According to Olympic skier Jenny Owens the collapse of One.Tel has lost the Australian Olympic team its primary sponsorship for the Winter Olympic Games -- outside the Australian Olympic Committee's funding -- which is being held in Salt Lake City in February 2002.
Despite being funded by the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) to cover expenses during the games such as accommodation, athletes also rely on private funding from corporate sponsors to meet the shortfall for the pre-Olympic period and extra expenses while they are competing.
According to Owens, One.Tel sponsored the team for the Winter Olympic Games last year and was expected to continue the support again.
The sponsorship was to cover the expenses of ten Australian athletes receiving AU$30,000 each. This funding offsets training leading up to the games and some of the costs while competing.
Owens says the collapse of One.Tel means some of the athletes will not be able to afford to compete in the games, -which has been everyone's dreams".
