"As for sports sponsorship, it's all about medal potential - none won or winnable means no funding. How yo'ure supposed to get to medal winning level without help is obviously beyond their thought processes."
That's exactly my point. Surely it's easier, and cheaper to mark out a , for example, basketball court on the floor of a village / community centre to the benefit of many,than it is to send folk to somewhere where there's snow or create a "dry slope" to practice snowboarding?
I fully accept that I know nothing about sport so I might be missing some salient point.
The sports that we excelled at (cycling, various downhill runs on a teatray on skis) had a lot of lottery money thrown into the technology. As the article says, aerodynamics plays a huge part. My hubby was involved in scanning people on bikes and people on sledges, so that aerodynamicists had 3D models to perfect air flow over helmets etc. When the french made objections about the bikes, they were moaning about the wrong thing.
Money went into sports that it is thought we would have a chance of a medal. Sports science is huge, and the sad fact is that Britain has very few good basketball players, compared to USA. Genetics plays a huge part in basketball, and it's not something that is sorted out on a computer.
"... a lottery is a tax on the stupid and the greedy"
Oh yes, I totally agree with that ....... and so do a lot of thinking people ......... I've worked in music and the arts and know of quite a few big name entertainers who refused to perform at events which were Lottery Funded when the National Lottery started ...... not sure if they've all stuck to their guns ...
To play Devil's Advocate ..............
Basketball used to get quite a lot of funding ....... they weren't successful in the big competitions and didn't raise their own profile enough and so their turn is over and other sports are getting a chance....
Also team sports are more able to raise their own funds/get sponsorship etc, once the courts/pitch whatever is established and of most of them are maintained by local authorities. After all, most communities have a local Saturday/Sunday football club ... they don't get millions of taxpayers' money ... they may apply for small lottery grants for new strips etc from time to time but usually these things are paid for by sponsors who do it for the advertising. Members spend several hours a week mowing pitches and marking out lines ............ what makes basketball any different?
Our niece is a snowboarder .... she trains on the dry slope at Peterborough and so do her mates ....... stuff like that isn't elitist any more.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I saw that interview as well Hosta and I also thought it seemed a poor bargain. He was specifically talking about skeleton, which is not a mass participation sport. I know lots of people who regularly go skiing and snowboarding, no one who would even think about skeleton or any other kind of bobsleigh type thing. Basketball is one of the highest participation sports in the UK - up there with football. Every school plays it. Well football is the cheapest, presumably, four jumpers and a tin can or a tennis ball and you can play football. You do need a ball and a hoop for basketball but nothing else. It appeals to a far wider ethnic and social group than even skiing and snowboarding. But it gets no funding at all from the elite sports funding - not just less funding, no funding. You do have to question whether the decisions are entirely objective. It's said it's all about encouraging participation but actually it's about winning major competitions. There is certainly a reason to do that - Andy Murray wins Wimbledon, shops see a bump in sales because it makes people happy. (The sun coming out does the same thing but that's proving harder to manage). But if you want to improve the health of the nation, basketball should be considered on a level with football, tennis, jogging and cycling.
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I think that the funding for Bobsleigh etc., is historical. In days of yore, there was a British Downhill Only Club, that participated in all these sports and was composed mainly of the wealthy elite.
In fact I believe most of these sports were actually invented by the British. Down hill skiing certainly was.
I think that this has carried on to the present day.
That said, I think that it is one of the truly exhilarating sports to watch.
Many years ago I sledged on a track and it was one of the scariest, most brilliant things I ever did, but then I also used to jump out of aeroplanes, so perhaps I am just odd.
Last edited: 24 February 2018 12:18:57
How can you lie there and think of England When you don't even know who's in the team
I thought that many sledders in the past were army types. Definitely a sport for people with their head in a strange place but I can definitely see the appeal of skiing which is great fun, tho my knees and dodgy back no longer permit it. Did do a moonlit, torchlight sled race once, long ago, and that was very scary but exhilarating. The thought of going down head first and sol on a flimsy skeleton is not even remotely enticing.
Community sports and activities are definitely the way to go for personal and community health and better behaviour in bored youth and adults. Start them young and keep them at it. More cost effective than chasing elusive, ephemeral medal performances.
