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It's easy amidst all the hype to lose
sight of what the Olympics is all about - at it's core I mean.
It is a huge event - not only in a
sporting sense but commercially and politically. It has
become an entertainment bonanza with sponsors and countries
investing a truly phenomenal amount of huge money and time.
However issues surrounding any
modern Olympics can distract all those involved from it's core.
In the lead up and analysis to games in recent history have
ranged from - politics, drugs, tourism numbers, medal counts, building
schedules, ambush marketing etc.
(The Village at Bejing - A Symbol of the
Scale of the Modern Games)
But What Is The Core?
It's harder to find now than it was say 50
years ago but it is still there. Underneath all the other
stuff that the games is shrouded in, it is still about a contest
between athletes.
The intensity of competition - of
reaching for something that you are not sure you can attain.
Of doing all you can do be the best you can when it counts.
That hasn't changed - how people get there
has - but the essence is the same.
With all the
modern marketing and expectations of governments and pressure to
perform it can be easy to think of the athletes as somehow more
than they are.
They are still men and women - talented,
committed, dedicated trying to do all they can to focus, focus
on those few moments and few things they can control in an
intense cauldron.
Some will handle this better than
others some will have more to deal with than others.
But
they are still all human beings fallible, capable of great highs
and lows and powerful emotion. It is that emotion, the
emotion of the games is what lets us connect as we watch the
struggles they have against each other and with themselves in an
effort to perform.
As a viewing public we
want to be part of it - to connect somehow to share the
sense of pride or disappointment all from our own differing
perspectives. There
will be analysis and commentary and opinion on talkback and tv.
How many medals, have we under or over performed, did this
person do as we expected and why?
However it is not the mathematics of our
medal count that we truly connect with, at least I hope not.
It is in the heart and soul of the moments of courage of struggle, the pain
of defeat and pleasure of victory each games produces.
The emotion of the struggle which
can be just as strong in seeing a countryman win gold as it
is seeing the last runner home in the marathon entering a
hushed stadium struggling to finish the race with blisters,
pain and nothing to run for but pride - pride in
representing your country and not giving up
This at least to me is where the heart of
the games still beats strongly and is what drives the rest of
the flashy stuff that surrounds it.
A Look Back at the
Emotions of Athens 2004
This is the spirit of the games - the part
that doesn't depend on money, on advertising, or
whether there are increased tourism dollars generated - it is
the simple struggle of man and woman to overcome, to take one
more step, to get up when knocked down, to not give in when
everyone around them even themselves are saying they should.
To cling to their hope and stand tall with whatever effort they
can muster.
We can all be quick to judge a performance
and an athlete yet we never see what lies behind it - we don't
see the hours of sweat and years of training, the struggles they
may have faced prior to the race, the reality behind the image.
It is easy to jump to conclusions and label them as either
losers or winners, chokers or champions.
Perhaps we get
lost in our own feelings and hopes for you would think by now we
would realise that it is not so black and white. Hamish
Carter turned round a 26th in 2000 to win gold in 2004 (see
article this magazine)......Things change, people change.
In this magazine you will read some
accounts of athletes who have experienced or are about to
experience for the first time the often overwhelming nature of
an Olympics.
Good luck to our Badminton Olympians John Moody, Renee Flavell and Craig Cooper
as they share that emotion and unique experience and find their
own way to perform in it.
(Pictured above from
left to right Craig, Renee and John at the Auckland Badminton
Hall, 99 Gillies Ave, Epsom the Training Home of the NZ
National Squad)
(1) New Korean Cultural Club Games August
30th - Any club can enter team(s). $1200 in prize
money Gillies Ave August 30th. Keep an eye on Auckland website for
details.
(2) World Juniors, Junior
Commonwealth and Pan Pacific Teams Announced -
click here
to view.
(3) Auckland Clubs Get More Funding - $4000
from NZCT
(3) YMCA Deal Signed -
Auckland Clubs will get
a new promotion opportunity with the YMCA deal just signed
recently . For 10% discount
click here (Auckland full club and recreational
members only).
(4) Multicolour Sponsorship
-
click here.
Mention their add and save money on your printing.
(5) Save 50% off Accounting
Services. Want to get $1000 worth of services for
$500 then click here.
(6) Olympic Badminton Draw
- John has a tough first round Craig and Renee not a bad
one but not easy either - click here
(7) Social Competition
starting later in September at Lloyd Elsmore - C/D grade
open to casuals - more
details soon on auckland website.
(8) Xero -
offering a
new online accounting package trial day for clubs. Hamish
Carter and Auckland Badminton organising a date will be sent to
clubs soon.
(9)Coaches in Schools
Going Well. Our school club partnerships are growing
thanks to Sport Auckland's help - for more info contact Cliff
021-155-7227
e yet we never see what lies behind it - we don't
see the hours of sweat and years of training, the struggles they
may have faced prior to the race, the reality behind the image.
It is easy to jump to conclusions and label them as either
losers or winners, chokers or champions.