In recent years, there has been a profound increase in the number of individuals questioning the amount of money spent on preparing athletes for international competitions. On the one hand, many people believe that this approach is a poor use of valuable tax-payer money and these funds could be diverted to combating poverty instead. However, critics, myself included, are of the strong belief that investing vast sums for athletes to compete at top-level international competitions is justified, due to the psychological effect that winning such honours brings to the nation.