The Olympic stage is a showcase for nationalist pride - Canada, get out of the way
The 2004 summer Olympics have come and gone with many memorable moments to last a lifetime..... Candaian fencer Sherraine McKay, Winner of six World Cups and four medals from the Pan-Am games and a podium hopeful, was elliminated; Canadian mens 8 rowing team, undefeated since 2002 and expected to win gold, elliminated in the heats; Canadian swimmers, with podium performances in the last 10 games, all failed to advance to the medal round; Canadian cyclist Sue Palmer-Kolmar, leading with one lap remaining, finished 11th; Perdita and her disappointing falter in the 100m hurdles; Despatie and Haymens both with disappointing finishes in 10m platform diving; Canada mens 4 rowing.....ahem!
The most memorable moment, for me, of this dismal performance has been the aftermath of blame directed at the federal government for financially abandoning our athletes which, most believe, caused this humiliating performance. No, it can't possibly be the fault of our supposed 'elite athletes' who, coming into these games, were world cup champions, Pan American Champions and favorites to bring home in and around 20 - 25 medals. Nope, in true Canadian fasion we started looking for ways to blame the federal government - and we found one.... Those damn Australians!
It was revealed that Australia - a country very similar to Canada in both population and GDP - commits a whopping $100million URL=http://www.olympics.com.au/cp7/c9/webi/externaldocument/00001070aad.pdf]Source[/URL] to the development of their elite athletes, and finished the games with 49 medals. Canada, on the other hand, coughs up a mere $62million(so the report says)and finished the games with only 12 medals..
Well there you have it: it was the federal governments lack of commitment in dollars that caused a national disgrace on a world stage. So, the push is on - more public money for elite amateur athletes....and the push has gone international:
It's amazing how quickly people both nationally and internationally have rallied around the pundits screaming for more public dollars without researching the facts themselves. I did a quick search and found some interesting things, particularly this:
Well now, this fact don't seem to be in alignment with what the dollar criers claim, does it? Could it be? Oh no, was it..........the athletes fault all along? Or is it that Canadian expectations far exceed the capabilities of our athletes and government? How bout this:
Brilliant! Now we're getting to the root of it all. Maybe all this crying, whining and disappointment over our athletes performance in Athens has everything to do with our unrealistic expectations? Further, I'd argue that these ambitious expectations are anchored in nationalist pride.
Without question, Canadians are disappointed at their athletes performance in Athens because they fell short of what was expected. Canadians expected their athletes to bring home more medals than they did in Sydney; they were expecting a gold in the 100m hurdles; they were expecting medals from their swim team; they were expecting medals from their rowing teams; they were expecting medals in womens wrestling - none of which came to fruition.
All these thwarted expectations have culminated into a push for increased government funding of our elite amateur athletes development. Disappointed Canadians believe more funding means more medals, more medals mean more televised tear-jerking moments of pride/patriotism, more medals mean more role models for our youth to look up to, more medals mean ......whatever!
If a new funding regime for elite amateur athletes has as its guiding principle to produce more medals, I say SHOVE IT! But, if new funding is aimed at: increasing youth participation in sports; promoting healthier lifestyles in youth; providing more recreational activities for youth - then, I'd say, 'here's my 20 bucks.'
Canadians expect too much. Canadians expected too much from their athletes in Athens, they now expect too much from their government and, more importantly, all these expectations are for the wrong reasons - nationalist pride.
Is it not enough that Canada is recognized globally for their human rights record? Is it not enough that Canada is globally recognized for their social programs? Is it not enough that Canada is admired for their peace keeping efforts? Is all this not enough to quench Canadians hunger for global recognition that they absolutely need not stray from what they're known for - social responsibility - and divert money to a cause more appropriate for booster type countries i.e China, Russia, US...top three medal finishers in Athens and, coincidentally, countries not known for their social record.
It's an ethical question: should Canada increase public funding for elite amateur athletes development? Or should Canada, considering its socio-political ideology, direct public funds to programs that serve the public?
