Getting state handouts

Slovak national team athletes are on their knees, struggling on every front. Neighboring countries are pulling away by miles, and many even speak of an endangered species. The reason? Our athletes point to insufficient and steadily declining state support. But is that really the case?

For comparison, we looked into how much money from state budgets goes not only to our athletes but also to those abroad. The European Union published a study on this more than a year ago, in which experts dissected the sports financing systems in EU countries down to the last “bolt.” We focused on ministry subsidies, which, through sports associations, raise and “feed” our current national team members. As the saying goes, “you get what you pay for.” So how do Slovak athletes compare with those in neighboring states? Looking at the numbers, it’s a miracle we still bring home medals from the Olympics or world championships. “At the moment, despite this sad fact, it’s still within our abilities. I’m just worried that when our generation – athletes like the Hochschorners, Sagan, Martikán, or my colleague Barteková – leaves, there will be no one to replace us under such conditions,” said London Olympic silver medalist Zuzana Štefečeková about the poor state support compared to other countries.

We don’t have to look far for extremes. Neighboring Austria spends nearly 500 million euros a year from its state budget through ministries to support its athletes, while in Slovakia it’s just over 30 million. This puts us at the very bottom, and even when calculated per capita, the amount is mere crumbs compared to other EU nations. “Our athlete has been financially underfed for years, and with rising costs, some of us might soon have vertebrae and ribs sticking out under our shirts instead of muscles,” gymnast Samuel Piasecký said sarcastically about the state’s support.

Is it liquidation?
A reform of sports financing, designed by Jozef Tokos and colleagues, was supposed to help our struggling sports sector. But the same budget was simply redistributed differently – paradoxically hitting the most successful athletes hardest. Among them were the canoe slalom competitors, who lost almost 100,000 euros in funding. “If the situation doesn’t change, all the effort we’ve put in over the past years will be wasted. We must realize that our competitors aren’t sleeping. The French, Germans, and Americans are building new courses and working diligently with youth,” said Richard Galovič, manager of the canoe slalom team. The French, in particular, spend staggering amounts on sport – around 3.2 billion euros annually.

“The complaints of officials and athletes are justified. State budget funding for sport has genuinely decreased, and infrastructure for both elite and recreational sport is inadequate,” admitted Jozef Tokos, the creator of the financing reform. It was meant to ensure that even with a small budget, we could at least keep pace with Europe. But athletes remain skeptical. “If things continue like this, it’s the beginning of the destruction of something that’s been built over many years. We’re angry that sports financing in Slovakia is in such a state,” said four-time Olympic medalists Peter and Pavol Hochschorner, who also increasingly feel the pinch of poor state subsidies.