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Cyber International 3 Event Combined Competition

4/7/08" Disgraced US sprinter Tim Montgomery has pleaded guilty to dealing heroin, just two months after being jailed for fraud and conspiracy offences." BBC link.

4/7/08 "Today the British Olympic Association (BOA) announced the athletes and coaches invited to take part in Britain's Olympic Ambition 2012 programme.The programme, designed to enhance athlete medal success at the London 2012 Olympic Games by providing talented potential team members with an opportunity to experience the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, will see athletes from 33 disciplines spend seven days in Macau and Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games.Whilst there, athletes will visit the Team GB preparation camp in Macau, the Olympic Village and the Athletes Lodge. They will also have a press conference fronted by their mentors, Olympians like Denise Lewis, Ed Coode and Alison Mowbray. In addition participants will be given the opportunity to watch two competition sessions for their specific discipline.This programme's focus is based around providing sports specific event exposure and to replicate, as closely as possible, an athlete's overall Olympic experience.

What a load of crap- this will cost thousand's of pounds-well probably £100k's so that a few youngsters with potential Olympic status to have a look at facilites and how it works.

Hard one that- it is a competiton , and if we have youngsters aspiring to 2012 who do not understand what International competition is about, then they should not be there. Nice freebie, but who paid for it-the Tax payer? Money better spent on developing sport, but no doubt some highly paid Employee dreamt up this idea.

I am fed up with this 2012 Olympic obsession- reminds me of the Social Services approach to life- make sure the little darlngs know what is going to happen.

We really do have too many administrator involved who have little better to do than dream up expensive schemes to justif their jobs.

The Olympics is meant to be an Amateur Festival- turn up and compete if you are good enough. That seems pretty simple, and those involved in the Olympics maybe should sit down and realise they are ceating a monster of excess. Excess in every way.

Read the Guradin in 2004"Hopping, skipping and jumping into each others' beds" a Shag festival supported by Durex.

It is a strange world we live in.

4/7/08 Email received "I just found on UKa the link explaining the story behind the Spikes mag. Seb Coe seems to be behind this so the jury is out on wether this will be a true reflection on athletics in the UK. I don't see what his problem is with Linford Christie, and I don't think he really cares about developing athletics at grass roots-just below international standard.

That's where the champs are found. I know Uka try and make out everything is all great, fluffy and happy and that we are doing so well. When there are decent athletes dropping out of the sport left right and centre due to the lack of support at just below international standard.

Questionable selections of GB or England teams based on in my view (favoritism) and not hard figures or form. Stupid 'cut throat' selection policies that stop a developing athlete attending major champs just because they are a few hundreths outside of the standard or because they are 'too old'. If you are 26 and have not long been training fulltime and not been to a majors before, then can still be developing!

The disgusting treatment 'my view' of Chambers in this whole saga, that should be front page of this spikes mag, I might write to them and ask why this is not front page news. After all its whats people want to hear. Maybe they can explain there there is not a petition going around for Carl Myerscough or why it is ok for him to be selected for the Europa cup and Dwain not.

I read an article in the sun about Dwain, very good and I think he put his point across well. What the average person doesn't realise is that he was a 10.0x man before drugs and that he didn't really need to take them. He could be a used and a good advert to not take drugs and he could also point some fingers and help Uka catch some of these cheats which are still out there competing right now. But like you say, they just don't want to know. I hope he wins the case and goes. It will make my day if I hear that news.

These are negative stories but to taken seriously if the sport is to improve, they need to publish and talk about these issues. Removing the feed from their homepage wont stop people finding out, its in the papers everyday!

Maybe they can explain why someone ranked top 5 in the country holding down a fulltime job gets no support, or maybe they can explain why in the 'SOUTH OF ENGLAND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS' there were only 2 participants in the mens 110m hurdles.....maybe something to do with the £12 entry fee and that's before you have travelled from Exeter to Crystal Palace!! ".

3/0708 "Although more would be nice, the UK doesn’t lack talented young athletes. Age group performances are going from strength to strength, and so long as we ensure and enhance the quality of preparation and coaching, there is a bright future for British Athletics"Collins

This is all about the "Funnel vision" . It is interesting, intellectually-I like this sort of thing, analysing trends,but I sell products. I think Collins summed it up in his first line-more would be nice. What I find strange is that UKA and some of the regions are making choices at an early age of who they will support. The burn out rate is very high at the moment- apart from those just getting injured. The pressure on young athletes to succeed, to focus on 2012 is unparralled in anything I have experienced in any sport in my now long life.The only thing I can compare it to is Germany prior WW2- and that is not exactly thrilling.

Lets get back to the basics-Athletics is an amatur sport(sic), the Olympics is a Friendly Games where Nations compete , and provide entertainment for millions throughout the world . Entertainment, friendly- just a bigger competition than the Schools sports day where it all began all those years ago.

Yes, Athletes want to win, that's why they compete .But it seems that the Heads of organisations are the ones who are really worried about success- they could lose their well paid jobs. Are we now seeing a sport driven to succeed by people earning 6 figure salaries, who have more to lose if they lost their jobs than the struggling athlete's on minimal funding who have given up a lot to try and compete at the Olympics.

