Waterpolo in the Olympics, Surely That's Just Something You Do On Your Holiday

Waterpolo in the Olympics, Surely That's Just Something You Do On Your Holiday

This Blog is overdue I did start one a couple on months ago but in my haste to back everything up after a software failure I forgot to back the blog up.

So seems almost every one has forgotten the security issues the weather, the overcrowding on the tube. We are now 3rd on the medal table. The Celeb’s, who don’t follow sport, are out in force and so are the armchair supporters yes it’s the Olympics.

I have been quite busy watching as much as I can ok in some cases 14-15 hours a day. Having had the pleasure of photographing most of our athletes on their road to London has been surreal some times when you think you sometimes have to ask these people to pose. Then you see them on the telly picking up gold

There have been some very surprising and gusty medals for team GB. The Gymnastics team event unexpected silver downgraded to a bronze. A bronze and silver medal in the pommel horse. In 2008 we achieved 1 bronze the first in 80 years so 4 medals this time proves someone is doing something right.

 But on the flip side there has been some competitors who have received the maximum funding and failed to deliver. Maybe the expectation was too much in some cases. Certain members of the media were giving gold’s to people who hadn’t competed. We are not as harsh as some country’s the Australians by day 8 only had 1 Gold hate be them reading them papers if I was their athletes.

Most of the funding the athletes receive is that you & I give via the National Lottery. The other part comes with Commercial partners.

 Funding for Olympic sport starts in a 4 year cycle which begins in the April, after the Olympics so when we only got 1 gold in Atlanta 1996 which was the rowers, was not really surprising the funding was blamed. And this also kicked the governing bodies to restructure and scream for more funding. This duly happened. In 1997

In some disciplines funding comes only after an unexpected medal as Shelley Rudman, proved in Salt Lake City with her silver in the Bob Skeleton. & has eventually seen them receive the most awards in winter sports section.

To understand the funding I have looked on the UK sport website and looked what was the targets expected for the sports and the money allocated to get there.

The full list of funding awards for this Olympic Cycle can be found here http://www.uksport.gov.uk/sport/summer/

And it makes some surprising results more so that wrestling gets more of a budget than weightlifting, but they are still down at the bottom of the funding tree, because they are not expected to get anywhere with medals. But if they do then they will look to get the funding increased to keep the momentum going.

Take the gymnastics the target was 1-2 medals they have doubled that with 4.

Been thinking about this recently over the past week or so, as this comes to my title of this blog: Waterpolo in the Olympics, Surely That's Just Something You Do On Your Holiday

The origin of the title was off a tweet I was sent during the Olympics to which in fairness; Waterpolo has had its fair share of terrestrial coverage this year. With Both the men’s and women’s games given BBC coverage on the red button what people don’t release other than coverage on satellite TV minority sport rarely gets shown  nowadays gone are the times when BBC used to lead the way with showing sport. The majority of sports of the Olympics get more than a fleeting mention over the 4 year cycle on the terrestrial stations Channel 4 has done their bit but it’s not enough if these sports are to gain any popularity

I’m using waterpolo as an example for a reason

I have been covering the GB Men’s and Woman’s teams for the past 5 years & as they are based in Manchester makes it quite handy for me, & to be honest was where I first got my first major press pass. (And learnt 2 quite important lessons to boot)

Now this one of the sport which got a funding cut and had to adapt the way on how to deliver results and as such it has seen the. Men play in Europe’s club league this is a good move as Hungary have Gold medaled at the last 3 Olympics.

The women play in the  Hungary league and regularly take off there to play waterpolo. The reason for this is Hungary unlike Britain, waterpolo is a national sport there and has invested in this sport hence the last 3 Olympic gold’s for their men.

The set-up’s from the Main City clubs such as: Manchester, Liverpool, Rotherham, Penguin, Otter, which recruits from the more local clubs has produced some good players and plenty didn’t get their chance  this time round.

But let it be known I have seen the aftermath of some of these match’s Ice packs held to the face black eyes, scratches from ankle to shoulder, ripped costumes, blood drawn  and that’s just the women’s game. 

Lets again go back to Beijing a fairly unknown, British athlete called Sarah Stevenson was fighting a bout of taekwondo she managed to get to the later rounds of the contest and the BBC picked up on it then in one moment of bad refereeing that sport was thrown in to the worlds notice. What happened there not only changed Sarah’s Olympics but the sport world-wide in the way it was judged and the use of video replay. as she got a bronze last time and we have some genuine medal chances this time round.

