Just imagine if the 2012 Olympic Games proved to be a success! Not only would Britain (and more specifically London) be left with world class sporting facilities and improved transport infrastructure, the British athletes competing would be leading the way in the medal tables. The feel good factor would have the potential to last for years.
Now rewind to 2006. With a look at what’s being reported in the media lately, it seems that we’ll be lucky if the feel good factor lasts more than two weeks.
While London’s transport system is in the process of refurbishment (although two reported fatalities in the space of a week might led to calls for more improvements), the biggest fatality could come in the form of British athletes failing to make the grade. Why should this be the case?
At the moment, the current sports facilities available to local young people are in a poor state. This is worrying when you consider that some of these young people will make a significant contribution to Britain’s Olympic cause.
The recent edition of Junior Question Time highlighted this point clearly, with young potential athletes in the audience complaining about the level of facilities available for track and field events.
Seb Coe, was on the panel and revealed that while money would be spent on improvements, there is simply not enough money to help improve vast amounts of existing sporting facilities for this generation of young people. This may not come as a major shock, but it does have tough implications.
And there’s more. In this week’s Evening Standard, an article reported on a damning outlook for British swimming hopefuls, especially from London. Currently, the capital "has only two 50-metre pools and neither are wide enough for international competitions."
But worse still, in Hackney, one of the three London Boroughs that is hosting the Olympics "there is only one swimming pool and one leisure pool for more than 200,000 people".
While an Olympic regulation swimming pool is being specifically built for the games it seems that London is currently doing its best to discourage its present generation of young people from competitive swimming.
Whether or not the Olympic Games is a welcome event or not, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to choose London and the games are now six years away. It is surely ludicrous, however, that the competitors that will represent the host nation should vastly under perform due to lack of facilities.
While Seb Coe may talk about London’s lasting legacy, what is the point of a legacy with a disinterested generation of young people at its forefront? Would it not be advisable to invest further in the future of tomorrows’ athletes, to ensure the resulting world class facilities do not become a white elephant? Imagine that!
About this article
This article was written by James Michael from our London newsroom. It was published on the Reach for the Sky website.
