Whether Australia realises it or not, the country is about to reach a fork in the road in its relationship with the Olympics.
Culture is about to clash with reality to meet the demands of a society where silver is considered a failure.
Forget Stilnox, door knocking and pranks calls because this fork centres solely on performance.
Past generations were happy to cheer on any chlorine-clad athlete, as long as they were Australian.
Just representing our nation on the world stage was considered a success regardless of whether you finished first or fifteenth.
We were the little island on the bottom of the globe, but now we hold ourselves in higher esteem, even if sometimes that perception is slightly inflated.
Winning a gold medal, contrary to popular belief, is an extremely difficult task.
The rest of the world zoomed up in the rear view mirror and we failed to notice.
Two reviews into Australia’s Olympic swimming team created sexy headlines. It painted unidentified members of the squad as attention seeking schoolkids while others drowned in a ‘toxic’ atmosphere.
Buried within the pages of both the Bluestone Review of culture and leadership in Australian Olympic Swimming and the Independent Review of swimming was something equally important.
It wasn’t as sexy, but just as relevant.
“The panel received feedback from a number of individuals questioning whether A qualifying times are a high enough benchmark for selection on the team,” the independent review said.
“In many events, swimming an A qualifying time in competition would not see a swimmer progress to a final. This also raises the prospect of tighter team selection, where individuals may not be selected if they are an unrealistic chance of making a final.
“The other issue to a broad selection policy is that the finite resources available to a team must be allocated across a larger group of swimmers (and coaches). By targeting medal potential swimmers, the allocation of resources becomes far more effective.”
That was backed up by a small part of the Bluestone review that said “there were some comments among review respondents that a number of swimmers felt that being an Olympian was abundant success enough; they had no further expectation than being there and competing.”
“Making the team earlier in the year was the win; the rest was a bonus, an experience to savour rather than a job to complete,” one respondent said.
One participant went on to say that “winning was a wish, not a want.”
Tougher benchmarks would lead to a smaller but better resourced team.
It will also change the fundamental message we send to kids.
Coaches and parents tell them that being your best is good enough, but now the message would change to being the best is the only thing that matters.
That’s not necessarily healthy, but is it reality?
Australia’s sports fans need to decide what they want their Olympians to represent.
It either has to be a celebration of a wide variety of sports with an even wider range of outcomes or a targeted assault on gold, silver and bronze.
It can’t be both.
Are we still content with being the parochial nation that wells with pride when we see green and gold on the international stage or have our expectations changed?
Do we want to be our best or the best?
It’s the question that is looming large in that same rear view mirror.
dadiggle
Guest
The point is pushing kids to win at all cost is the reason why they are appearing before committee's about drug abuses. Schools recruit only the best for glory and want to win at any cost. Hansie Cronje never lost a game at Grey College and did he turn out fine.
mushi
Roar Guru
I'm with you on this. When did we proudly become the ugly american?
elGusto
Roar Rookie
Doing some research for a uni assignment and found this little gem of a quote. Sums it up perfectly i think. "The interrelations between sports and television have resulted in the adaptation- modification of Olympic activity to commercial principles. Olympic sports have frequently made changes in their regulatory framework in order to accommodate the mass media’s commercial principles. The IOC sells the rights for the Olympics to the media, who instead of using the games to visualize and promote a global community constructed around respect for cultural diversity, focus the viewers’ attention on consumerism and egocentric sport achievements, consequently contributing to the socioeconomic globalization value system, and not to that of universalization or cosmopolitism. In other words, in regard to today’s Olympic phenomenon, consumerism, capitalization or the exploitation of our social capital in sports have become a priority (e.g. in the mass media, in the commercial market, in high performance sports through doping and intensive training for «victory» at all costs)." Link - http://www.safetylit.org/citations/index.php?fuseaction=citations.viewdetails&citationIds[]=citjournalarticle_183720_11
AndyMack
Guest
Hi Luke This is a great article. A really good read. TBH, i wish you had offered your opinion one way or the other, but judging from the comments, I might be on my own in thinking making the Olympics is a great achievement and should be celebration worthy. I guess we were spoilt in 2000 with all those golds and now anything less is a major failure (and an drain on taxpayers money - please...)
AndyMack
Guest
Haha Johnno, you have no idea how many times I have wanted to say the same to you after reading one of your comments. I guess he is saying sport should be about having fun, taking part, and winning is not everything. Although he lost me with the sisters bra bit....
