Elisabeta Lipe, president of the Romanian Rowing Federation, stated that the amount received in 2023 from the Ministry of Sports (14 million lei) is insufficient for the pre-Olympic year, Agerpres informs.

Even if the results obtained by Romanian rowers in 2022 were the best in the history of the federation, with 39 medals won at major international competitions, the forum received almost 550,000 lei less than last year.

Romanian athletes fight against opponents who win 30 times larger sums

“How is my budget? I can’t even think that it will be a budget, I can’t say how it seems to me. This budget is not enough in the pre-Olympic year, when our goals are so beautiful that it seems that with this budget our dream is shattered.

If I think about it, with 2 million euros we should be fighting against England, whose budget is 60 million pounds. So what are we talking about? Who should I compare myself to? With which of the rivals to compare yourself? With such a budget, we cannot compare ourselves with anyone.

The USA, Canada, Holland, England do not have problems with the budget, everything is very well prepared for them, they know a year in advance what they have to do, the competitions in which they participate, the hotels where they hold meetings, etc. on. Only we sit and wait for the beginning of the year” – Elizaveta Lypain an interview for Agerpres.

Sport is waiting for a miracle when the budget is fixed

“Now it’s really a bit of a hassle, two or three days, but like any miracle in our country it ends in three days, after which everyone runs with papers to the Olympic and Sports Committee of Romania, which never says no, because it’s not allowed say no But the budget of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee is also limited, and I probably don’t know how they will cope with this funding crisis.

Our hope is the same as last year and will probably be the same next year, we are waiting for the correction when miracles will happen during the correction and I hope that by then we will have the strength, those of us who are very we want medals in the Olympic Games, let’s be a united team, let’s go from the minister to the president of Romania, because if they want to see us fighting with the great powers of the world in Paris, they have to help us. Without adequate funding, you cannot perform, there is no way to do it” – Elizaveta Lypa.

Best results ever, rewarded with a smaller budget

“The only thing that makes me happy is that in 2022, Romanian sports had an exceptional year that has not been seen in the last 10-15 years. So we’re proving it’s possible and why not help us? What have these people done wrong, what do they want to do but have nothing to do?

We will not be able to perform without money, without appropriate financing, without specialists who will come to us. An athlete, no matter how good, needs a grind, needs a coach, needs a recovery, a massage therapist, a physical therapist, a specialist, and everything you want to do needs money. I’m not saying that all prices exploded, absolutely all” – Elizaveta Lypa.

The Romanian Rowing Federation received 40% of the requested amount

“We received about 40% of the requested amount, that is, the budget will arrive sometime in June. Because we are at the beginning of the year, and I’m not just talking about rowing, but all the disciplines, we have to give an advance to the World Championships, whether it’s juniors, youths or seniors. Because the organizer doesn’t care if you didn’t get the budget, if it’s small or big, if you can handle it or not” – Elizaveta Lypa.

Know:

• The total amount allocated by the Ministry of Sports for national sports associations for 2023 is 162,088,000 lei.

• Compared to the amounts received in 2022, 8 of the 18 sports federations have lower budgets this year, the most significant decrease being recorded in the Judo Federation of Romania, which has 2.7 million lei less.

• In terms of increased funding compared to the previous year, the Romanian Gymnastics Federation recorded the largest increase, with an increase of 1.35 million lei, followed by the Romanian Swimming and Modern Pentathlon Federation, with an increase of 1.3 million, and the Romanian Cycling Federation sports, with an additional 1.2 million lei.

• According to the budget adopted for 2023, this year the Ministry of Sports has a budget of 581.5 million lei, which is 60 million more than the previous implementation in 2022.