Some Pacific Island countries are upset after learning they could miss out on a 25,000 pound grant from the organisers of the London Olympics to enable their athletes to train and compete in the United Kingdom prior to the 2012 Games.

As part of their bid London promised 10 million pounds to assist the athletes of the world competing in the Olympics and Paralympics. They said athletes from 205 National Olympic Committee’s (NOC’s) and 168 National Paralympic Committee’s (NPC’s) would receive a 25,000 pound scholarship each.

But it has now been revealed the athletes must be “qualified” for the Games before receiving the money.

Athletes from the small Pacific nations like Fiji, Samoa and Papua New Guinea usually qualify at the last minute by way of a “wildcard” entry. This would rule them out of the scholarship program. There are 17 NOC’s in the Pacific Region.

Their delegates at the Association of National Olympic Committee’s (ANOC) Conference in Acapulco called for the rule to be changed. They argued that their athletes need to “access the scholarships earlier” so they can train and compete in the UK prior to the Games.

Spokesman for LOCOG, James McLeod, said the “qualification” stipulation would not be taken out of the Program but LOCOG “would be more flexible and take it on a case by case basis”.

“Our ambition is to get as many athletes from Oceania into the UK as possible,” he said.

The Pacific Island nations pointed out that they rely heavily on the money promised by LOCOG. “Athletes from our region are very dependent on the money,” said Barry Maister, Secretary General of the New Zealand Olympic Committee.

The benefits of training and competing in the UK are evident. A beach volleyball team from Vanuatu recently won the China Open after a training camp in the north of England. They are desperate to access the 25,000 pound grant from LOCOG so they can qualify for the London Olympics.

Mike Tancred in Acapulco
AOC