Gday and all that

[dellstart]

Am down under at present,and let me tell u, whilst i enjoy the cool respite to the awful heat back home.We are doing shit in the Olympics,with Kazakhstan having more gold medals than we. For a proud sporting nation ,that suxs big time.Hell, even the kiwis are doing better with 3 golds, let alone the Brits.
Give phelps his due , the man is class.

[Spec8472]

Welcome back to the homeland.

And yes, we're doing pretty crummy in the Olympics by post-2000 standards.

[expedient]

There's an interesting timeline of "Olympic Powers" on the BBC website showing top medals won by country at every Olympics.

They've also got a good infographic of the games so far.

[GBLW]

Am down under at present,and let me tell u, whilst i enjoy the cool respite to the awful heat back home.We are doing shit in the Olympics,with Kazakhstan having more gold medals than we. For a proud sporting nation ,that suxs big time.Hell, even the kiwis are doing better with 3 golds, let alone the Brits.
Give phelps his due , the man is class.

Going by overall medal count you folks aren't doing so bad at 17.

I can't believe that Canada's only gold so far is in trampoline (I didn't even know that was classed as a sport!)

kp

[dellstart]

lol if i had my way, we would have Rugby in there as well,Aussie rules isnt really played outside of Australia, so that wouldnt work..yeah,my mum loves the sincro or what ever u call it swimming , in pairs
Canada doesn't have the climate we do, so its to be expected their focus is in other sporting areas.The pool is what , we are meant to do well in and we havent , so it hurts.least we have the footy on
thanks for that link.

[Greymist]

lol if i had my way, we would have Rugby in there as well

Yeah, but then you'd just have another thing which the Kiwi's will beat you at.

[dellstart]

True that ,but last few days things have thankfully picked up a drop.silver is still awesome ,but they count the Golds not total tally , which is a wee bit silly in my book l.six golds at present,which for a country of 22 mill aint shabby.

[expedient]

Rugby Sevens would be good sport to include in the games. I would prefer to see five-a-side football/soccer in there instead of the full size version too.

The Olympics is great for giving the less well known sports somewhere to shine, there's no need for some of those that have near constant TV coverage and big money already.

How about Rounders, Netball and Bowls instead of past and current sports of baseball, basketball and ten-pin bowling. They would give the Aussies an even better chance at the medals too.

[GBLW]

Sorry to intrude on this again, but lets face it, the OhLimpHicks could almost be called the present day 'Cold War' and the biggest opponents spend billions to show off how great they are.

I had lunch today with a few friends I used to work with at one of the local universities and they clued me in on an estimate of the actual cost to each individual who earns a trip to the venue let alone the podium - something like 1.2 million bucks (Unless of course you happen to have an extremely talented individual on hand - but even then they placed the cost of getting an athlete from a 'third world' country to the podium at close to half a mil.)

I know the Canadian government puts about 60 mil a year aside for training athletes and private donors probably match or may even exceed that amount, but that's paltry when you see what is done by other countries. I don't have a clue what Australian government spends, but I understand the Brits spent about 2 BILLION on their athletes in the last eight years and that didn't include any private or corporate donations. Just imagine the amount shucked out by the US or China.

(Edit: one of my University friends read my entry and pointed out errors in the original wording)

[boballab]

Sorry to intrude on this again, but lets face it, the OhLimpHicks could almost be called the present day 'Cold War' and the biggest opponents spend billions to show off how great they are.

I had lunch today with a few friends I used to work with at one of the local universities and they clued me in on an estimate of the actual cost to each individual who earns a trip to the venue let alone the podium - something like 1.2 million bucks (Unless of course you happen to have an extremely talented individual on hand - but even then they placed the cost of getting an athlete from a 'third world' country to the podium at close to half a mil.)

I know the Canadian government puts about 60 mil a year aside for training athletes and private donors probably match or may even exceed that amount, but that's paltry when you see what is done by other countries. I don't have a clue what Australian government spends, but I understand the Brits spent about 2 BILLION on their athletes in the last eight years and that didn't include any private or corporate donations. Just imagine the amount shucked out by the US or China.

(Edit: one of my University friends read my entry and pointed out errors in the original wording)

Since 1978 the USOC gets no money from the US Government by law, all the money it gets is through fundraising and from the broadcast deal with NBC.

Of course, the ground rule, spelled out in a 1978 law enacted by Congress, is that the USOC must be privately funded.

This is what makes the USOC different from every other national Olympic committee in the world. In the rest of the world the Olympic committee is an arm of its government.

For emphasis: the USOC must raise every penny it spends.

To grossly simplify, the USOC largely depends on television and sponsor money.

The annual budget for the USOC is $150 million

As it is, it’s something of a miracle that the U.S. teams do as well as they do. The USOC’s annual budget is roughly $150 million, about the same as Ohio State spends on its athletic department.

http://3wiresports.com/2012/05/13/usocs ... portunity/

What makes the US so competitive is that the colleges do spend so much on sports and is also why you see so many swimmers, divers, gymnasts, track and field stars from other countries go to US universities. This is also a concern to many because US universities/colleges are starting to cut back on Swimming, Diving, Gymnastics, Track and Field.

