Sunday, 3 July 2022

Are Canadian Olympic Sports in Crisis?

 I can remember the not so good old days when Canadians at the Olympics were sitting ducks. Underfunded, and undertrained, our amateur athletes had to compete with:

  •  Americans finely tuned through a competitive, scholarship supported, college sports system.
  • Athletes from countries where Olympic sports like wrestling, soccer or track and field actually matter.
  • Salaried pseudo amateurs from eastern block countries.
  • Unnaturally muscled, gender morphing, machine like monstrosities from the same eastern block rivals.

Canada was the only country to host an Olympics but not win a gold medal. We did this not once, but twice at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics, and at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Sure, there were many well deserved silver and bronze medals. At many other Olympics, water sports like swimming and snow and ice sports provided their share of medals. Occassionally, there would be the spectacular results of a Nancy Greene, a Caroline Waldo or a Donovan Bailey. However, we were never dominant to the degree that one would expect from a nation of our wealth and resources. There was also the fact that many of the Olympic sports had little fan base or support in Canada.
 
In 2016 I wrote a post called "Does Canada Own the Podium?" The following is an excerpt from that.
  "Own the Podium would change all of that! Sport Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Vancouver Organizing Committee gathered for a brainstorming session in 2004. A decision was made to have Sport Canada, the C.O.C. and the Canadian Paralympic Committee  pool their funding. This funding was to be used to select potential medal winners from the various national sporting organizations and direct.the resources towards them. Future forecast was predicted by:
  • Past Performance
  • Future potential in the view of coaches and sports coordinators
  • Analytics - the analysis of statistics made famous in baseball and the movie 'Moneyball'
  • Sports with potential for most medals  
  • Sports with multiple events like speed skating (long and short track), skiing (alpine and freestyle), swimming and rowing plus track and field can yield more medals
  • Team sports like field hockey can yield only one medal per team per gender
  • Sports with weight classes such as wrestling can also be fruitful
  • A weight class sport such as Olympic Weightlifting is a fringe sport in Canada whereas in Europe, the Balkans, Asia and the Mideast it is almost as popular as soccer. The potential for medals is likely low for Canadian competitors.
  •  Sports associations such as Wrestling Canada had the foresight to invest heavily in the women's program and reap a future medal harvest."
Own the Podium and the Road to Excellence were mandated to funnel financial support to elite athltes and sports with medal potential. It worked! Canadian athletes at the 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022 Winter Olymics were in the mix with the traditional powerhouse countries. In Vancouver 2010, Canada broke its Gold Medal drought as a host nation and won the most gold medals.. Summer Olympic athletes from Canada began winning medals on a more regular basis.  

Then the milk of success began to turn sour. Disturbing stories began to emerge from different sports with similar complaints such as:
  • Bullying, abrasive coaches
  • Verbal harassment of athletes
  • Promotion of eating disorders
  • Fat shaming
  • Sexual harassment and assault
  • Sexual misconduct
  • Perormance prioritized over the physical and mental well being of athletes
Disturbing stories began to emerge as a sideline to the athletic success.


The morale erosion  began to make news headlines in recent years.
  • Bobsled Canada Skeleton athletes en masse demanded that the CEO and staff of that sporting body all resign for constantly disregarding athlete complaints or 'sweeping them under the carpet.'.
  • Some prominant track and field coaches received lifetime bans for sexual misconduct.
  • In gymnastics a husband and wife coaching tandem also received a lifetime for psychological abuse tacics such as 'fat shaming' enforced dietary restriction..
  • A former national team gymnastics coach was sentenced to prison for multiple counts of sexual assault .
  • The Alpine Canada sporting body was accused of muzzling whistle blowing athletes.
  • Soccer, artistic swimming, and other sports have had reports of a toxic environment at the developmental levels.
  • Wrestling Canada contracted a lawyer to investigate the sport. The lawyer concluded that this sport cultivated 'a culture of drinking' within the coaching ranks. Gadzooks!  Maybe I remember some of it through the alcoholic haze.)
A sport as pure as amateur wrestling with a 
'culture of drinking'within its coachng ranks?  
 Nonsense!                                                                       
                                                                 
 
        
 *&^!% Bobby! You are a disgrace as a wrestler!" 



