Today the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) announced that West Ham United has won the right to move into the Olympic Stadium and in turn the LLDC has lost the right to have Legacy in its name.
The fact that West Ham are moving into the Olympic stadium frustrates me for so many reasons, the first one is the fact that London's Olympic bid was focused on legacy and that there would be a world class athletics venue in the east end of London. I personally think that stick seats for a football club over the athletics track compromises on this promise given in 2005.
Furthermore the public funds of refurbishing the stadium are ridiculous considering the stadium opened a year ago. I do not usually worry about public money being spent on sport (probably because I'm too young to pay taxes) however £60m for a privately owned team to use it is ridiculous.
It puzzles me even more when you consider that Arsenal not only paid for the construction of the Emirates Stadium, but they also had to pay for changes to infrastructure with no support from the government.
Clearly there is a fantastic record of football clubs playing in athletics stadia, take Juventus for example who stayed in Stadio delle Alpi for a whopping 16 years and let's not forget Bayern Munich who played at the Munich Olympiastadion from 1972 to 2005. It is incredibly likely that West Ham will follow this route and put the Olympic Stadium into jeopardy once they get tired of playing there.
The one argument that might make West Ham an exception is retractable seating, which will most likely be very disappointing, considering the lower tier already sits in front of the upper tier as well as the fact the lower part of the stadium is dug into the ground. Changing to the seating would also ruin the view for athletics spectators, therefore ruining the stadium and its primary purpose.
If the FA allow the Hammers to move into the Olympic stadium they will be ignoring their own rules to protect small clubs. The stadium sits within the zone entitled to Leyton Orient and letting West Ham move in would destroy their ability to generate profit.
I wouldn't mind the stadium being used in the Rugby World Cup, I would happily see it in the Football World Cup if it is ever in England again, the stadium would be a brilliant place to host big cricket matches due to the large capacity. The stadium is fully sustainable without a football club as tenant; it could be used for concerts, making use of the pixels that dazzled the world last summer as well as hosting world class athletics.
Hopefully common sense will prevail and something will stop West Ham moving in, but for now I fear for the stadium that brought you Super Saturday and Thriller Thursday.
The views of a young sports fan on the Issues that affect Olympic and Paralympic Sport.
Friday, 22 March 2013
Tuesday, 12 February 2013
What effect will the loss of wrestling have?
Today the IOC shocked the world by voting to remove Wrestling from the Olympic Programme, rather than the bookies' favourite, Modern Pentathlon and Field Hockey. But what I want to know is how will this affect the Olympic Games of the future?
Needless to say I was shocked to find out that Wrestling was dropped from the games this sport has been held at all games bar one (1900) and has become a staple of the games for many. I expected Table Tennis or Badminton to get the axe due to their general dullness and complete dominace by China as well as the cheating scandal that faced Badminton at the London Olympics.
In contrast Wrestling is a global sport in which 29 nations won medals in during the 2012 Olympics, and although it doesn't receive much media attention it greatly affects how the medal table shapes out.
Take Russia for example, seldom seen away from the top 5 of the Olympic medal table, due in part to the success of their nation's wrestling team. In London they secured 4 of the 24 golds that were taken home to Russia and in Beijing Russia would have only managed a fourth place finish on the medal table if Wrestling wasn't part of the core programme.
The presence of Wrestling at the Five Ring Circus allows many countries to achieve their only medals: Azerbaijan won the majority of their Olympic medals at ExCeL while Uzbekistan won its only gold of 2012 on the wrestling mat.
The loss of Wrestling will hinder Baku's chances of hosting the Olympics in the future, without the sport Azerbaijan will struggle to get onto the medal board. Due to a lack of sporting success the IOC would hesitate to award the games to Baku as this may cause lack of interest in the host nation. Ironically if Baku were still in the running for the 2020 games Wrestling almost certainly wouldn't be dropped, their bid included Wrestling being held at the 25,000 seat Crystal Hall that hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.
However from a British point of view this many be good news: Russia will be less of a threat on the medal table, a new sport will be introduced (most likely Squash or Karate) which Team GB will have better chances in.
