Hockey is the big winner after getting a top-up of $600,000 (£367,000/€440,551) as a result of both the men's and women's performances at the 2011 Champions Trophy tournaments.

The men's team finished fourth at the recent Champions Trophy tournament in Auckland and are therefore getting $300,000 (£191,000/€217,000) on top of the $800,000 (£504,000/€605,007) they had already been allocated for 2012.

Meanwhile the women's team, who won a bronze medal at their Champions Trophy tournament, will get a top-up of $300,000 (£191,000/€217,000) on their pre-existing 2012 allocation of $900,000 (£557,000/€668,629).

HPSNZ acting chief executive Martin Toomey says the focus of the announcement is on London 2012 with new and continued investment support geared towards Kiwi athletes aiming for podium finishes or top 16 results in the English capital

"These investment decisions also recognise recent strong performances by Kiwi athletes," he said.

"We're really excited by how New Zealanders have been performing on the world stage and we know we've got a big year ahead of us with the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"With our investment, we're supporting sports with athletes who are capable of top 16 performances and podium finishes in 2012.

"Some new investment has been channelled into sports which have been producing great results on the world stage recently and are focused on doing even better next year.

"While these investment decisions are focused on 2012, we are also signalling support for sports which we expect to prove strong competition for our sporting rivals in 2016."



Rowing is set to get an extra $500,000 (£322,200/€384,143) on top of its previous allocation, bringing annual investment in its high performance programme to $4.82 million ($3.07 million/€5.79 million).

"Because Rowing NZ has already qualified 11 crews for the London Olympics and has more elite athletes in squads, it has higher overheads and some of the increased investment reflects that," Toomey explained

Meanwhile New Zealand's equestrian eventing team is another also among those to benefit from increased investment as they target the podium in London and they will get an extra $250,000 (£178,775/€214,603) on top of the $1 million (£646,120/€768,108) previously allocated for 2012.

The men's and women's basketball teams will benefit as they aim to qualify for the Olympic Games and their allocation includes additional funding if they succeed in qualifying.

Toomey added that HPSNZ is also investing in rugby sevens and has signalled further investment in 2013 as the sport gears up towards entry to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games with the sport set to receive $800,000 (£504,000/€605,007)  this year and $1.75 million (£1.12 million/€1.34 million) next year.

The investment in the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) for its sevens programme will support full-time rugby sevens coaching staff, sevens-specific training camps and international competition for the men and women, who are aiming for Rio 2016 when the sport makes its debut on the Olympic programme.

Toomey says the applications for investment this year were for about twice the amount of money available.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]