One of our greatest Olympians, rower Mahe Drysdale, is stressing the importance of having an independent say.
Among the recommendations following the latest review into cycling was the establishment of an athlete's voice, similar to the players' associations seen in rugby and cricket.
"It's absolutely overdue," Drysdale told Newshub.
The implementation of such an organisation is one of the recommendations stemming from the latest independent review into cycling.
"The glaring omission is they have not consulted the athletes, and they're not getting the feedback and input into decisions that they should be because it directly affects our lives," Drsydale noted.
Those involved with the integrity working group, which has been consulting with HPSNZ, are stressing it must be independent.
"To raise that issue, to find solutions and to have someone who's representing you and advocating for you on your behalf," said former NZ Olympian turned integrity working group member Ben Sandford.
The lack of say athletes have, particularly around finances, are among the main frustrations.
"I just think there's money that gets put to places that doesn't actually drive change," said Drsydale.
"There's a massive budget there at the moment for athlete wellness - what does that do?"
But exactly how it gets financed is among the biggest hurdles it still faces.
"The only way I could see that happening is coming from the Government," noted Sandford.
"There are a lack of resources within sport and they're stretched pretty thin, and we're asking people in organisations to do more and more with less.
"There's going to have to be some funding from somewhere to make this work."
If they do, it could have a monumental impact.
Watch the full story above