I think it is a shame that we are likely to not see Wrestling at the 2020 Olympics although the competitive Brit in me smiles at the likelihood of beating Russia on the medal table in years to come. I also am glad that Modern Pentathlon has been saved from the chopping block however for the growth of the Olympic movement in more nations I believe that we need the sport of Wrestling to act as a catalyst for the growth.
If you wish to support Wrestlings bid to return to the Olympics click here
In contrast Wrestling is a global sport in which 29 nations won medals in during the 2012 Olympics, and although it doesn't receive much media attention it greatly affects how the medal table shapes out.
Take Russia for example, seldom seen away from the top 5 of the Olympic medal table, due in part to the success of their nation's wrestling team. In London they secured 4 of the 24 golds that were taken home to Russia and in Beijing Russia would have only managed a fourth place finish on the medal table if Wrestling wasn't part of the core programme.
The presence of Wrestling at the Five Ring Circus allows many countries to achieve their only medals: Azerbaijan won the majority of their Olympic medals at ExCeL while Uzbekistan won its only gold of 2012 on the wrestling mat.
The loss of Wrestling will hinder Baku's chances of hosting the Olympics in the future, without the sport Azerbaijan will struggle to get onto the medal board. Due to a lack of sporting success the IOC would hesitate to award the games to Baku as this may cause lack of interest in the host nation. Ironically if Baku were still in the running for the 2020 games Wrestling almost certainly wouldn't be dropped, their bid included Wrestling being held at the 25,000 seat Crystal Hall that hosted the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest.
However from a British point of view this many be good news: Russia will be less of a threat on the medal table, a new sport will be introduced (most likely Squash or Karate) which Team GB will have better chances in.
I think it is a shame that we are likely to not see Wrestling at the 2020 Olympics although the competitive Brit in me smiles at the likelihood of beating Russia on the medal table in years to come. I also am glad that Modern Pentathlon has been saved from the chopping block however for the growth of the Olympic movement in more nations I believe that we need the sport of Wrestling to act as a catalyst for the growth.
If you wish to support Wrestlings bid to return to the Olympics click here
Friday, 8 February 2013
Channel 4 to broadcast future Paralympics
Today I am in a good mood, entirely due to one piece of exciting news. On tonight's episode of The Last Leg, Channel 4's hit comedy show that spawned from the Paralympics, it was announced that Channel 4 will broadcast both the Sochi 2014 Winter Paralympics and the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics to viewers in the UK.
This is really news for British Paralympic sport; this will help keep Para-sports in the spotlight with a major TV channel showing the world's best disabled athletes competing in a variety of different sports.
I am especially excited for the Winter Paralympic coverage. Over the years the BBC has been more than disappointing when it comes to showing any Winter Sport, let alone Para-Sports of the snow variety.
In 2010 the Beeb couldn't even be bothered to show the opening ceremony on a mainstream channel and what passed for publicity for the games was a 30 second report on children's news show Newsround.
Whereas Channel 4 are going to broadcast 45 hours from the Black Sea Resort next year including The Last Leg which has proved to be a major success both during and after the Paralympics, hopefully boosting the profile of the Winter Games, which are facing an uncertain future.
I am also looking forward to the coverage of the 2016 summer edition of the Paralympics, of which C4 will broadcast 500 hours from the city of Samba.
With Channel 4 slowly gaining a monopoly over Paralympic Sport on British television we are going to see disabled sports on our screens for quite a while, creating a legacy of the London Paralympics that will last until the unforseeable future.
This is really news for British Paralympic sport; this will help keep Para-sports in the spotlight with a major TV channel showing the world's best disabled athletes competing in a variety of different sports.
I am especially excited for the Winter Paralympic coverage. Over the years the BBC has been more than disappointing when it comes to showing any Winter Sport, let alone Para-Sports of the snow variety.
In 2010 the Beeb couldn't even be bothered to show the opening ceremony on a mainstream channel and what passed for publicity for the games was a 30 second report on children's news show Newsround.
Whereas Channel 4 are going to broadcast 45 hours from the Black Sea Resort next year including The Last Leg which has proved to be a major success both during and after the Paralympics, hopefully boosting the profile of the Winter Games, which are facing an uncertain future.
