The Olympic Games - complex calculations related to budgets, preparations, and qualifications

Domestic sports have entered the fever of the Paris Olympic Games. There are still available spots for athletes, which is why the objectives are not yet set in stone. Elisabeta Lipă, the President of the National Sports Agency, announced that she expects the number of qualified athletes for the Paris Olympic Games to significantly increase before the start of the ultimate competition. "We hope that the number of qualified athletes will increase significantly this year, and among them, we hope to have as many good athletes as possible, so that we can achieve a higher ranking in the nation's standings compared to the Tokyo Olympic Games," Lipă stated. The funding for the preparation and participation of athletes will be ensured through the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, Lipă further announced: "At the moment, there are 61 qualified athletes. Everything related to the Olympic team will be financed by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, and from my point of view, it will be much better because we will have clear records of the preparations." Regarding winning Olympic medals, Lipă relies on experienced athletes who have participated at this level at least once: "I rely on federations with experienced athletes because the Olympic Games are unlike any other competition. I have expectations from those with experience, those who have been to the Olympic Games at least once." Lipă also expressed confidence that the budget allocated to sports by the government will increase considerably if the federations achieve the predicted objective of 13 Olympic medals: "It's very difficult to obtain a very large budget. Probably, if we achieve the results at the Olympic Games as predicted by the federations, I think we will have a much larger budget starting from the next Olympic cycle."

Mihai Covaliu, the President of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, stated that the needs of Olympic sports federations this year amount to approximately 5 million euros, which can be covered by the funding until the start of the Paris Olympic Games. The total budget allocated to sports federations until the end of the Paris Olympic Games is 104 million lei, as announced by Elisabeta Lipă, who specified that the funding strategy will be completely different from previous years. Specifically, the amounts related to the preparation and participation of Romanian athletes in the Paris Olympics will be granted through the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, with ANS funding the federations' other activities. Mihai Covaliu commented on this: "You don't have to ask me if the federations are satisfied with the budget they receive. You can ask me about the support provided by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee to the federations, and I can tell you that the estimated needs of the federations for the Olympic Games, as indicated in their funding requests, amount to around 5 million euros, just in 2024. Whether it's a lot or a little, these are the current needs of the federations, their estimates for the remaining period until the Olympic Games. We manage to cover these needs for those who have qualified or are in the process of qualifying." Covaliu pointed out that if the goal of achieving 6-8 medals at the Paris Olympic Games is exceeded, there will be funds to reward the athletes' performances: "This year, we're talking about the Paris Olympic Games. It's a national priority, a common objective for which Romania has invested in the last three years. Everything related to preparation, qualification, equipment, participation in competitions, including participation in the Olympic Games, is naturally the responsibility of the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee. The real objective set by the Olympic Technical Commission for high-performance sports for these Olympic Games is six to eight medals, and if this objective is contradicted by what the national sports federations have announced, namely a number of 13 medals, we are, of course, very pleased, and I am convinced that, as Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu assured us, we will have the financial resources to reward all these performances we will have in Paris. But until then, we have an extremely challenging period. There are less than 200 days until the Olympic Games, there are qualification competitions, training stages, athletes who can still qualify." The President of the COSR stated that he expects athletes from 17 disciplines to qualify for the Paris Olympics, and only 5-7 federations can win medals at the ultimate competition: "We rely on athletes from 17 disciplines to qualify for the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, only 5-7 federations can win medals. Together with the president of ANS, we will do everything needed to ensure that there are no problems in preparing for this important objective. We have the assurance of the prime minister regarding support for this national goal, everything related to funding, and in this way, I believe everyone can carry out their activities with confidence, with seriousness, to achieve the proposed goal. (...) From this point of view, all activities related to the Olympic Games this year are secured, stable, and athletes are reassured that they have everything they need to prepare." The National Sports Agency announced in a report published on the official website that 66 national sports federations that submitted requests are eligible to receive funding from the state budget in 2024.