Very sunny out there. Just having a coffee and then I might just go and have a wee potter outside.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Back from garden centre with birdfood and seeds ... we have
Tomatoes .... Sungold ... grown them before and they're my favourites, ............. and Rosella, described as a cherry type with a smoky flavour ... OH liked the sound of those. I'm trying to cut down on tomatoes this year ... last year we had 20+ plants!
Courgette ... Romanesco ... haven't grown this variety before so fingers crossed. They're described as being the best for flavour so fingers crossed.
Runner beans ... Butler ... we grew these for the first time last year and were very impressed ... best crop ever and good flavour.
Mange tout ... Sweet Sensation ... haven't grown mange tout for years but OH has decided he likes them and will miss not getting them from the farm shop so we'll give them a try.
Sweetcorn ... Swift ... grew these a couple of years ago and was very pleased by the crop and the flavour.
I think I've got enough of other seeds left from last year so that should do me for a while.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Midnight, and its now my late daughters 55 Th birthday. Strange to think about and speculate on what she’d be doing now, time for Sleep now, Night all.
I have a couple of packets of Sweetcorn Swift to go in (beginning of May) Eating them fresh just bears no resemblance to the stuff you can buy. Same with runner and french beans. If I could only grow three things, they would be what I would grow. I don't freeze any, we make the most of a glut and then wait for the next year.
I need sweet peas for mid september. When to plant seeds do you think? Half in March and half in April?
So far as sport is concerned, I'm more of a " it's the taking part, not the winning" kinda guy.
It doesn't bother me if we've the best teams in the world or not, more that ordinary folk have access to playing.
We've become so obsessed with medals, league tables and being the best , that nothing else seems to matter. I wonder if that's how Russia's "troubles" started?
Basketball was the guy's sport who was interviewed, but I seem to remember badminton receives no money either. I'm sure there are many others.
Anyway, Sungold for me too , and swift sweetcorn.
We had some defrosted and grilled during the week. Not as good as fresh from the plant, but on a cold February day, much appreciated.
Posts
Obs says
"As for sports sponsorship, it's all about medal potential - none won or winnable means no funding. How yo'ure supposed to get to medal winning level without help is obviously beyond their thought processes."
That's exactly my point. Surely it's easier, and cheaper to mark out a , for example, basketball court on the floor of a village / community centre to the benefit of many,than it is to send folk to somewhere where there's snow or create a "dry slope" to practice snowboarding?
I fully accept that I know nothing about sport so I might be missing some salient point.
The sports that we excelled at (cycling, various downhill runs on a teatray on skis) had a lot of lottery money thrown into the technology. As the article says, aerodynamics plays a huge part. My hubby was involved in scanning people on bikes and people on sledges, so that aerodynamicists had 3D models to perfect air flow over helmets etc. When the french made objections about the bikes, they were moaning about the wrong thing.
Money went into sports that it is thought we would have a chance of a medal. Sports science is huge, and the sad fact is that Britain has very few good basketball players, compared to USA. Genetics plays a huge part in basketball, and it's not something that is sorted out on a computer.
"... a lottery is a tax on the stupid and the greedy"
Oh yes, I totally agree with that ....... and so do a lot of thinking people ......... I've worked in music and the arts and know of quite a few big name entertainers who refused to perform at events which were Lottery Funded when the National Lottery started ...... not sure if they've all stuck to their guns ...
To play Devil's Advocate
..............
Basketball used to get quite a lot of funding ....... they weren't successful in the big competitions and didn't raise their own profile enough and so their turn is over and other sports are getting a chance....
Also team sports are more able to raise their own funds/get sponsorship etc, once the courts/pitch whatever is established and of most of them are maintained by local authorities. After all, most communities have a local Saturday/Sunday football club ... they don't get millions of taxpayers' money ... they may apply for small lottery grants for new strips etc from time to time but usually these things are paid for by sponsors who do it for the advertising. Members spend several hours a week mowing pitches and marking out lines ............ what makes basketball any different?