I am also looking forward to the coverage of the 2016 summer edition of the Paralympics, of which C4 will broadcast 500 hours from the city of Samba.
With Channel 4 slowly gaining a monopoly over Paralympic Sport on British television we are going to see disabled sports on our screens for quite a while, creating a legacy of the London Paralympics that will last until the unforseeable future.
Thursday, 31 January 2013
Armstrong you don't deserve to compete
Apologies for the lateness of this post, I had exams I was pretending to revise for. I know it's a week late but it is big news I need to rant about.
A few weeks ago we saw Lance Armstrong trying to save what little dignity he has left on international television on a sofa next to Oprah Winfrey, the aim of this wasn't to give the public info on how he cheated; instead it was a pathetic excuse for an apology so he can compete in Triathlon.
I find it disgusting that throughout the interview Armstrong showed no remorse for those cyclists trying to win clean, and gave little thought as to the cloud he has left hovering over the sport of cycling.
The 7 time cheat remained insistent throughout the interview that everyone else was taking the disgusting decision to dope, however he still won't name any names and refuses to give any evidence on the matter: That doesn't scream liar at all does it?
The truth is Armstrong has no right to walk the streets freely, let alone compete, throughout his career he made money through sponsorship that he had no right to, he won several lawsuits against media outlets that purported to the fact he never won honestly by any definition that is fraud and it is a wonder he hasn't been arrested yet.
I do feel that this is partly due to western legal systems that cannot prosecute anyone who is moderately famous even if there is no evidence to suggest their innocence: take Harry Redknapp for example who obviously is guilty of tax avoidance but still got through with no punishment whatsoever.
But I digress: Armstrong is a disgusting cheat who should be in an orange jumpsuit behind bars, not trying to compete against the world's best triathletes such as the Brownlee Brothers and Javier Gomez.
A few weeks ago we saw Lance Armstrong trying to save what little dignity he has left on international television on a sofa next to Oprah Winfrey, the aim of this wasn't to give the public info on how he cheated; instead it was a pathetic excuse for an apology so he can compete in Triathlon.
I find it disgusting that throughout the interview Armstrong showed no remorse for those cyclists trying to win clean, and gave little thought as to the cloud he has left hovering over the sport of cycling.
The 7 time cheat remained insistent throughout the interview that everyone else was taking the disgusting decision to dope, however he still won't name any names and refuses to give any evidence on the matter: That doesn't scream liar at all does it?
The truth is Armstrong has no right to walk the streets freely, let alone compete, throughout his career he made money through sponsorship that he had no right to, he won several lawsuits against media outlets that purported to the fact he never won honestly by any definition that is fraud and it is a wonder he hasn't been arrested yet.
I do feel that this is partly due to western legal systems that cannot prosecute anyone who is moderately famous even if there is no evidence to suggest their innocence: take Harry Redknapp for example who obviously is guilty of tax avoidance but still got through with no punishment whatsoever.
But I digress: Armstrong is a disgusting cheat who should be in an orange jumpsuit behind bars, not trying to compete against the world's best triathletes such as the Brownlee Brothers and Javier Gomez.
Don't take away the Modern Pentathlon
In September the IOC will decide on a new sport to enter the Olympic program for 2020, and in doing so, will decide upon a sport to exit the schedule of the greatest sporting event on earth.
And sadly, current speculation suggests that the unlucky sport will be none other than the Modern Pentathlon, the brainchild of Pierre de Coubertin, the man accredited with reviving the Olympics from their ancient roots.
I personally feel that to lose the modern pentathlon from the games would be to remove the soul from the Olympic games. The victor of the Modern Pentathlon isn't just the best athlete in many disciplines of the same sport like the Heptathlon on Omnium, they are the best all round athlete in the world in all sports, it follows the ideal of a soldier with the skills to carry a message using the skills of Shooting, Fencing, Swimming, Horse Riding and Running.
The argument for removing Modern Pentathlon from the Olympics is that it lacks a following outside of Eastern Europe. I would not deny this fact however I would point out that the 23,000 seat stadium at Greenwich park was full to the rafters during the London Olympics. I think if more attention was given to the sport, people would flock in their thousands to see stars like Samantha Murray and Laura Asadauskaite.