The most recent scandal just hit the news waves last week. Hockey Canada tried to keep hidden a settlement payment to a woman claiming that she was sexually assaulted by at least 8 members of the 2018 Men's Junior Hockey team. Sport Canada is not pleased by the lack of transparency or any hint of a cover up. Sport Canada also wants to know if government funding was used as part of the settlement.
Despite the success of women's hockey, the enclosed ice fields are rumored to be rife with toxic masculinity. Until Sport Canada finds out the full situation, no more federal government funding will be given out to Hockey Canada. Corporate sponsors such as Tim Horton's and Canadian Tire are also freezing their financial donations.
****Now more allegations are hitting the news about another gang rape by members of the Canadian junior hockey team in Halifax at the 2003 World Junior Championships! Not good!

What the heck happened? Where did it all go wrong? Why this implosion? This is what I think:
  • Results were placed at utmost importance. 
  • The sporting bodies scoring the most medals got the most money.
  • The most successful coaches were rewarded despite any possible behavioral flaws.
  • Many of these behavioral issues were overlooked or covered up by sport administrations to keep the money flowing from government agencies and corporate sponsors. 
  • Once enough athletes feel abused or bullied the code of silence starts to crack.
  • It should be noted that false accusations are not rare. Disgruntled athletes can make up stories out of spite. 
  • A wrongful allegation can ruin the reputation of an innocent coach or support staff member and even lead to job loss!
  • We also live in a new era of 'woke' cancel culture in which 'tough love' style coaching and/or irreverent humor (like mine) is often no longer considered appropriate.
Canada is not alone in this. A number of former women U.S.A. gymnasts are suing the FBI for inaction and insufficient investigation of a sexually abusive team doctor.The Russian Sports Federation has been systematically doping their athletes for years, even underage figure skaters.. 

What are the possible remedies to these issues?
  • Canadian Sport Administrations have to discontinue internal investigations of serious complaints. 
  • Third party legal investigative groups have to become the norm. 
  • More thorough screening of coaches, trainers, and staff is needed to try and weed out bullies and sexual predators.
  • More women coaches for women athletes might reduce a historical temptation going back to the Biblical days of King David and Bathsheba and beyond!
  • It might be time to focus less on the medal count and more on the developmental heath of the participants.
Is it possible that some sports may be relegated back to the dark days of underfunding, and minimal attention?

I don't know how or if these issues will be resolved. Hopefully they can. I don't miss the sparse medal days of Canadian sport.

Keep Fit 
Little Bobby Strong


  
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Sunday, 10 April 2022

High Performance Specialist

I finally did it!

After a year of studying, I finally challenged the theory exam for the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) advanced certificate as a High Performance Specialist! 

What are the advantages of this specialized certification? A Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) (as I am) is limited in scope compared to a Certified Exercise Physiologist (CEP). Many of these limitations are gone with possession of the High Performance Specialist designation.

  1. A CPT is restricted from administering 1 repetition maximum assessments for muscular strength. 
  2. A CPT with High Performance Specialization status can administer tests of 90% of 1 rep Maximum and higher. For example I can now test a client for their best single bench press were I so inclined to put their shoulders at risk.
  3. A CPT can not administer VO2 Max aerobic assessments. 
  4. A CPT High Performance Specialist can administer VO2Max tests.
  5. A CPT is not qualified to test maximum anaerobic capacity. 
  6. A CPT High Performance Specialist can assess maximum aerobic capacity.
This makes it much more convenient for a Certified Personal Trainer who is working with serious  competitive athletes.


   Since I was a CPT in good standing with CSEP, I could have just challenged the theory exam. However, I decided to purchase the study modules. I bought 6 modules one by one which eventually cost me $850.00 Much of the course content was focused on periodization for sports seasons. Athlete assessment protocol was also heavy in the curriculum.
   Would I have passed the exam without buying the modules? There were many questions that were just general to fitness training and muscular anatomy and not covered in the modules. I am confident that I would have got to the 70% passing grade anyways but with less of a margin for error.

   There were some issues that emerged, mostly through my own doing.
  • The proper procedure was to apply for approval to challenge the exam first.  I bought the study modules first by mistake.
  • After studying the modules for many months, I realized that I had to apply for 'approval' to write the exam. 
  • The exam registration was $200.00 and had to go through a 3rd party exam coordinator, PearsonVue.  
  • We had to register with the name that was on our birth certificate.
  • My birth certificate reads Robert James Coakley.
  • I am registered with CSEP as Bob Coakley. At first I was not recognized as a CSEP member in good standing . I was required to submit college transcripts, and a fitness training work history. The name change may have caused some confusion..
  • Thankfully, I sent some emails to the right people and things got sorted out. I was worried that after spending money on the study modules I would be deemed not qualified to take the exam.
Fortunately, I was able to successfully challenge the exam. I am now a High Performance Specialist. Bring on those Olympic hopefuls. Little Bobby Strong is ready.

