PEGs Guidelines

PDF of PEGs guidelines for printing (90 KB)

Background

The PEGs programme was introduced by SPARC to provide world class athletes with financial support to enable them to dedicate time to training and competing, in order to maximise their sporting potential.

Guiding principles for high performance investment

The following guiding principles are relevant to PEGs:

Performance-focussed

The system will focus its time, energy and resources on ‘results-capable’ (world class) athletes and teams to help them reach their performance potential.

Support will only be offered to athletes and sports that are:

• engaged in regular international competition;
• committed to performance excellence;
• results-capable (i.e. capable of performances that place them amongst the world’s best in their chosen sport/discipline);
• prepared to train at the level required to be results-capable.

Need-based Investment

All investment decisions will be made on the basis of need. NSOs will only receive SPARC high performance investment if they can demonstrate a genuine need for support.

Definitions

PEG Qualifying Events : Determined as the highest standard of world competition in the sport i.e. Olympic Games or World Championships within a calendar year (unless agreed between the NSO and SPARC prior to the event).

Results-capable : An athlete or team that is capable of performances that place them amongst the world’s best in their chosen sport/discipline.

1. Eligibility

The following individuals and teams are eligible for a PEG.

Olympic sports:

Top 16 placing at a PEG Qualifying Event in an Olympic discipline by an individual¹ athlete.

Top 8 placing at a PEG Qualifying Event in an Olympic discipline by a team².

Top 3 placing³ at a PEG Qualifying Event in a preapproved⁴ non Olympic discipline by an individual¹ athlete.

Non-Olympic sports:

Top 3 placing³ at a PEG Qualifying Event in a non-Olympic sport by an individual¹ athlete.

Top 3 placing³ at a PEG Qualifying Event in a non-Olympic sport by a team².

¹ Athletes from teams of eight or fewer e.g. cycling team pursuit, swimming relay, rowing eight will be treated as individuals for the purposes of this programme.
² PEG allocations are based on the number of players plus reserves who can compete in a game/match at the PEG Qualifying Event. The allocation process for team PEGs must be agreed between SPARC and the NSO.
³ The discipline field size for individual sports must consist of at least 16 athletes and eight countries; for team sports the field size must consist of eight countries.
⁴ For targeted sports, a preapproved list of eligible non-Olympic disciplines must be agreed with SPARC in advance of a PEG Qualifying Event.

Field Size

Field size will be taken into account when assessing PEGs nominations for Olympic disciplines. For example: A 7th placing from a field of nine individuals or countries, may not be approved. An individual or team must finish in the top half of their field at the PEG Qualifying Event, unless a qualification series was held to limit the field size.

Extenuating Circumstances

Targeted Olympic Sports are allocated an annual discretionary amount and are therefore not eligible to apply to SPARC for discretionary PEGs.

For other sports, previous PEGs recipients that do not meet any of the eligibility categories above due to extenuating circumstances such as illness or injury may receive a PEG at the discretion of SPARC.

Eligibility Restrictions

Age group athletes/teams (including Masters) are not eligible to receive a PEG.

Athletes are only eligible to receive one PEG per year (Olympic or Non-Olympic).

Athletes who compete for New Zealand in more than one discipline or sport (e.g. swimming and surf life saving) will only be eligible to receive one PEG (the PEG which provides them with the highest award).

PEGs are awarded at the sole discretion of SPARC.

2. Nomination Process

Nominations must be received within three months of the completion of a PEGs Qualifying Event.

NSOs must nominate eligible athletes using the PEGs Nomination Form, which can be accessed via the “High Performance Sport” section of SPARC’s website www.sparc.org.nz.

Confirmation of the PEG will be sent to the NSO by SPARC within 15 working days of receipt of a PEGs nomination.

All PEGs nominations will be considered, with contentious nominations referred to a moderation panel. PEGs are awarded at the sole discretion of SPARC.

3. Tenure

PEGs awards cover a 12-month period. However, PEGs may be extended to the next PEG Qualifying Event at the discretion of SPARC.

Multi-Year PEGs (Olympic Disciplines Only)

Multi-year PEGs have been introduced to provide long term support to athletes with a history of medal winning success on the world stage. The guidelines for multi-year PEGs are as follows:

For year one of an Olympic cycle, recipients must have medalled at the most recent Olympic Games.