We have a professionally paid staff looking after UK Athletics, most on above average salaries-some very well paid . We have some 60,000 Track and Field Athletes, of whom only probably 20 earn any decent money-maybe 50 on the average wage. UKA will not release figures, no surprise there.

But the figures that are available suggest a CEO of a Region is earning £55,000 (before performance bonuses) a UK Regional Director £60,000.

An Athlete on the fringes of GB team earns nothing-i.e selected once or twice. Well they have to work and train to try and compete for GB. Others get funded, miss drug tests and all is well.

If I ran the Sport I would be looking at developing depth in the sport- have at least a GB B team who could compete internationally-and would be asking European Athletics to allow the Home Nations -England, Wales and Scotland to compete as Independent Nations within Europe. N.I. should be with Ireland now, they are in most sports and Scotland will be independent soon. GB will therefore be England and Wales- and no prizes for guessing who the losers of this will be.

War -what is it good for- Frankie Goes to Hollywood

1/7/2008 " One thing that stuck with me this go round was how lonely doing poorly is… the lack of a coaching team is not noticed as much in the moments of greatness, but more so when those moments of the unknown approach and some emotional support is needed."Jesse Linscombe

1/7/2008 Welsh Athletics and Welsh Schools Combined events. Unusual in that Emily competed- never done a Combined Event before, but entered the U20 WSAA competition. She enjoyed it, a new experience and that's what it is all about sometimes, just enjoying the sport.

1/7/08 Note that UKA Athletics has not mentioned Dwain's runs , 10.05 yesterday after 10.06 at the weekend.. And they say it is not personal. They even have dropped the BBC feed. Sorry boys, this is childish- the guy ran a clean time- the court case is a against BOA is a seperate issue.

30/06/08 USA Youth Champs results site.

30/06/08 USA Olympic Trials Results Site

30/06/2008 The BOA/BAC are getting this wrong- getting Sports people to sign a petition to stop Dwain, and many were the same who said Christine Ohuruogu should be allowed to compete, despite technically committing a similiar offence. The BOA have failed in not getting all the Olympic Organisations to agree to a Ban after first offence- so on their own on this one.

We all want to see a drug free sport, so, as said before, get all Athletes/Sports people to sign a contract accepting that if they are found guilty of a drug offence, they will be banned for life- from ever competing again in any sport. The key is they must sign an agreement, a contract if you like accepting the rules.

This is the only way forward, but the hostility towards Dwain is unfounded- the by-law has been overturned- re Christine Ohuruogu and others. So it would appear that it is a by-law open to interpretation. The BOA (and I suspect UKA are in support) are yet again risking bring sport into disrepute.

They should just drop the by-law, work with the International community to develop a proper way of dealing with drug cheats-ban them from all sport for life. That is the only way. But taking on Dwain will end in tears, and I suspect Dwain will win- because of the ad hoc nature of the bye-law and the way it as been applied in recent past. The courts will look at issues of restraint of Trade, and the International scene. BOA are very isolated.

29/06/08 Dwain Chambers ran 10.06- so qualifies for Olympic selection. He will now take the BOA to court to overturn their Ban- which is unique to Britain. Dwain cocked up, no need to use drugs, he was good enough. He has though been honest and BOA need to avoid a costly Law case and let him run.

The BOA need to then work with other countries and get an agreed Drug ban in place.

The BOA bleat that they have limited funding(they posted losses of £1.3m lst year)- well this case could wipe them out if Dwain wins-which he should. Commonsense should prevail and the BOA need to accept they are out of tune Internationally.

BOA need to get off their High Horse attitude-use the same rules as the rest of the World. Sometimes it is better to admit defeat and address the problem- but Colin Moyniham seems determined to bankrupt the BOA, sadly an example of British arrogance and intransability.

Good luck Dwain, met him a couple of times and is a nice guy- just made a big mistake. If he was American he would be allowed to compete. He might just win a medal when he competes in Beijing.

28/06/08 A few years ago I suggested that the Celtic Games be expanded from 4 nations to 6 by inviting Cornwall and Isle of Man, maybe to 7 if Brittany were interested. I feel this option should be explored further to see if it would make the event more attractive to Sponsors, before the U16 competition is dropped.

27/06/08 WAA Track and Field committee minutes suggest that the U16 Celtic Games should be stopped ( for money reasons) , minimum standards for entry into Welsh Teams, and more.

I am so appalled about the attitude of WAA that I am going to get a petition to-gether to stop these people wrecking WAA for ever. So far stopped a trip to Australia for WSAA, No team for Youth Commonwealth Games and now this. Once I have typed it up, will be on-line.

27/06/08 The Cyber Event is coming together- Neuff have kindly agreed to sponsor one of the prizes, so please just join in- it is free, should be fun and involves no travel. In case you missed it a 3 event comp for kids born between 1992-5 over the Internet-200m, HJ and Javelin, held at any location between 27 August and 10 Sept 2008, Winner in each age/gender group wins £25.00. Simple.

27/06/08 WADA will apparently not allow this, but hair testing works and maybe could be more effective.

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