Johnno
Guest
It goes both ways, we have bought many eastern european weightlifting coaches, Russian gymnastic coaches, american track and field coaches, it works both ways sharing IP. Agree we should now only spend money on athletes who are a genuine chance of a medal, it should be medal focused, a lean mean fighting machine, not a rabble large squad of mediocrity, where participation not medals is the culture.
Handles
Guest
...or are likely to improve and benefit through the experience. If you have been to the Olympics before, or are past the age where improvement is highly likely, then strict adherence to this criteria should apply.
Handles
Guest
Oh, you beat me to it! The Tamsyn Lewis Syndrome! From memory she had not run under two minutes for a long period of time, but still launched an claim in the Court of Arbitration for Sport about her non-selection. This article very clearly explains what I have been waffling on about ever since the Olympics. I saw countless post-performance interviews where athletes had disappointed, often crashing out in preliminary rounds, and their main comment was "Now I am just going to relax and enjoy the rest of the Olympic experience". Well, good on you for that, but a little more anguish would help us tax-payers feel that you really give a sh1t! I think that we are seeing the negatives of long-term Institute of Sport mentality. Where the rewards are lifestyle, money and travel, then winning, in that order.
M-Rod
Guest
Quote... "The rest of the world zoomed up in the rear view mirror and we failed to notice" ... and we're giving them the accelerator pedal thanks to help from ex-pat Aussie coaches and their advanced training and technologies pioneered in Australia! Stuff me if I want to see my tax dollars funding all these elite AIS sports programs and centres of excellence, only to find out that ex-coaches whose salary I've been paying over the years can simply walk out with our training method IP to another country, without any non-circumvention obligation the minute a fat overseas contract arrives. And to the point of the article, I'm a bit over us sending 400 athletes every olympics, most of whom compete in sports we have no prospects of success in ... the deal should be that if a sportsman/ team can be competitive at a World Championship level (ie consistent in the top 10), that wins the right for their sport to get an AOC berth and they can then go on and represent Australia for that sport. Until then, its up to the local sports federations to breed, groom and support its athletes in their chosen field to reach this ultimate level of worldwide competitiveness... if they can't get there, then so be it.
Pot Stirrer
Guest
I think it should all be just performance based. If you are not able to post a time that would have qualified for a starting position in the finals from the previous olympics then no you shouldnt go.
Johnno
Guest
dadiggle what's your point, .
dadiggle
Guest
And they is why the kids is running around with roids in their bags complaining about small testicles. Give your best if it wasn't good enough then be proud that you got there and try harder next time. There will always be somebody better out there unless you compete in some third world country sport that all you need is a 5 quid racket and a feather ball and your sisters bra as a net.
Johnno
Guest
To be honest it should be about being the best. I am now over the days, of eddy the eagle, as comical as they are. It's about winning the gold, that's all it's about. I am glad aussy swimming will trim down it's team, and focus on people who only have a medal chance or semi-final chance as a pass mark. I wouldn't object if more americans were allowed spots in the 100m sprint, as some of the best 100 m runners miss out, as only 2 or 3 spots are gin to the US team. I want to see the best in tack and field, and swimming not the average owns, it diminishes the credibility of the gold if you know someone who is not there had a chance. Less is more. And there will still be many spots given , and just as many races just some countries will be more top heavy and have more competitors in each event.
MadMonk
Guest
Good article and comment MY. Another example every Olympics we have selection appeals (Equestrian and Archery ring a bell) where the number 4 Australian challenges the selction of no3. This consumes pages of newsprint. The selection is resolved and the lucky competitor finishes 43rd. I have always found the swimming team an oxymoron. It harks back to primary school swimming carnivals. Swimming is an individual sport where the only team component is in relay to make sure you don't jump in before your teamate touches the wall. The footballer Roy Keane once said he did not socialise with any of of Manchester United teamates, did not know their phone numbers and yet he was the captain of one of the most succesful football teams of all time. And football is a team sport. Olympic sports are now professional, the athletes are adults, lets stop expecting them to act like they are in primary school.
Mark Young
Roar Guru
Hi Luke This is a terrific article, thanks for writing it. You have neatly captured what I have described as "the Tamsyn Lewis Syndrome" Tamsyn is the best 800m runner in this country and has been for a decade, and no-one can touch her. Easily the class of her nation. However, she is not a top class 800m runner internationally, and has never or will never vie for a medal. Do we keep sending her to competitions as a reward for being the best in the country? Or should we only send athletes to game if they are a chance of winning? What if an Athlete has a great time and qualifies, is deemed to have no chance and not selected but offers to pay their own way? My opinion, I would like to see any Australian good enough to qualify for the Olympics, go the Olympics. And our money as Tax Payers, go to any athlete who wins a medal, After the Olympics.