I strongly suggest the government via SporTT give SERIOUS thought to a redistribution and re-alottment within the Elite Funding Program, especially the use of funding for T&F. It obviously did not net ANY improved results for this Olympics, as was expected. It actually regressed a few decades in terms of results.
Too few PROVEN athletes receive more than enough funding than they probably need. Those most in need hardly receive any at all, or receive their relative "pittance" too late, probably because the authorities exhaust their budget and have to go find additional funds.
There also seems to be no opportunity for aid for up and coming talent showing progress, especially amongst the juniors. As such maybe they should consider the following:
1. If an athlete already has a "princely" sponsorship deal (to be defined) but performs at an elite level, they should receive a lesser-tiered sum, if they request it. A mature mindset needs to be demonstrated amongst our elite athletes, setting an example, showing that they are above the "eat-a-food/all-for-me" attitude.
2. If an athlete has an average sponsorship deal (to be defined) but performs at an elite level, until they improve to a top-tier sponsorship deal, they should receive an elevated sum that brings their total funding up near, but less than their top-tier peers.
3. A greater portion of the fund budget should be redistributed more equitably to the athletes performing at sub-elite or most-improved levels, to athletes who most sorely need the assistance and have proven their excellence in hardship.
4. In addition, junior athletes who may still consider an amateur athletic scholarship before potentially going pro, should be able to receive non-cash assistance to sustain and improve their performances, for example - annual taxi debit cards for transportation to/from training grounds/stadia, annual strength training/gym memberships, annual subscriptions to NAAA/IAAF endorsed supplements, an annual allotted number visits to sports doctors/massage therapists/psychologists, 1-2 annual assessments at high performance training centers (whether developed in T&T, or the closest in travel to T&T).
5. A new but extremely important class of funding - for established and aspiring coaches who have been evaluated as successful via their club's performance. They should be selected to participate in a set number of IAAF-sanctioned training courses/clinics paid for the government, and conducted by visiting/invited experts (typically in the 4th quarter of a year) in time for application the following year.
Since the NAAAs is not traditionally a well funded organization, nor beholden (held accountable like the employees of SporTT), some thought needs to be given to how, and which of the 2 organizations needs to be funded and held accountable to produce results and transparency.
The government also needs to invite and credit private sector expertise to help these bodies develop professional grade programs such as:
1. Marketing T&F from an outreach perspective to draw more talent into the sport (we've talked this like a beaten drum but need a roadmap as to how to actually do this effectively)
2. Professionally officiating track meets (staying on schedule, operating timing/wind/measurement technology correctly, etc)
3. Promoting T&F events successfully to appeal more to the general public and more importantly to potentially new sponsors.
There is so much innovation and creativity that T&F organizations can tap into with help from the private sector, if an avenue for the private sector providing help is created by the government (tax credits, etc).
Traditional failure has come from the authorities giving funds to organizations who have no clue nor business in delivering those core non-athletic products/competencies to take local T&F to the next levels (sales, marketing, promotion, sports medicine, athlete image enhancement, etc).