The sport's governing body, the UIPM has offered a way of squeezing all 5 disciplines into one stadium; the idea has pros and cons: it includes a difficult to see fencing piste and a wasteful pool that would only be used for a few races, however it does offer an improved, less distracting format for the fencing and a more exciting running portion held on a 400m track.
In conclusion the IOC has a responsibility to keep the Modern Pentathlon in the Olympics, if only to prevent Baron de Coubertin from rolling in his grave although the UIPM needs to carry its weight and raise the sport's profile before it's too late.
And sadly, current speculation suggests that the unlucky sport will be none other than the Modern Pentathlon, the brainchild of Pierre de Coubertin, the man accredited with reviving the Olympics from their ancient roots.
I personally feel that to lose the modern pentathlon from the games would be to remove the soul from the Olympic games. The victor of the Modern Pentathlon isn't just the best athlete in many disciplines of the same sport like the Heptathlon on Omnium, they are the best all round athlete in the world in all sports, it follows the ideal of a soldier with the skills to carry a message using the skills of Shooting, Fencing, Swimming, Horse Riding and Running.
The argument for removing Modern Pentathlon from the Olympics is that it lacks a following outside of Eastern Europe. I would not deny this fact however I would point out that the 23,000 seat stadium at Greenwich park was full to the rafters during the London Olympics. I think if more attention was given to the sport, people would flock in their thousands to see stars like Samantha Murray and Laura Asadauskaite.
The sport's governing body, the UIPM has offered a way of squeezing all 5 disciplines into one stadium; the idea has pros and cons: it includes a difficult to see fencing piste and a wasteful pool that would only be used for a few races, however it does offer an improved, less distracting format for the fencing and a more exciting running portion held on a 400m track.
In conclusion the IOC has a responsibility to keep the Modern Pentathlon in the Olympics, if only to prevent Baron de Coubertin from rolling in his grave although the UIPM needs to carry its weight and raise the sport's profile before it's too late.
Wednesday, 16 January 2013
Why the Paralympic grassroots stats are wrong
On Friday, the Sport and
Recreation Alliance revealed results of a study which suggest that
participation in Paralympic grassroots sport has barely risen since the London
Paralympic games. But if this study is accurate, why haven’t we seen an
increase in disability sport?
This study has been dismissed by the chief executive of the British Paralympic Association, Tim Hollingsworth who said "There is still a long way to go, but just four months on from the Games it's wrong to suggest nothing has changed."
I think it is worth pointing out that immediately following the close of the Paralympics the weather took a turn for the worse and we had enough rain to make 2012 the second wettest year on record in the UK, only surpassed by 2000.
To me it seems incredibly unlikely that people would start taking up sport in such disgusting, and I struggle to imagine that many disabled people, who are often made vulnerable by their impairments, would want to take up a new sport.
I would also note that many of clubs surveyed may not advertise the fact that they facilitate to disabled participants and in fact the study reported that only 24% of the sports clubs that were used to compile the data had all of the required facilities to cater to participants of Para-sport, a figure which completely disproves the findings of the report
Overall I struggle to believe the findings of this study, it was created much too hastily and didn't even survey clubs that will accept disabled athletes, in July I think we will start to see the real legacy of the Paralympics when it comes to grassroots sport, but for now the only legacy we can measure is how life for disabled people has improved since the world was stunned at the achievements of Paraltmpians in the Summer of 2012.
This study has been dismissed by the chief executive of the British Paralympic Association, Tim Hollingsworth who said "There is still a long way to go, but just four months on from the Games it's wrong to suggest nothing has changed."
I think it is worth pointing out that immediately following the close of the Paralympics the weather took a turn for the worse and we had enough rain to make 2012 the second wettest year on record in the UK, only surpassed by 2000.
To me it seems incredibly unlikely that people would start taking up sport in such disgusting, and I struggle to imagine that many disabled people, who are often made vulnerable by their impairments, would want to take up a new sport.