       Performance Enhancement Specialist: Hard Core Athletes line up!


Until next time, Keep Fit, Stay Healthy

Little Bobby Strong

Links


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Tuesday, 8 February 2022

Peloton's Rough Ride

    Home exercise treadmill and bike company Peloton is in the news again 'big time'. (Pun intended). During the first episode of the the 'Sex and the City' television reboot called ''And Just Like That' the love interest character 'Mr. Big' is shown working out on a Peloton stationary bike with his interactive instructor. The next scene shows Mr. Big dropping dead from a heart attack!

Peloton stocks which had been soaring, suddenly went into freefall and plummeted downward. This was not good news for a company that has a brand based upon health, fitness and vitality. Peloton countered a few days later with the actor who plays Mr. Big, drinking a toast and planning another Peloton ride with his interactive trainer present in the flesh. A background soliloquy by actor Ryan Reynolds espouses the health benefits of the Peloton apparatus.

Mr. Big going for the gusto. 

Peloton has since removed this rebuttal advertisement from the airwaves. The actor in question,  Chris Noth, has suddenly run afoul of the #MeToo movement. A number of sexual harassment/inappropriate behavior accusations have been hurled his way by different women. The commercial has been cancelled and actor Chris Noth has been cancelled.

                                            Mr. Big killed off. Do you have to cancel the actor too?
                  
Peloton has had a rocky, roller coaster ride during these pandemic times. There are some unique features that produced initial success.
  • Peloton makes treadmills and stationary bikes for home use. Most reviews that I have read rates their machines as effective but costly.
  • Peloton gains their advantage by selling an extra app that includes interactive cycling instruction.
  • The sessions are streamed live at various times throughout the day..
  • Users can compete through an online system that uses power outage to to give rankings.  
Chinks in the armor appeared leading to controversy.
  • A number of treadmills were recalled because of injuries to children and pets. It was said that the treadmill was too high off of the floor making it easier for a small person to get caught underneath the moving parts.
  • The lowest point came when a 6 year old boy died exactly that way.
  • Lawsuits were enacted.
  • Peloton stocks crashed.
  • Peloton was recovering financially as lockdowns continued and people continued exercising at home. Sales were robust.
  • Then came the Mr. Big scenario. Sure, he is only a character from a fictitious television show but the purchasing public can be a fickle demographic. 
  • As the COVID pandemic continued in waves the stay at home workout crowd started buying Peloton again..
  • Stop the press! Another male T.V. lead in the series 'Billions' also has a heart attack while doing a Peloton workout. Television is not good to this brand. Fortunately, the character in this episode survived.  Will Peloton survive?
Wait a minute. There is more. Is Peloton is getting smashed again by television?
  • There is a recurring Allstate insurance commercial villain named Mayhem.
  • Mayhem shows up in Allstate commercials either causing accidents or getting into them.
  • A recent commercial shows Mayhem fly off of a stationary bike and smash through a window.
  • Although not a Peloton Bike, exercise bikes might be perceived as unsafe.
  • The actor who plays Mayhem, Dean Winters, also had a role in the original series 'Sex and the City'. 
  • What do you think - coincidence or not?  


   Will television give this company a break? Many of the reviews that I have read by Peloton users have been favorable.  Most users like the interactive instruction and the sense of working out as a group even though they are physically remote. It has developed almost a cult like sense of community. Other reviews cite Peloton equipment as being costly in comparison to its competitors. However, if a customer can afford the price, why not go for a better brand?

This latest news just hit the media outlets today.
  • Peloton is now laying off workers due to decreased demand.
  • The interactive instructors are safe from the downsizing.
  • The instructors have actually become celebrities and can make half a million dollars a year. 
  • Peloton has replaced its CEO. His severance will undoubtable exceed that of the regular laif off workers.

