In response to the in augural Youth Olympics in Singapore there has been mixed feelings and thoughts on the running of the event. Many critics have claimed that it should have never been run and has diminished the likes of the Olympics and other World championship sporting events. Others have claimed that the event may have a negative effect on athletes, leading to them to be egotistical and arrogant to other members of society.
But in general the people who are reporting on this event in this manner are uneducated on the calibre of athletes and the mental state they have grown. We must consider that these athletes are mostly already on the international stage and as a consequence will not be effected by the bright lights as they have already been witness to open national and international championships. In this way the comment that athletes may become arrogant is irrelevant as the competitors at this event realise that there is major goals beyond this meet and this is only a stepping stone to these goals.
The Youth Olympics in comparison with other world meets is designed in a very contrasting way. The organisers attempted to create a set up in which competitors from around the world can come together and learn from each other training techniques, pre competition strategies and to realise how diverse talent is among the globes youth. The IOC president Jacques Rogge set out this design to improve and bring together the sporting fraternity of the globe, to be able to improve the future of sport and the way in which it can inspire youths around the globe. The bringing together of competitors was a major idea raised throughout the games and was symbolized with events that included teams with mixed nations such as Mixed Archery and Mixed team triathlon where athletes represented regions such as Oceania and The Americas etc. The IOC by including such events have created bonds between athletes across the globe that will be cherished eternally as well as aiding the improvement of athletes by witnessing other competitor’s practices.
The Games also hold certain significance in terms of the globes current state. With record numbers of obesity on the incline the meet can also be seen to inspire youths to strive to achieve their best and maybe one day also represent their country. This version of the games gives youths around the globe a realistic insight into reaching their goals as they can relate to the athletes, as they share similar traits (school students, part time work etc). By inspiring the youth of the globe to be healthy and set and believe in their goals, the mental and physical well being of the globe should be set to rise as the youth are inspired to jump out of their lethargic and technology bound lives. This was aided by the broadcasting of the games on the Youth based channel of GO (99) on the Australian television network. The daily highlight programs were broadcasted at 7.30 and 3.30 which were insisted by the IOC to promote the games to its target audience at times when they are watching the television (before and after school). This was able to further push the positive message to the youth.
Not only did the Youth Olympics offer competitors a chance to show case their skills and endeavour to the globe it also gave them a chance to spread and share their views with the IOC itself. The president of the IOC Jacques Rogge gave the opportunity to the athletes to sit down with the man himself to talk about what sport means to them and what developments could be made to improve their experiences and enhancement in the national and international sporting arena. This gave the athletes a chance to present their views along with Rogge presenting his, which is only going to improve the nature and performance of sport in the long term with a positive relationship between competitor and the governing body.
Overall the experience of the Youth Olympics was summed up by athletes at the completion of the games and Rogge him self "These Youth Games have definitely exceeded vastly my highest expectations," Rogge said. "I did not expect this level of perfection in organization. Hats off to Singapore for what they have done." In general the critics will always be critics and no doubt we will hear them again in four years time in Nanjing Chine 2014. But the critics we are experiencing are mostly current affairs journalists and uniformed individuals of our society who wish to stand up on their soap box. This is an embarrassment to our country, as we are meant to be known for our sporting traits and excellence not our winging emotional state when sport takes over our daily television programs. Let’s hope that in four years time that these critics still don’t imagine the globe from their sofa and can realize the importance of sport in our community.
No comments:
Post a Comment