The Mills College track and field team will no longer be offered after this spring semester. Mills cut the sport due to the budget cuts implemented last semester in order to balance the College’s $3.5 million deficit.

http://www.thecampanil.com/budget-cuts- ... and-field/

Without a fundraising miracle, Maryland’s once-storied men’s track and field program will be history after June 30, a victim of spending cuts announced Monday that are scheduled to eliminate eight teams.

Hurdling great and Maryland alum Renaldo Nehemiah called the situation “embarrassing.” Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, USA Track and Field’s chief of sport performance, described it as “heartbreaking.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co ... story.html

The issue: Maryland's women's water polo team is one of eight sports programs at the school facing elimination because of budget cuts until fundraising goals are met. The others are men's tennis, men's track and field (indoor, outdoor and cross country), women's acrobatics and tumbling, and both swimming and diving programs.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... iel-oakley

Nothing during Olympic training has been easy for Weltz, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Davis, Calif., with his girlfriend, who he says is a healthy eater. The University of California, Davis, cut its men’s swimming team after Weltz’s senior season in 2010 because of a budget crisis.

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2012/06/3 ... ts-subway/

So as can be seen the US is not spending a whole lot of money to win all those medals.

[GBLW]

Sorry to intrude on this again, but lets face it, the OhLimpHicks could almost be called the present day 'Cold War' and the biggest opponents spend billions to show off how great they are.

I had lunch today with a few friends I used to work with at one of the local universities and they clued me in on an estimate of the actual cost to each individual who earns a trip to the venue let alone the podium - something like 1.2 million bucks (Unless of course you happen to have an extremely talented individual on hand - but even then they placed the cost of getting an athlete from a 'third world' country to the podium at close to half a mil.)

I know the Canadian government puts about 60 mil a year aside for training athletes and private donors probably match or may even exceed that amount, but that's paltry when you see what is done by other countries. I don't have a clue what Australian government spends, but I understand the Brits spent about 2 BILLION on their athletes in the last eight years and that didn't include any private or corporate donations. Just imagine the amount shucked out by the US or China.

(Edit: one of my University friends read my entry and pointed out errors in the original wording)

Since 1978 the USOC gets no money from the US Government by law, all the money it gets is through fundraising and from the broadcast deal with NBC.

Of course, the ground rule, spelled out in a 1978 law enacted by Congress, is that the USOC must be privately funded.

This is what makes the USOC different from every other national Olympic committee in the world. In the rest of the world the Olympic committee is an arm of its government.

For emphasis: the USOC must raise every penny it spends.

To grossly simplify, the USOC largely depends on television and sponsor money.

The annual budget for the USOC is $150 million

As it is, it’s something of a miracle that the U.S. teams do as well as they do. The USOC’s annual budget is roughly $150 million, about the same as Ohio State spends on its athletic department.

http://3wiresports.com/2012/05/13/usocs ... portunity/

What makes the US so competitive is that the colleges do spend so much on sports and is also why you see so many swimmers, divers, gymnasts, track and field stars from other countries go to US universities. This is also a concern to many because US universities/colleges are starting to cut back on Swimming, Diving, Gymnastics, Track and Field.

The Mills College track and field team will no longer be offered after this spring semester. Mills cut the sport due to the budget cuts implemented last semester in order to balance the College’s $3.5 million deficit.

http://www.thecampanil.com/budget-cuts- ... and-field/

Without a fundraising miracle, Maryland’s once-storied men’s track and field program will be history after June 30, a victim of spending cuts announced Monday that are scheduled to eliminate eight teams.

Hurdling great and Maryland alum Renaldo Nehemiah called the situation “embarrassing.” Benita Fitzgerald Mosley, USA Track and Field’s chief of sport performance, described it as “heartbreaking.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/co ... story.html

The issue: Maryland's women's water polo team is one of eight sports programs at the school facing elimination because of budget cuts until fundraising goals are met. The others are men's tennis, men's track and field (indoor, outdoor and cross country), women's acrobatics and tumbling, and both swimming and diving programs.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... iel-oakley

Nothing during Olympic training has been easy for Weltz, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Davis, Calif., with his girlfriend, who he says is a healthy eater. The University of California, Davis, cut its men’s swimming team after Weltz’s senior season in 2010 because of a budget crisis.

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2012/06/3 ... ts-subway/

So as can be seen the US is not spending a whole lot of money to win all those medals.

Sorry, the US Universities and Colleges are still being funded with US dollars and I don't care which pocket it comes out of, as far as I'm concerned that money is still spent on training and preparing athletes for international competitions. It may come out of some rich alumnus's pocket, but it is still US funds paid to US athletics departments to train US athletes.

By the way, I worked at the University of Victoria for many years and watched as our best athletes were offered athletic scholarships and 'additional inducements' to attend college or university in the US, so I know how much money was being spent on 'encouraging' them to transfer and compete for the US. Canadian Universities couldn't and still can't compete with that because they can't give out that sort of dough. In fact Canadian universities are dependent on the government to prop up their athletics programs and that's where most of the government funds for athletics go, not to Olympic athletes as such, but to facilities that assist students of all sorts! (It's Federal government 'policy' to use TWO labels for one fund - on one hand it can be called educational expenses, but on the other it can be called funding for athletics.)