I would also note that many of clubs surveyed may not advertise the fact that they facilitate to disabled participants and in fact the study reported that only 24% of the sports clubs that were used to compile the data had all of the required facilities to cater to participants of Para-sport, a figure which completely disproves the findings of the report
Overall I struggle to believe the findings of this study, it was created much too hastily and didn't even survey clubs that will accept disabled athletes, in July I think we will start to see the real legacy of the Paralympics when it comes to grassroots sport, but for now the only legacy we can measure is how life for disabled people has improved since the world was stunned at the achievements of Paraltmpians in the Summer of 2012.
Saturday, 5 January 2013
Why Splash was a massive flop
Rather than my
usual ranting about the world of sport, in this post I will be taking the role
of TV critic and evaluating everything that is wrong with Tom Daley’s new TV
show Splash.
I had very low expectations for this show and it still managed to fall well below them.
My first problem with the show is the title and the tagline, “Who can make the most Splash?” both of which go against the main aim of diving; to create as little splash as possible.
The show itself will not benefit Tom Daley in any way shape or form; He is wasting his time teaching D-List celebrities to do the most basic dives meanwhile his fellow Olympic medallists David Boudia and Qiu Bo are training every day, both of whom will undoubtedly beat him in Rio, just as they did in London. When Tom Daley doesn’t reach the Olympic podium in 2016, Splash will be Exhibit A as to why.
I’m not the type of person who would normally criticise an Olympian for making media appearances, I love to see the world’s finest athletes appear A Question of Sport or A League of Their Own but Tom Daley has let the fame get to his head by letting a show to be centred on the athlete.
I am fine with recently retired athletes like Victoria Pendleton and Beth Tweddle taking part in shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice as they no longer need to worry about training and considering Louis Smith’s prospects of competing in Rio are slim I was happy to see him lift the strictly glitter ball.
Ignoring all of the above, the show fails as basic entertainment: figure skating and ballroom dancing have been developed as performance arts whereas diving is just a sport, which is not improved by ridiculous strip teases and five minutes of build up.
The hosts, Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay, knew very little about what they were presenting. Not to mention having a comedienne to judge a diving contest, there was little consensus in the scores given and Leon Taylor kept looking into the camera when giving his comments.
In 10 years time when we reflect on awful TV from the 21st century this will be high up on the list of “That show was ridiculous!”
In conclusion, this show is cringe-worthy, inaccurate way for ITV to extort money from weak-minded viewers through the medium of televoting.
I had very low expectations for this show and it still managed to fall well below them.
My first problem with the show is the title and the tagline, “Who can make the most Splash?” both of which go against the main aim of diving; to create as little splash as possible.
The show itself will not benefit Tom Daley in any way shape or form; He is wasting his time teaching D-List celebrities to do the most basic dives meanwhile his fellow Olympic medallists David Boudia and Qiu Bo are training every day, both of whom will undoubtedly beat him in Rio, just as they did in London. When Tom Daley doesn’t reach the Olympic podium in 2016, Splash will be Exhibit A as to why.
I’m not the type of person who would normally criticise an Olympian for making media appearances, I love to see the world’s finest athletes appear A Question of Sport or A League of Their Own but Tom Daley has let the fame get to his head by letting a show to be centred on the athlete.
I am fine with recently retired athletes like Victoria Pendleton and Beth Tweddle taking part in shows like Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing on Ice as they no longer need to worry about training and considering Louis Smith’s prospects of competing in Rio are slim I was happy to see him lift the strictly glitter ball.
Ignoring all of the above, the show fails as basic entertainment: figure skating and ballroom dancing have been developed as performance arts whereas diving is just a sport, which is not improved by ridiculous strip teases and five minutes of build up.
The hosts, Gabby Logan and Vernon Kay, knew very little about what they were presenting. Not to mention having a comedienne to judge a diving contest, there was little consensus in the scores given and Leon Taylor kept looking into the camera when giving his comments.
In 10 years time when we reflect on awful TV from the 21st century this will be high up on the list of “That show was ridiculous!”
In conclusion, this show is cringe-worthy, inaccurate way for ITV to extort money from weak-minded viewers through the medium of televoting.
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