My prediction is that Peloton will weather the storms and thrive and survive. However, Peloton news changes quickly and often. 
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Wednesday, 17 November 2021

Fitness Trainer turned Homicidal Hit Man

 It is time for another edition of the Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame! Warning! This blog contains allegations of:

  • Adultery
  • Marital deceit
  • Valentine's Day trickery
  • Murder
  • A Fitness Trainer moonlighting as a contract killer for hire !!!!!!!!
Before you continue reading, first answer this question, "Can you can handle the truth!!!!!!!" 

Stacey Shoeck was an Atlanta mother of 3 children. She also volunteered with the Boy and Girl Scouts. She was married to Richard Shoeck.  Richard was Stacey's fifth husband! Yes, husband number 5 ????  Richard had adopted Stacey's children even though they were from a different father (or fathers?).  
Although this loving couple were only 3 years into their marriage, Stacey had strayed to the path of infidelity with a co-worker. Richard also had a life insurance plan for half a million dollars of which Stacey thought, mistakenly, that she was the benefactor.  
Stacey, happily married on the 5th try -or not!

Lynitra Ross was a coworker, and confidante of Stacey Shoeck.  She also rented a house that Stacey owned. Stacey started giving extra money of significance to Lynitra for house repairs. Such house repairs were apparently never done! What sort of  fetid stew was brewing on the stove here?
Lynitra, the co-worker, confidante and murderous go-between.

Reggie Coleman was an Atlanta fitness instructor with the self imposed title of "Mr.  Results." Reggie also allegedly was open for additional work that was 'not fitness related.' Reggie sometimes held lunch time exercise classes in the building where Stacey and Lynitra worked. Was Reggie promising results for more than just six pack abs and cannonball biceps?

Reggie a.k.a. Mr. Results

Stacey arranged to meet husband Richard at a suburban Atlanta lover's lane one Valentine's Day evening to 'rekindle their romance'. Richard was found shot to death in his car. There were no signs of robbery since wallet and money were intact in the victim's pocket.

Dirty deed done dirt cheap?


Police initially suspected Stacey's partner in adultery but he had a viable and airtight alibi. Using phone records, by following the money and finally by persuading confessions from persons of interest, the story unfolded.
  • Stacey, the wife, convinced her coworker and confidante, Lynitra, to act as a go between and hire someone to kill her husband Richard.
  • Lynitra hired the lunch time exercise instructor, 'Mr. Results' to do the dastardly deed. He was also her sometime boyfriend, She paid Reggie (Mr. Results) with ten thousand dollars of the money for the imaginary house repairs.
  • Mr. Results lay in wait at the lover's lane and shot Richard through the car window. He guaranteed results for sure! $10,000 makes up for many lunch time exercise classes.
  • When Stacey finally broke and confessed under pressure. She tried to claim that she did it because husband Richard was molesting her kids. The kids torpedoed that excuse. They said Richard was the best step father ever. Stacey, meanwhile, had an underperforming track record as a  loving wife.
Final verdicts have been delivered and justice laid down..
  • Stacey Shoeck got life in prison without parole.
  • Lynitra Ross got life in prison without parole for conspiracy and accessory to murder.
  • Reggie Coleman got life in prison without parole for being the trigger man. Maybe he can teach exercise classes in the Big House!
A Fitness Trainer can get a 2nd income without resorting to crime. 

Fitness Training is not always the most financially stable occupation. Sometimes it can require the Fitness Trainer to supplement the career with other forms of work. In the case of Reggie, aka 'Mr. Results', he somehow lost his way. He was supposed to help people attain vigor and undergo positive metamorphosis -  not rigor mortis!   A wrong choice of extra income wins Mr. Results my vote for nomination into the 
Fitness Trainer Hall of Shame !

Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong

References

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Monday, 19 July 2021

Tokyo Olympics: Controversy: Doping: Say it Ain't so Joe!

 The summer Olympics are almost here although a year late. As always, controversy rears its ugly head. Are we looking at an upcoming Festival or Fiasco?????

  • The majority of Japanese people want to cancel the games due to the COVID 19 pandemic. 
  • So far over 100 athletes and officials have already tested positive for the virus since arriving in the host city. There will undoubtable be many more.
  • Will the International Olympic Committee in all of their wisdom (sarcasm intended) weather the storm?      Or   ..............
  •  Is the city of Tokyo doomed and damned like a drunken beer league  hockey goalie who forgot his headgear at home, facing down a Bobby Hull slapshot???           
 At the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil there was the Zika Virus and the sanctioning of Russia for their state sponsored doping program.  For this Olympics circumstances get very weird. The U.S.A. track and field team has had 3 bizarre doping issues. However, this is unlike the Russian story of covering up their doping cases. To the credit of the United States Doping Agency (USADA) they have actually been diligent and caught and/or sanctioned some American track stars. Remember that it was USADA that eventually took down cyclist Lance Armstrong, America's most famous athlete.

