Australian sport in crisis ??

[Donny]

Aussie sport 'in crisis'
December 3, 2003 - Fox Sports

THE nation's trophy cabinets may be overflowing, but Australian sport is actually in crisis, a top administrator has warned.

Australian Sports Commission chief executive Mark Peters identified the problem as the couch potato generation – the dwindling numbers of young people involved in sport.

"I think our next crisis is now," said Peters, recalling the disaster of the 1976 Montreal Olympics when Australia failed to win a gold medal.

The Australian public was "annoyed" and the Montreal debacle led to the formation of the highly successful Australian Institute of Sport in 1981, Peters said.

"There will be a decreasing athlete pool available to us in 10-15 years time," he told a seminar in Canbera today.

"Unless we rectify the situation now, we will not be successful on the international stage."

Federal Sports Minister Rod Kemp joined the chorus of concern, saying that figures indicated only 50 per cent of young people are playing sport outside of school hours.

"We may not be the gold medal in childhood obesity," said Mr Kemp.

"But people tell me we might be silver or bronze medallists.

"These are medals we do not want."

Peters said Australian won 58 medals at the Sydney Olympics but can expect no more than "the low 40s" next year in Athens – back to the levels of the Atlanta Games in 1996.

Half of those medals are likely to come in cycling and swimming.

"So if Grant Hackett goes down (with health problems) like last week, or Ian Thorpe, we're in a bit of trouble," he said.

Peters said superpowers like the United States and China can draw on a massive talent pool.

"China wants to dominate the Beijing Games (in 2008)," he said.

"They are building mini AIS's all over China.

"The resources they are putting in are unbelievable."

He said European and African nations, as well as countries like New Zealand, are targetting four or five sports whereas Australia's resources are across the board.

The ASC is doing all it can to encourage children into sports they enjoyed, such as skate boarding, which he predicts could be an Olympic sport in 20 years time.

Peters also warned that issues such as drug cheating represent a big threat to sport.

"If we don't maintain integrity we will see governments and corporates move away as well," he said.

He backs a zero tolerance approach to drug cheats, noting the arguments that raged over the suspension of cricketer Shane Warne.

"It was very clear for us," he said. "He tested positive, and he was banned for a year."

Peters also had a warning for both major political parties about the crisis in sport a day after Labor installed Mark Latham as their new leader.

"I think it will be a major election issue next year," he said.

[Newelly]

Get Ian Thorpe, Grant Hackett, John Eales, Wally Lewis, Michael Lynagh, David Campese, Dennis Lillee, an eye dropper of the Dons DNA and start a state sponsored champions cloning program.

[commonwombat]

Better start a matching program with the women too, Newelly. If you look at the record over the past 20+ years, they have frankly outperformed the Aussie men in a lot of sports.

[The Prototype]

I don't know about Aussie sport, but sport down here in Tassie is in a bad way.

[HAL]

Huh. . . . Thats interesting

[Newelly]

Prototype,

Tassie has produce its fair share of champions per head of population. Boonie, Punter and Watson on the way. You don't have a huge group to choose from.

[commonwombat]

Newelly,

Proto is on the money. With the probable exception of cricket, talented Tasmanians in most sports have to go to the mainland if they are to further their careers, esp for coaching, training facilities, money.

[HAL]

That sounds like a plan.

[Newelly]

I wasn't suggesting they don't . Just saying that they have done alright considering their small population.

[Joel]

I just wanted to say that at the lower level of sport, alot of umpiring/refereeing etc is a bit of a joke, and this is one cause (among mnay others) that stops many people not taking up or persuing a sport.

I play basketball, and the standard of refereeing is a appalling, and I've played in two different leagues over the years and the situation has been no different. Can I also add that the administrations of these places are usually incompotent, and full of people with their own interests at heart. How can the standard of Australian sport increase when the game at the lowest level is so appalling?

In the end, this disenheartens ALOT of people, and they just give up, preferring to stay at home and watch the tele, than play a game where the adherence to the rules is virtually non-existent.

[commonwombat]

Well said, Joel as you have identified a contributing factor. Also many talented and enthusiastic young sportsmen are dissuaded by the structures in place in sports like cricket when they graduate from junior to senior and grade standards. The step from leaving school and joining the workforce also sees many leave competitive sport.

[piedys]

[Blanch]

I have to say don't look for aussies to come through in the tennis ranks any time soon. Our State league tennis in WA has degenerated to a point where the best don't even play anymore. The clubs got together and a verbal "I won't pay my players if you don't pay yours" was done. Now they coach kids on pennant days and earn $400 instead of getting that $400 to play for a club.

If any junior shows promise they are quickly whipped overseas to a swedish or american program to follow. Australia has nothing in the way of tennis programs that can be followed through via the AIS. Each state has their program for juniors but it's all organised by the state organisation. I don't know much about other sports but tennis will require some serious tweaking to produce another batch of champions.

[commonwombat]

Blanch,

You're dead right there. Tennis isn't my thing but by and large it has became a sport for the upper middle class and therefore has much declining participation rates.

The grass roots and participation rates of many sports in Australia is cause for concern. I have received many voodoo needles to my furry hide for commenting on these lines about cricket. Problems in officiating has been aired and is certainly a factor but participation rates are probably the prime concern. The lack of attention with school sport blends in.

It may still take a while to filter through at elite levels with many current generation sportsmen still active. My crystal ball says Australia's Olympic performance in Athens will certainly be more than respectable, not in the Sydney range (5 but prob somewhere near Atlanta (41) maybe more. Beijing will probably be respectable enough if not quite up to recent levels but if the grass roots are sick, it's only a matter of time.

This malaise is widespread across most sports and also branches into areas of public health, with the publicity over obesity rates.