At the 1992 and 1996 Games, up to 3 boats per class per nation were allowed. Our K1M team, for example, was Ian Raspin, Paul Ratcliffe and Shaun Pearce - see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoeing_a ... slalom_K-1
Having won their bid for the 2000 Olympics, the Sydney organising committee decided that they didn't want to build a slalom course - it was "too expensive for just one event". They asked the IOC to allow them to drop slalom, the IOC agreed - and, keen to contain the scale of the Olympics, took away the athlete places.
There was an international campaign, led by the BCU and the FFCK, to get slalom reinstated. Eventually the Aussies were persuaded. They asked the IOC to let them put us back in, and the IOC agreed
- but they did not allow "additional" athlete places in canoeing. Sprint canoeing gave up the 80-odd places we have now - a lot for them to concede, but not really enough for a slalom World Championship.
By the way the BCU and the FFCK made substantial cash contributions to the cost of building the course.
Ironically, post Olympics, that "too expensive" slalom course has become the most-used facility of everything Sydney built.