Games We Play
David Wiseman
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These Paris Olympic Games have been wonderful.
The likes of Simone Biles, Leon Marchand, Ariarne Titmus, and Armand Duplantis have been fantastic, showcasing the very best in sports.
But it appears to be a watershed moment for the Games and the movement. As it winds down, what are the big issues impacting the future of the Olympics?
Gender and Sport
The IOC wanted 50/50 equality at the Games and they got it. It's been amazing as across the board the women athletes have shone. Interest in female sport is at an all-time high and athletes such as Jessica Fox, Vivian Kong and Lim Si-hyeon are getting all the adulation they deserve.?
What caught the IOC unawares was the response to the women's boxing. If you haven’t been following, there’s been a lot of controversy about two boxers with elevated amounts of testosterone. This has become such a hot topic that Prime Ministers of countries were personally getting involved.
It's a delicate issue clouded by a lot of politics - the IBA and its authority; Russian influence behind the scenes and the sort.
What is clear is that as this becomes more of a hot-button issue, the IOC and its federations needs to have clear guidelines of who can particpate as a female in women's competition.
Price to Pay
Over a billion and a half dollars was spent so the triathletes could swim in the Seine. This was literally flushing money down the toilet.
Notwithstanding, can the costs of hosting the Games for a two week extravaganza be justified? This is an issue that raises its head every four years - spending unbelievable amounts of money for venues that could very well become dilapidated and run down white elephants.
领英推荐
100 years ago, when the world was much bigger, the idea of hosting the Games in a different city was a lovely idea - In 1928 when Paris last hosted the Games it was 3,089 athletes contesting 126 events in 17 sports. Here in Paris now it’s 10,714 athletes contesting 329 events in 32 sports.?
In the future, how many cities will be capable of hosting the Games and will it be worth it to do so?
What if they made a permanent home for the Games and then they wouldn’t have to worry about recreating the wheel every 4 years?
What is a place that has a lot of space, has the werewhithal to build state of the art venues and is looking to host global sporting events? Saudi Arabia
All the complaints about how expensive it is, disappear.?All the billions spent on building venues could be put back into sport and to the athletes themselves.
Furthermore, the cap on 11,000 athletes could be lifted which would mean sports such as squash, snooker, darts, bowling, ultimate frisbee, netball, water skiing and whatever else that should be there, are there.?
Furthermore the opening ceremony can be trimmed down to the bare basics.?
It would take out a lot of the romance of the Games, but it would also solve a lot of the headaches.?
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Journalist | ESL teacher| Founder of CodeVie92 blog
3 个月Thank you for the insightful article David! Your idea to have a fixed venue for the Olympics is one I think needs to be explored as a viable alternative to the current model. Quite frankly, some countries have no business hosting events like this, because they have other issues that the “Olympic money” could be used to improve. It also puts a lot of strain on the people in the host countries, having to deal with obstructive construction work and “improvements” that have no use after the event is over and the worlds eyes are focused elsewhere.