But to get there more needs to be done

The first thing more exposure: for a woman’s football match to get best part of 75,000 people watching is exceptional but can that being achieved outside of the Olympics?

To have archery contest in the middle of Lords is a real coup and has been heralded as a success. And to be shown nearly every morning on the TV should be exploited.

A beach volleyball contest which has drawn crowds day after day till well after midnight and how the press scoffed at that. 7 years ago when it was announced that it would be played on Horse Guards Parade. 

Basketball matches that have seen GB match teams that have better setup than ours and shock of shock the GB men win a match. And their first since 1948 Alas for the other teams it was not the same.

Yes having UK Basketball players in the NBA are good but they all don’t play in the USA.

What people don’t realise that all these disciplines are fairly new like the handball only 6 years old in the UK (& introduced into the Olympics in 1976.)  Have had to prove that their inclusion is justified to get a home place. And has to have made significant progress to get this far

I heard one Handball player moved to Amsterdam so she can play full time such is the sport over there.

How many people will honestly watch if any these sports get mainstream TV terrestrial coverage in truth not many because “It’s only interesting because it’s the Olympics.”

Secondly Leagues : proper leagues in some sports  need to be set up where our athletes have decent opposition this is long way off you need the sponsors and TV Interested to pay the decent money as well if this is going to take off.

Netball has a superleauge that’s televised regular and is well attended  

I have had seen lots of comments saying “Is this Handball made up” No it isn’t it’s been previewed on the BBC which have been previewing all the sports on the web & TV any one watch the Olympics Dreams series.  

So when you see a score line that looks like they have firmly beat and you shrug and say why they bother. They bother cause they want to represent their country, they bother cause they are good at their sport, and like I mentioned only rowing Gold medaled in Atlanta in 1996 and that was the coxless 4 and if they didn’t Sir Steve Redgrave would only have 4 gold ,11 Gold’s In Sidney, 9 gold’s in Athens 2004, wasn’t till 2008 that we got 19 and the majority of them was in cycling where 12 out the 13 athletes picked up a medal. This Olympics we have beat that.

A lot has been mentioned about legacy about these games if you want to talk about legacy look at Manchester and what has happened after 2002 Legacy doesn’t happen overnight it takes time to talent spot, develop and train and then to deliver the results.

The funding does need to be increased in some cases we also need the grass roots sorted and how to get people interested in the first place but how. if the sport doesn’t have exposure. Its not going to get noticed.

Will we see all the disciplines represented in London compete in Rio but some of them will have to qualify the hard way!

As one BBC pundit said. “How can you expect us to compete when the sport has constantly been under-funded for years.”

The next big test for sport in the UK is in 2014 when the commonwealth games come to Glasgow other sports such as netball and squash get to showcase themselves and get much needed terrestrial air time

I’m not using this blog to make a political statement or take a pop at the setup and funding but to make the people in this country who are only exposure of sports such as Archery, Handball & Waterpolo once every 4 years these sports are available for people to try watch & take part in, nearly 365 days a year.

My own personal view of the Olympics well they are: the Olympic park when I went there is amazing. But what made it. Were the people there the troops doing the security checks, the games makers smiling and selling the games to the sports fans and foreign fans, & the world class venues!

But those Buildings need to be utilised god forbid we do another Atlanta. With the venues they built.

So this again brings me back to

 “Waterpolo in the Olympics, Surely That's Just Something You Do On Your Holiday”

Waterpolo has been a part of the Olympics since 1900

Great Britain has won 4 gold’s in the event 1900 1908 1912 1920

Britain last competed in Waterpolo in 1956

Women’s waterpolo made its debut in 2000

It has a professional setup affiliated to British Swimming with a base and talent spotting under the UK Sport directive

And played by people who are good at the sport & have a passion for it.

So when you see a score in one of these sports and it looks we have lost one sided be-aware unless these sports have the same chance to be aired then they won’t get the regular exposure they won’t get the people interested and then legacy means nothing.

I know this may be read by people involved in the sports I have covered I hope I have put a genuine point across. Looking at sport from the other side of the looking glass I have done for the last 7 years made me relise how hard it is for some sports  clubs to survive in the digital age.