Dialogue: Whatever happened to sports enjoyment?

By SIMON VINCENT*

A recent Herald editorial highlighting Sports Foundation funding for New Zealand sportsmen and women heading to the Sydney Olympics stated: "Above all, the public wants medals."

If this is truly the case, we are all missing the point.

Although many of the Olympic ideals have long been lost in the headlong sprint to professionalism, surely there is still room, and more importantly a need, for the spirit of "just taking part."

The Australians have reportedly spent $200 million since 1995 in trying to strike gold at Sydney. Who, however, really benefits?

Certainly the Australian Institute of Sport has produced a long list of successful sportspeople for whom winning is the only thing that matters.

And they are backed by an increasingly fanatical breed of fans who will cheer on any side in the green and gold, whether it is the rugby team or the national tiddlywinks side - and all from the comfort of their lazyboys.

A great deal of money may well have been spent on creating great facilities but it appears only the elite can take part. You must be a winner. Everyone else is just a spectator.

On a recent trip to Australia, I was amazed at the growing size of the average Bruce and Sheila. They are starting to match their American counterparts in the elite ranks of sports spectators - people who see sport as an activity for the highly tuned, overpaid professional, and something for the mere mortal to vegetate in front of.

New Zealand must be careful it does not follow this trend, but there are danger signs that this may happen.

Politicians are always quick to make gain from a nation's sporting success and this can influence where sports funding goes.

Surely it is in everyone's interest to promote and fund "sport for all."

The only way to do this is to remind ourselves that sport, in whatever form it takes, is fun and can be enjoyed by all, whether their dreams extend to Olympic glory or not dropping the ball so often in a family game of touch.

Creating facilities and programmes that encourage more people from every walk of life to take part in sport is not only good for a nation's health, but will help to raise standards across the sporting spectrum.

From an increased pool of talent, true champions will emerge, champions the whole country can take pride in and who serve as examples for others.

My own country, England, is a case of what can go wrong if facilities and funding are available to only a restricted few.

The English fan of any sport has a great deal of expectation of victory based on hype and the over-indulgence of the highly paid elite. Unfortunately, the fan is generally left feeling let down.

A great deal of money goes to a small band of elite sportspeople and the average person is not encouraged to participate.

An obvious example is tennis, a sport the average Briton is discouraged from playing because of elitist attitudes and high cost of club membership.

If more people were encouraged to play, maybe England could produce more than only one homegrown talent.

The concentration on funding individuals or elite teams also creates hollow victories. Most of the top British athletes have to train in the United States alongside others whose own countries cannot or will not provide facilities.

Whose victory is this? A victory for the nation or a victory for United States facilities?

In the Herald this week, a New Zealand athlete called for a Sports Foundation-funded base in St. Moritz, possibly the most exclusive and elitist village in Europe. Who will benefit from that except for a small band of specialists?

There is a danger that sport is becoming too much of a business, with a highly funded few entering institutes and being moulded into champions while the rest of us are encouraged to sit back and pay to view.

I recently took part in the Lake Taupo fun run/walk alongside over 2000 others, happy to participate in an event in a beautiful setting.

It was well organised and a true family occasion. Entrants ranged from grandparents to toddlers pushed in prams, all enjoying the sun and staying fit and healthy.

Yes, by all means let's help the elite to achieve their goals. But don't let's forget the vast majority who still just want a chance to take part.

*Simon Vincent, a Lancastrian, is a former soldier in the British Army