Our niece is a snowboarder .... she trains on the dry slope at Peterborough and so do her mates ....... stuff like that isn't elitist any more.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I saw that interview as well Hosta and I also thought it seemed a poor bargain. He was specifically talking about skeleton, which is not a mass participation sport. I know lots of people who regularly go skiing and snowboarding, no one who would even think about skeleton or any other kind of bobsleigh type thing. Basketball is one of the highest participation sports in the UK - up there with football. Every school plays it. Well football is the cheapest, presumably, four jumpers and a tin can or a tennis ball and you can play football. You do need a ball and a hoop for basketball but nothing else. It appeals to a far wider ethnic and social group than even skiing and snowboarding. But it gets no funding at all from the elite sports funding - not just less funding, no funding. You do have to question whether the decisions are entirely objective. It's said it's all about encouraging participation but actually it's about winning major competitions. There is certainly a reason to do that - Andy Murray wins Wimbledon, shops see a bump in sales because it makes people happy. (The sun coming out does the same thing but that's proving harder to manage). But if you want to improve the health of the nation, basketball should be considered on a level with football, tennis, jogging and cycling.
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I think that the funding for Bobsleigh etc., is historical. In days of yore, there was a British Downhill Only Club, that participated in all these sports and was composed mainly of the wealthy elite.
In fact I believe most of these sports were actually invented by the British. Down hill skiing certainly was.
I think that this has carried on to the present day.
That said, I think that it is one of the truly exhilarating sports to watch.
Many years ago I sledged on a track and it was one of the scariest, most brilliant things I ever did, but then I also used to jump out of aeroplanes, so perhaps I am just odd.
Last edited: 24 February 2018 12:18:57
When you don't even know who's in the team
S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
I thought that many sledders in the past were army types. Definitely a sport for people with their head in a strange place but I can definitely see the appeal of skiing which is great fun, tho my knees and dodgy back no longer permit it. Did do a moonlit, torchlight sled race once, long ago, and that was very scary but exhilarating. The thought of going down head first and sol on a flimsy skeleton is not even remotely enticing.
Community sports and activities are definitely the way to go for personal and community health and better behaviour in bored youth and adults. Start them young and keep them at it. More cost effective than chasing elusive, ephemeral medal performances.
Very sunny out there. Just having a coffee and then I might just go and have a wee potter outside.
Back from garden centre with birdfood and seeds ... we have
Tomatoes .... Sungold ... grown them before and they're my favourites, ............. and Rosella, described as a cherry type with a smoky flavour ... OH liked the sound of those. I'm trying to cut down on tomatoes this year ... last year we had 20+ plants!
Courgette ... Romanesco ... haven't grown this variety before so fingers crossed. They're described as being the best for flavour so fingers crossed.
Runner beans ... Butler ... we grew these for the first time last year and were very impressed ... best crop ever and good flavour.
Mange tout ... Sweet Sensation ... haven't grown mange tout for years but OH has decided he likes them and will miss not getting them from the farm shop so we'll give them a try.
Sweetcorn ... Swift ... grew these a couple of years ago and was very pleased by the crop and the flavour.
I think I've got enough of other seeds left from last year so that should do me for a while.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Midnight, and its now my late daughters 55 Th birthday. Strange to think about and speculate on what she’d be doing now, time for Sleep now, Night all.
I have a couple of packets of Sweetcorn Swift to go in (beginning of May) Eating them fresh just bears no resemblance to the stuff you can buy. Same with runner and french beans. If I could only grow three things, they would be what I would grow. I don't freeze any, we make the most of a glut and then wait for the next year.
I need sweet peas for mid september. When to plant seeds do you think? Half in March and half in April?
So far as sport is concerned, I'm more of a " it's the taking part, not the winning" kinda guy.
It doesn't bother me if we've the best teams in the world or not, more that ordinary folk have access to playing.
We've become so obsessed with medals, league tables and being the best , that nothing else seems to matter. I wonder if that's how Russia's "troubles" started?
Basketball was the guy's sport who was interviewed, but I seem to remember badminton receives no money either. I'm sure there are many others.
Anyway, Sungold for me too , and swift sweetcorn.
We had some defrosted and grilled during the week. Not as good as fresh from the plant, but on a cold February day, much appreciated.