• From year two of the Olympic cycle, recent multiple world championship medallists (i.e. no further back than previous Olympic cycle) are also eligible.
• The proposed duration of a multi-year PEG is at the discretion of the NSO, but can only extend as far as the next Olympic Games.
• To receive a multi-year PEG athletes must have an individual performance plan (IPP) signed off by their NSO and SPARC. The IPP must target medal success at the next Olympic Games and should include objectives and key performance milestones to deliver a medal winning performance at the next Olympic Games.
• Multi-year PEGs will be reviewed annually by SPARC against the objectives outlined in the athlete’s IPP. If the athlete is no longer on track to deliver a medal winning performance at the next Olympic Games, then the multi-year PEG will be reviewed (with the potential for the PEG to be reduced or cancelled).
• Multi-year PEGs will be guaranteed at the level at which the PEG was earned, however, if performance improves over the course of the PEG (e.g. from the medallist level to the world champion level) the PEG will be increased accordingly.
• All applications for multi-year PEGs must be submitted and endorsed by the NSO.
• Decisions are at the sole discretion of SPARC. SPARC will consider discretionary applications for athletes with a history of world championship or Olympic success for whom extenuating circumstances prevented them from winning a medal at the most recent Olympics.

4. Award

To allow PEG recipients to dedicate time to training and competing towards their next PEG Qualifying Event, PEGs can be used by an athlete to offset any sporting or living costs.

Table 1: Award Levels for Olympic Sports/Disciplines

Olympic Disciplines Individual Athletes		Olympic Disciplines Teams (award per athlete)
Result at PEG Qualifying Event	PEG Payment (before taxes)	Result at PEG Qualifying Event	PEG Payment (before taxes)
Gold Medallist	$60,000	Gold Medallists	$35,000
Medallist	$55,000	Medallists	$30,000
4th-6th Placing	$47,500	4th Placing	$25,000
7th-8th Placing	$40,000	5th-8th Placing	$20,000
9th-12th Placing	$25,000
13th-16th Placing *	$20,000

* 13th-16th Placing category will be paid for a maximum of two years. Unless progress is made athletes will be ineligible to receive a PEG following the next PEG Qualifying Event.

Table 2: Award Levels for Non Olympic Sports/Disciplines

Individual Athlete		Teams (PEG per athlete)
Medallist	$15,000	Medallists	$15,000

Award Restrictions

A PEG may be withdrawn immediately if:

• a recipient does not meet the performance targets agreed between their NSO and SPARC; and/or
• a recipient retires from international competition; and/or
• a recipient does not adhere to the anti-doping policy of their NSO and/or comply with the World Anti-Doping Code; and/or
• in the opinion of SPARC, a recipient is involved in or carries out any action, statement, or conduct, which brings SPARC, their NSO or sport in general into disrepute.

5. NSO Requirements

PEGs are taxable income and must be declared to the Inland Revenue Department by the athlete.

NSOs are required to collate applications and forward nominations to SPARC. All nominations forwarded to SPARC must be endorsed by the NSO.

NSOs are required to notify successful and unsuccessful applicants within 10 working days of receiving notification from SPARC.

The NSO must formally notify the tax implications of PEGs to each athlete.

NSOs are required to distribute PEGs to their athletes as set out in this document.

NSOs must ensure PEGs recipients have in place an individual performance plan (IPP). IPP’s should, at least, detail:

• the athlete’s performance goals, which align to the NSO’s high performance plan;
• a strategy to achieve the athlete’s performance goals;
• performance milestones; and
• a performance monitoring process.

NSOs must ensure:

• the athlete, the athlete’s coach and any other relevant support personnel have contributed to the development of the athlete’s IPP;
• the strategies in the IPP will assist the athlete to achieve their performance goals; and
• the level of commitment from the athlete, their coach and support personnel is sufficient to achieve the athlete’s performance goals.

NSOs must notify SPARC if, in their opinion, an athlete deviates from the strategy outlined in their IPP to the point where the athlete’s performance goal might be compromised.

PEGs may be used to offset athlete allowances paid by a NSO. However, the NSO must reinvest the amount saved as a direct result of PEGs into the NSO’s high performance programme.

NSOs cannot direct an athlete to use PEGs to offset the cost of international travel or competition where these costs should be met by the NSO.

Updated | 07 Dec 2009.

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