EDIT: Good source of info - video clips.
The 2004 summer Olympics have come and gone with many memorable moments to last a lifetime..... Candaian fencer Sherraine McKay, Winner of six World Cups and four medals from the Pan-Am games and a podium hopeful, was elliminated; Canadian mens 8 rowing team, undefeated since 2002 and expected to win gold, elliminated in the heats; Canadian swimmers, with podium performances in the last 10 games, all failed to advance to the medal round; Canadian cyclist Sue Palmer-Kolmar, leading with one lap remaining, finished 11th; Perdita and her disappointing falter in the 100m hurdles; Despatie and Haymens both with disappointing finishes in 10m platform diving; Canada mens 4 rowing.....ahem!
Source
The most memorable moment, for me, of this dismal performance has been the aftermath of blame directed at the federal government for financially abandoning our athletes which, most believe, caused this humiliating performance. No, it can't possibly be the fault of our supposed 'elite athletes' who, coming into these games, were world cup champions, Pan American Champions and favorites to bring home in and around 20 - 25 medals. Nope, in true Canadian fasion we started looking for ways to blame the federal government - and we found one.... Those damn Australians!
It was revealed that Australia - a country very similar to Canada in both population and GDP - commits a whopping $100million URL=http://www.olympics.com.au/cp7/c9/webi/externaldocument/00001070aad.pdf]Source[/URL] to the development of their elite athletes, and finished the games with 49 medals. Canada, on the other hand, coughs up a mere $62million(so the report says)and finished the games with only 12 medals..
Well there you have it: it was the federal governments lack of commitment in dollars that caused a national disgrace on a world stage. So, the push is on - more public money for elite amateur athletes....and the push has gone international:
Source
It's amazing how quickly people both nationally and internationally have rallied around the pundits screaming for more public dollars without researching the facts themselves. I did a quick search and found some interesting things, particularly this:
Source
Well now, this fact don't seem to be in alignment with what the dollar criers claim, does it? Could it be? Oh no, was it..........the athletes fault all along? Or is it that Canadian expectations far exceed the capabilities of our athletes and government? How bout this:
Source
Brilliant! Now we're getting to the root of it all. Maybe all this crying, whining and disappointment over our athletes performance in Athens has everything to do with our unrealistic expectations? Further, I'd argue that these ambitious expectations are anchored in nationalist pride.
Without question, Canadians are disappointed at their athletes performance in Athens because they fell short of what was expected. Canadians expected their athletes to bring home more medals than they did in Sydney; they were expecting a gold in the 100m hurdles; they were expecting medals from their swim team; they were expecting medals from their rowing teams; they were expecting medals in womens wrestling - none of which came to fruition.
All these thwarted expectations have culminated into a push for increased government funding of our elite amateur athletes development. Disappointed Canadians believe more funding means more medals, more medals mean more televised tear-jerking moments of pride/patriotism, more medals mean more role models for our youth to look up to, more medals mean ......whatever!
If a new funding regime for elite amateur athletes has as its guiding principle to produce more medals, I say SHOVE IT! But, if new funding is aimed at: increasing youth participation in sports; promoting healthier lifestyles in youth; providing more recreational activities for youth - then, I'd say, 'here's my 20 bucks.'
Canadians expect too much. Canadians expected too much from their athletes in Athens, they now expect too much from their government and, more importantly, all these expectations are for the wrong reasons - nationalist pride.
Is it not enough that Canada is recognized globally for their human rights record? Is it not enough that Canada is globally recognized for their social programs? Is it not enough that Canada is admired for their peace keeping efforts? Is all this not enough to quench Canadians hunger for global recognition that they absolutely need not stray from what they're known for - social responsibility - and divert money to a cause more appropriate for booster type countries i.e China, Russia, US...top three medal finishers in Athens and, coincidentally, countries not known for their social record.
It's an ethical question: should Canada increase public funding for elite amateur athletes development? Or should Canada, considering its socio-political ideology, direct public funds to programs that serve the public?
EDIT: Good source of info - video clips.
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