  • The fastest man in the world in 2019, 100 meter sprinter Christian Coleman was barred from competition for a year even though he did not fail a drug test.  
  • Coleman did, however, miss 3 drug tests in one calendar year.  
  • It must have slipped his mind. After all, he's only human, although superhumanly fast!

                                      Christian Coleman running away from the drug testers?

           The second case involves some good old fashioned pork.

  • Shelby Houlihan, American record holder in the women's 1500 meters, failed an out of competition drug test in December 2020. 
  • She was found to have trace amounts of Nandrolone, or Deca-Durabolin, in her system.
  • Houlihan claimed that a beef burrito that she ate from a Mexican food truck the day before actually contained pig offal (ground organs) instead of beef. Supposedly this caused a spike in her natural hormonal levels.
  • As implausible as this story sounds, there have been cases of false positives from tainted supplements, but usually not from fast food.
  • Nandrolone is more helpful for power events, sprints or bodybuilding rather than middle distance running.
  • It is the wrong steroid to take for an athlete subject to doping controls. Nandrolone is traceable in the subject's system for up to 18 months. 
  • Her excuse was rejected and she received a 4 year ban. That will also exclude her from the 2024 Olympics. Sadly, her running career is likely toast!
                                           Shelby Houlihan kicking to victory in happier times.

The third doping controversy also falls into the realm of strange and unusual.
  • Sha'Carri Richardson rocketed to victory in the U.S. Olympic trials 100 meter sprint with flamboyant, flowing pink hair.
  • A few days later  it was announced that Richardson failed the post race drug test and would receive a month long ban. She had tested positive for cannabis. Her victory was erased thus disqualifying her from the Olympic 100 meters.
  • Richardson claimed that she had ingested cannabis to deal with the grief of learning of the death of he biological Mother.
  • Marijuana is legal in the state of Oregon where the trials too place but it is considered doping by many sport governing bodies.
  • Cannabis is not a drug that would be performance enhancing except for maybe a cheeseburger eating contest or an air guitar competition. But as they say, rules are rules.
  • For a few days there was some rumor that she might still be selected for the 4 by 100 meter relay. There was even a petition of over half a million signatures to "Let Sha'Carri Run'' but  it now appears that she is officially off of the team.
                                           Short lived glory for Sha' Carri

It sometimes feels as though the innocent athletes who make mistakes get caught while the real cheaters evade detection. Then again, maybe I am just a disgruntled old jock.
In summary:
The Olympics are expensive.
The Olympics are corrupt. 
The Olympics are heartbreaking.
The Olympics can be exciting.
I'll probably crack open a can of  spiked lemonade and watch anyways! 
Now where did I put my beer league hockey goalie mask?

Until next time Keep Fit
Little Bobby Strong
                                      

                               





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Tuesday, 25 May 2021

Fitness Clubs During COVID: Safe or Unsafe?

The world today can be a difficult place to be working or working out in the fitness industry:

  • Last week there was an advertisement in the Toronto Globe and Mail Newspaper. It was a plea to keep Fitness Clubs open during the pandemic lock down. The advertisement was sponsored by Orangetheory, Movati Athletic, and Life Time.  https://www.getmovingagain.ca/
  • In Ottawa, an Anytime Fitness is challenging a city lock down ordinance. The manager claims that they supply a place for the disabled and injured to perform therapy exercises and should be considered an essential service.
  • Two other Ottawa Fitness Clubs are defying lock down orders and racking up multiple fines in the process.                                                                                                                          https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/two-ottawa-gyms-fight-fines-for-defying-public-health-orders
                                           Anytime Fitness Manager defying lockdown order          


Most reasonable people can understand that social distancing is necessary to try and curb the Coronavirus. However, many of the laws are inconsistent.

  •  Big box stores such as Wall Mart and Costco stay open while many local stores remain closed. As a compromise, some regions now make the big box stores cordon off all sections deemed non essential.
  • Liquor stores and beer stores remain open. 
  • Cannabis dispensaries are open. Their line ups are always populated by many just legal age aficionados who might be healthier going to a fitness center to work out.  
  • Are a few stoners passing around a reefer actually safer than people with masks in a fitness center with controlled entry numbers?

