Rating Bermuda’s performance in the London Olympics — or any sporting event for that matter — is not a job for the fainthearted, as The Royal Gazette’s sports department found out last week.Comments that Bermuda fell short of medalling and that the athletes’ performance were not spectacular invited a firestorm of criticism from those who felt Bermuda’s athletes had done very well, considering the size of the Island, the tough competition, etc etc.All of those points were conceded in the journalists’ commentaries, along with the fact that some athletes came painfully close to advancing further than they did and others were plain unlucky.But the bigger point is that Bermuda punches above its weight in the Olympics and other sports. It is the smallest country to have ever won a medal (Clarence Hill’s bronze in 1976) and has come within a whisker of adding to the collection in the past.This has been done with minimal financial support. That was truer than ever this year, as the Bermuda Olympic Association struggled to raise the funds it needed, and support for elite athletes was cut in half by Government two years ago.Premier Paula Cox, perhaps enthused with what she had seen in London and perhaps conscious of an upcoming election, has promised more support for athletes ahead of the 2016 Olympics, but whether this survives budget realities remains to be seen.If Bermuda does want to excel in the Olympics, it requires heavy investment. The days of amateurism are long gone, and Olympians must dedicate their every waking hour to their sport. When elite athletes like Tyrone Smith and Peter Bromby have to work full-time as well as compete, they will always be at a disadvantage.As Adrian Robson noted in his Friday Forum, Britain’s remarkable success in London got help from the home crowds, but the foundation was laid with millions of pounds from the UK Lottery.Bermuda’s approach to this has been schizophrenic. Millions of dollars were pledged (although not all was spent, as budgetary realities came home to roost) on cricket and football, but all other sports have continued to receive crumbs, and fewer of those in recent years.Bermuda’s athletes did extraordinarily well in London considering the Island’s size, but to excel against the world’s best, they need enough funding, and the psychological security that comes with it.The question this begs is whether that is what Bermuda wants.Sporting excellence can inspire others, and it can raise the national mood. Healthy living, which is essential for sport, is excellent for preventing illness, especially conditions like diabetes and heart disease. So there is a pay-off.But it’s debatable whether spending on elite athletes is more important than training excellent teachers, providing support for the arts (on which even less is spent than sport), delivering good healthcare, housing and so on.In the end, it comes down to priorities. If sporting success is important to Bermuda, then money should be invested in it.But if Bermuda thinks issues including education, healthcare and paying down the national debt are more important, then there is little point in funding athletes for the next four years.There is another way. This newspaper has long supported the idea that if Bermuda is to have any gaming, it should have a lottery similar to Britain’s whereby sport, the arts and other worthy causes receive the proceeds, thus ensuring they are funded and Government saves money as well.That may be the only way Bermuda will be able to provide world class funding, given the dire state of Government’s and most businesses finances.n Troy Douglas on sports funding: Page 17