On another note, I know of several athletes who have dual citizenship and chose to move to the US for these summer games because the funding and facilities in the US were FAR better than here in Canada. That alone says more than I could ever say.

[boballab]

Sorry, the US Universities and Colleges are still being funded with US dollars and I don't care which pocket it comes out of, as far as I'm concerned that money is still spent on training and preparing athletes for international competitions. It may come out of some rich alumnus's pocket, but it is still US funds paid to US athletics departments to train US athletes.

By the way, I worked at the University of Victoria for many years and watched as our best athletes were offered athletic scholarships and 'additional inducements' to attend college or university in the US, so I know how much money was being spent on 'encouraging' them to transfer and compete for the US. Canadian Universities couldn't and still can't compete with that because they can't give out that sort of dough. In fact Canadian universities are dependent on the government to prop up their athletics programs and that's where most of the government funds for athletics go, not to Olympic athletes as such, but to facilities that assist students of all sorts! (It's Federal government 'policy' to use TWO labels for one fund - on one hand it can be called educational expenses, but on the other it can be called funding for athletics.)

On another note, I know of several athletes who have dual citizenship and chose to move to the US for these summer games because the funding and facilities in the US were FAR better than here in Canada. That alone says more than I could ever say.

Amazing you say that money is to train US athletes and then turn around and admit that Foreign students train there to. So where did that money for those foreign students come from? Their country of origin or from US funds out of US pockets? We both know the answer to that one and we both know that your argument is a strawman. Hey lets see who paid to train Samantha Cheverton of the Canadian Olympic Swimming team:

Education

Psychology - Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

http://www.london2012.com/athlete/cheve ... a-1113759/

The Big Picture: Sam is a co-captain this year as a senior and for good reason: she is a warrior in the water and has been the team's most valuable swimmer the past three years ... holds school records in the 200 free (1:45.78), 500 free (4:42.64) and 200 backstroke (1:55.52) and is part of two record-setting relay teams (400 and 800 free relays) ... Sam has qualified for the 2008 and 2010 NCAA championships in a total of five events, and has top finishes of 17th in the 500 free and 18th in the 200 free at the 2010 NCAA championships ... made the Canadian National Team this summer that competed in the Pan Pacific Championships in Irvine, Calif. ... anchored Canada's bronze-medal winning 800 free relay team ... enters senior year having won 42 collegiate races ... a two-time Big Ten Conference Distinguished Scholar, Sam is also a three-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and is majoring in psychology.

http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports ... tha00.html

Look at that. US funds from a US department paid for the training of a Canadian to compete in international swimming competitions including the Olympics. Should we add the Ohio State budget to the Canadian Olympic Budget since you add it to the US Olympic budget?

Do we really need to go through the rosters of US universities to see how many Track and Field athletes are from other countries? Of course by your logic those countries Olympic budgets get increased by the money spent by those US universities since they train their athletes. Or will you admit you are wrong and that US universities don't count count towards the money spent on US Olympics either. You can't have it both ways it either counts towards every country that has an athlete training in the US or counts toward none.

[GBLW]

Look at that. US funds from a US department paid for the training of a Canadian to compete in international swimming competitions including the Olympics. Should we add the Ohio State budget to the Canadian Olympic Budget since you add it to the US Olympic budget?

Do we really need to go through the rosters of US universities to see how many Track and Field athletes are from other countries? Of course by your logic those countries Olympic budgets get increased by the money spent by those US universities since they train their athletes. Or will you admit you are wrong and that US universities don't count count towards the money spent on US Olympics either. You can't have it both ways it either counts towards every country that has an athlete training in the US or counts toward none.

Did you even read what I said? I did NOT say that our athletes do not train and compete in the US, in fact I pointed it out to you quite plainly because your scholarships and funding are so much greater than ours that your coaches come to Canada to try to entice some of our best to study at your universities. Since some of those athletes do not have dual citizenship and do NOT wish to relinquish their Canadian citizenship, they compete for Canada in the Olympics.

Do you want me to say Thank You or something, because I won't - those students are studying where they want to study and your country is freely allowing(if not begging) them to do so. We do the same thing and train athletes from many countries - big deal! In the years I was at the university, I met students from the US, from China, from Japan, from all over the world. To me they were students who wanted to learn, so I treated them like any other student.

That is not my point and it isn't my argument. Athletes need coaches and facilities, in many if not most case those coaches and facilities are at colleges and universities. In the US most, if not all of those colleges and universities are privately funded, in Canada most of ours are government funded. In either case the majority of athletics budget is spent on each of our country's prime athletes

You simply cannot say that your athletes do not cost your country anything to train just because the funds do not come out of government coffers.

[ralbloke]

[quote="expedient"]Rugby Sevens would be good sport to include in the games. I would prefer to see five-a-side football/soccer in there instead of the full size version too.
I would look foreword to Rio then where Rugby Sevens are IN