NSW Government halts funding for annual Volleyfest tournament

Nine months out from the Tokyo Olympics, Australia's medal prospects at the 2020 Games are set to be impacted by a NSW Government decision to cease funding for the nation's premier volleyball competition.

NSW tourism and events agency Destination NSW, has cut its $450,000 funding for Manly's annual Volleyfest event, leaving Volleyball Australia less than a week to find a new venue or alternative funding.

Sydney 2000 Gold medal winner Kerri Pottharst has described the move as "devastating" for the sport, telling the ABC "having us win the gold made people realise beach volleyball is such a perfect sport (and) here at Manly beach we are like the Mecca of beach volleyball.

"For our (state) government to really be that short-sighted and pull the funding at the last moment, it's really been devastating for our athletes, devastating for our sport."

The 10-day tournament includes the National Championships and a Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) World Tour 3-star event, which go towards qualifying for next year's Games.

Volleyball Australia Chief Executive Andrew Dee said the Queensland Government had expressed interest in hosting, but changing venues with such short notice may be logistically impossible, and the event may have to be cancelled.

Destination NSW confirmed the funding cut in a statement, but gave no reason for the decision, advising "Destination NSW has contracted many other events to drive tourism in NSW over the 2019/20 financial year, and unfortunately the investment requested for Volleyfest cannot be accommodated in this year's events budget."

Volleyball Australia is urging the NSW Government to reconsider ahead of the Olympic year, with Dee stating "it's important governments have a diverse view of what sports are loved and played by Australians - it's not about just one or two codes, it's about being good at many sports."