are on the dole, "which is disappointing for people who have given, or are giving, 10 or 12 years of their life to representing their country".

"We're not asking for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I would like enough to get by, to train, to compete internationally, to compete for Australia and get medals for Australia," Bell said.