                                         Do you really believe that a trip to the pot dispensary is better for the mental health than a trip to the fitness center?


Does this really pass the common sense test?
  • Last year, when fitness clubs reopened after the first wave, 15 people from a spinning class in Hamilton, Ontario tested positive for COVID-19. 
  • This seems to be where the idea that Fitness Centers are hot zones came to be.
  • Working out on your own would logically be less risky than a group exercise class.
  • Fitness clubs that practice social distancing should be relatively safe.
  • Working out at a club could be a respite from being cooped up at home.
  • The mental health of the population is at stake!  
Until the lockdown can be eased, keep working out at home or outside using safe distancing protocols. Hope is on the horizon!

Little Bobby Strong

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Tuesday, 22 December 2020

Breakdancing in the Olympics? Time for a Major Overhaul!

 Christmas comes but once a year – the Olympics but once every four! I used to be an avid fan of the Olympic Games. The Olympics was a rare chance to view sports that rarely receive television or media coverage in North America. Track and field, amateur wrestling, weightlifting, gymnastics, and swimming take a back seat to the big professional sports such as NFL, basketball, baseball, and in Canada, hockey. Other sports such as NASCAR, pro golf, horse racing and even tractor pulling get more time under the bright lights than their neglected step siblings. The Ultimate Fighting Challenge (UFC) and the semi-reality show that is pro Wrestling are also big draws in North America. 

Times have changed. The internet makes even the most obscure sports available somewhere in the online world. The Olympics have also lost much of their shine for many reasons:

1. Corruption: The International Olympic Committee (I.O.C) has a history of bribery, under the table payouts, and unfair governance. Successful Olympic host cities have greased the palm of many an Olympic official to win a bid.

2. Cost: Hosting an Olympics cost billions for stadiums, venues, and other infrastructure. Often the specific venues become obsolete after the Olympiad has moved on. Montreal taxpayers did not pay off the cost of the 1976 summer Olympics for over 30 years. Rio de Janeiro and Sochi will follow this pattern as well.

3. Propaganda: It seems that the only countries now interested in bidding to host the Olympics are those with democracy repressing regimes trying to boost their international reputation. China is scheduled to hold the 2022 Winter Olympics. Given that country’s human rights record and the oppression in Hong Kong, there is already rumor of a boycott.

4. Scandal: Doping. impartial judging, cheating have all become part of the Olympic legacy. Since the I.O.C. is rampant with corruption, and greed, the scandals are often overlooked or covered up.



A lasting legacy for future athletes - or maybe not!

The I.O.C. in their infinite wisdom have found the cure for what ails this aging, decadent, institute. Breakdancing will become an Olympic sport! If it is broke, don't fix it. Just add more 'so called' sports. That’s great! That’s just great! Another sport where the judges can be bribed or baffled. I am not slamming the art of Breakdancing or Breaking as it is sometimes called. It looks extremely difficult. If I tried it, it would be called Break necking! The point is that this will not fix the Olympics!

 

It takes skill but it won't fix the Olympics.

Here are my suggestions for mending this dying institution:

1.     End the practice of one city or country hosting all events. Divide up the pie. Do like the various sports do for world championships. Forget having every sport in the same place. It is too much for one locale.

2.     Award the hosting of each sport to a city that already has the existing infrastructure in place. Give skiing to a city with ski hills, unlike Sochi, Russia or Beijing China.. Award track and field to somewhere that already has a stadium.

3.     Chose places where there is an interest in that sport. North American cities will not draw the crowds for men’s soccer or amateur wrestling. Hold wrestling in Europe or the Balkans and soccer anywhere else. Host swimming in Australia, badminton in the orient or Indochina, hockey in Canada or Scandinavia and Judo in Japan. Gymnastics (and maybe Break Dancing) would likely sell out in the U.S.A. but most Olympic sports would draw only the cult following.

4.     Award the Olympic sites to democratic countries that believe in the rule of law and human rights. Stop awarding dictatorships and bad political actors.

This is the only cure that I can envision to save the Olympics from itself. However, I doubt that the powers that be will go this route. The greed, corruption, sense of entitlement, and political chicanery is too deeply ingrained in the system.

I am just a sports/fitness influencer with little world-wide influence.        

 Until Next Time -Keep Healthy and Fit over Christmas

Little Bobby Strong

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