I have actually done something this very morning that has made me - and more importantly the wife - very, very proud! It's nothing to do with sport and is a bit of a personal one so I won't divulge, all I can say is that I have finally got my arse gear and taken a huge first step in the right direction. This is an awesome thread by the way, making me fall back in love with this old forum all over again. Group hug?
my two boys were doing the long jump very ethusiasticly on saturday night in front of the TV - one of them had met Chris tomlinson at school as well recently. i think i can safely say that is at least one of them inspired to become an athlete after watching the games Wonky et al. the younger one still wants to be a monster-truck driver when he is older though mind.
You're perfectly entitled to your views 1950, but seriously, if your grand-daughter (presuming you have grandchildren) announced that she wanted a horse and her ambition was to one day be Olympian horsewoman, you wouldn't encourage her? Us older people have to inspire the younger generation, not discourage them! We've got a 8 year old in our family and all he knows is Football football football, his dad is puffed up with pride because he goes to Soccer school, plays 3/4 times a week in mini league etc. We had him stay for a week a while back, and took him out on a boat, he absolutely loved it, so much so we bought him a small canoe and some lessons, now he's taken up swimming as well, and football has become something he now enjoys once a week. It's giving them a choice, a chance to do and try something different, in short to INSPIRE THEM! ILD OTBC ILD OTBC
Just 4 questions A) If school sport has been ruined by this mantra over the last few years how come we are having our most successful Olympics ever? B) Presumably you also agree with the Tory view that it is just coincidence that the majority of winners come from better off backgrounds and is nothing to do with the lack of opportunity open to the poorer kids. C) School playing fields are still being sold off and Council run facilities being closed down. Is that happening at Eton or Harrow? D) The winners and losers situation appears to have been adopted for ticket allocation. Do you find it strange or acceptable that politicians and the Royals can just turn up where and when they like?
I have a grand-daughter who is a promising dancer - I have travelled hundreds of miles to watch and support her. I have a grand-son who runs for his School, Club and County - I have just financially helped my daughter buy a better car so that she can get him to training etc. I have a grand-son in Australia who has been invited to join the Victoria State Cricket academy - I have paid for a lot of his equipment over the years. They have all followed their pursuits because they wanted to and then became commited. They have not got a short term interest which, I am afraid, the majority of kids and others will have from the Olympics inspiration. I really do hope I'm wrong but only time will tell. I am too old to participate but I can only repeat what I have said before - the Olympics will not change my TV watching habits. I seem to be a minority of one or am I the only one foolish enough to put his head over the parapet.
Got to disagree slightly about competition, and not because I'm a socialist and you are a tory. I don't think youngsters should believe that competition is the imperative to success. Excellence of performance is far more important. Professionals have to compete to fund the wage packet. Kids and amateurs don't have to. Just doing it well and losing is not a crime.
You can not deny that there has been a move away from competitive sport in schools! My kids have experienced it at first hand over the last few years. Thankfully things are beginning to change. The pursuit of excellence is available to anyone in this country who has the work ethic and talent to pursue it and I am sick to death of the same old arguements around the "plight" of the disadvantaged! I don't find it strange that politicians and the royals have been turning up at the events. The Royals can't win in this situation! If they dont turn up they will be accused of not supporting our athletes and when they do they are accused of freeloading!
I've disagreed with most of what you've said on this thread 1950, but have to say I'm totally with you on this one I applied for about £500 worth of tickets and ended up with just one night of boxing at the Excel last week (which was great I have to say!) and having had the past two weeks off work to watch it all I've probably spent on average 3/4 hours every day on the bloody website trying to get tickets for anything in the Olympic Park as I live just five tube stops away from all the action. Tickets for events I originally applied for have been on sale every day but have I been able to get any of them? Nah, course I haven't, not a sausage so I do agree that it is somewhat frustrating seeing all the luvvies turning up to whatever they want and whenever they want. Then again that is my only single grumble with any of the games, and I do appreciate that 2 million people going for about 5000 tickets a day is going to leave a lot of people disappointed and there was never going to any easy way to achieve an idealistic allocation process so I'm not really complaining all that much. It is also a slightly depressing fact that the majority of our gold medal winners were privately educated (compared to less than 10% of the population), but unfortunately our society has always been built around the 'haves' and the 'have nots' and there ain't a lot we can do about it apart from roll our socks up and inspire the younger members of our family and friends that anything truly is achievable if you have the drive and determination to live and achieve your dreams.
So the old mantra has been followed by our best Olympic result ever. Things are changing so presumably it follows that the new mantra will determine our result in Brazil? Apparently there is no ' plight of the disadvantaged ' My Grandson trains etc at least 5 times a week and lives 10 miles from his training ground. How would a child from a poorer background with no car get backwards and forwards to that training ground? The Royals are freeloaders so why should the Olympics be any different? I still don't understand why they and politicians have a divine right to just do it. SUPERS - YOU ARE RIGHT - IHAVE TURNED INTO ARTHUR SMITH!!!
top post munky it irks me a little that you've got the royals at all the top events, and paul bloddy macartney seems to be everywhere. obviously there are a lot of average punters, and well-off foreigners on a weeks hols, there too. you can still see some empty seats at some events, but i guess they will never get it right (the tickets). That must irk you a lot as you are so close - have you been down to the ticket office outside the security at Stratford just to see if they are selling anything??? i've spent hours too trying to get tickets for the atheletics, but i've now accepted defeat. what i am going to is the para-olympic athletics - we realised that we were probably not going to the main olympic atheletics, so i'm really looking foward to that it a few weeks and to get behind our para-olympians - tickets are selling really well - i think it could be a massive showcase for disability in this country.
Then you have inspired them! So all we're saying is, lets reach out to the "MAJORITY" and inspire them not dismiss them. Of course only a few will succeed but we have to give them a chance to try. ILD OTBC
I'm still hoping to get to the Paralympics but don't really want to commit to any specific date just yet as the missus is due to drop our first little 'un just as it kicks off!
I've got tickets for 5th September in the main Stadium, I'm sure I'll be even more inspired by that! ILD OTBC
we got those months ago ILD actually, when we realised we got nowt in the first ballot in April. still looking on the ticket site for this week's events, along with Munky! athletics availiable if you want to spend £300 plus....not for me
