Elite runner out in the funding cold
New Zealand’s top woman distance athlete is frustrated by a perceived lack of support from the sport’s governing body during her pregnancy and after her baby’s birth.
Camille Buscomb, New Zealand’s only female track competitor at the last Olympic Games, gave birth to her daughter, Sienna, six weeks ago and has qualified for governmentfunded maternity leave.
But she is dismayed by a lack of financial support from Athletics NZ to help her through the period when she can’t make her usual income from racing.
Hamilton-based Buscomb, 32, is eyeing the marathon for the Paris Olympics in two years, but said she was told late last year she is not seen as a medal prospect, limiting her opportunity for elite sports funding.
She said Athletics NZ supported the decision she and her partner, hurdler Cameron French, had made to have a child, but would not contribute financially itself.
She appreciated the organisation didn’t have a lot of funds to work with, and said she wasn’t asking for a huge amount.
‘‘It might have been something just to say ‘look, this is all we can do’. I don’t know, just something to say they care enough to try to get me to Paris.’’
Buscomb has been given a $10,000 development grant from High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ), but thought she met the criteria for a base training grant, worth $30,000 – an amount she said she could live off.
Athletics NZ high performance director Scott Newman said via email from Birmingham, where the Commonwealth Games are being held, that his organisation had helped Buscomb get the development grant.
‘‘Athletics NZ lobbied for and was successful in having Camille included as an ‘Opportunity’ athlete with HPSNZ for a minimum of 12 months.’’
Buscomb said this was part of the normal process in which Athletics NZ puts forward a case for several athletes. She said she asked if she could join them to put her own case at the time, but was declined.
‘‘Direct financial support for our athletes sits within the new TAPS model (introduced this year) provided by HPSNZ and is primarily based on anticipated future per- formance at Olympic/ Paralympic level,’’ Newman said.
‘‘The new criteria effectively requires us to consider athletes who are tracking towards at least top 6-8 placing at some point in their future career.’’
In a statement, High Performance Sport NZ said when Buscomb notified Athletics NZ of her pregnancy, they came back to HPSNZ to see whether any additional support may be available. HPSNZ and Athletics NZ agreed that Buscomb should remain eligible to receive the development grant for two years, which would allow time to return to highperformance training and competition, before a decision could be made on her future TAPS eligibility, the statement said. Newman said Athletics NZ also supported Buscomb financially for the last three months of last year to ensure no immediate loss of income while a new high-performance funding model was being introduced – funding Buscomb said she was grateful for. Waikato University sociologist Holly Thorpe, who has an interest in sportswomen’s health and wellbeing, said the landscape was changing rapidly regarding support for women athletes having children.
‘‘She [Buscomb] is raising a really important point around our sportswomen and motherhood and the support that they get before, during, and after having the babies,’’ she said. Sportswomen were increasingly seeing they could have children, and have the best part of their career after returning to sport. Sports organisations were also increasingly trying to understand how they could better support sportswomen through pregnancy and with young babies. Different women would have different support needs, and their views needed to be heard.
‘‘I think it’s a really important conversation that is starting to happen, but we need to really bring it, you know, front and centre. And sports organisations – I think it’s a pretty uneven landscape in terms of how they’re approaching this.’’ Buscomb said she had never before felt barriers as a woman athlete. ‘‘I’ve felt like I’ve had a lot of opportunities. And I haven’t felt athletics has been hard on women.’’
The response to her pregnancy was a big wakeup call, she said.