Parliament has adopted a new act on sport, allocating €40 million more to this sphere than last year. This represents a 20-40 % increase in the incomes of Slovak sporting organisations. The new legislative norm also ensures that athletes will be given at least the amount of the previous year. The new act was discussed for several years. It aims at providing possibilities to sport activities not only to the children of wealthy parents.
Presently, parents have to pay more than €500 to join ice hockey clubs' preparation teams for 5-7 year olds. However, it is possible for children of socially disadvantaged parents to play ice hockey in Bratislava. The Zdeno Ciger Hockey Academy was established 4 years ago with approximately 30 children attending at present. "We have children who pay nothing, some contribute following their financial situation as we have to pay our fees too", says its founder and former ice hockey champion Zdeno Ciger. A similar foundation is run by another veteran Igor Liba in the east Slovak town of Košice.
The state intends to attract more children into playing ice hockey. The government plan was to involve sponsors by allowing them to deduct from their incomes not only the sum they invest in sports activities, but also an extra 20% of this sum. This measure is, however, missing in the newly adopted act on sport. Parliamentary Chairman Peter Pellegrini states: "If somebody will contribute to sport, they will be able to put the sum on their cost sheet; be it 10 or 100 thousand".
Additionally, over the following 4 years all earnings from the state lottery will be gradually allocated to sport activities; currently representing about €30 million, with the majority of the money being allocated to ice hockey clubs. The new act on sport was supported by 132 MPs and will come into force as of January 1, 2016.
