Comments | starryniteshade: Typical

starryniteshade

Typical

Feb 25, 2010 21:20

This from the man who's head of the IOC

http://www.ctvolympics.ca/hockey/news/newsid=52298.html?cid=rss

Women's hockey has to improve or face expusion from the Olympics. Of course, it's not the women, but the men who are holding the women back in hockey with lack of funding, lack of support, etc. This strikes me as telling womean that they better ( Read more... )

Comments 4

dlgood February 26 2010, 03:18:58 UTC

Before we get to the politics - it's not entirely the same issue in term of competition. It's not even that Canada always wins gold - but the perception that the US is the only team that can even play with them, and none of the other teams can even play with the US. (Luge, pretty much property of Germany/Austria might be a better analog ( ... )

midnightsjane February 26 2010, 03:55:07 UTC

How can other countries get better if there isn't the incentive of the Olympics etc for them to fund the building of the teams? It seems to me a self fulfilling prophesy for the IOC here; if you don't get more competitive, you can't be part of the Olympics; if you aren't part of the Olympics, what countries other than Canada and the USA will be pushed to be competitive?
If the number of girls playing hockey here in Canada is any example of the influence of the women's teams in the Olympics, it's been a very positive one.

dlgood February 26 2010, 04:04:34 UTC

Oh, I very much agree. I think you have to put up with the possibility of lopsided tourney's in 2014 - but you might get something better in 2018. Particularly if China is going to keep investing in it.

starryniteshade February 26 2010, 05:31:00 UTC

Two things...

(1) (This is trival point) the timing of the IOC President's announcement was in poor taste.

(2) Knowing how hard women have struggled in Canada and the US to get women's hockey accepted I think the women in other countries need the encouragement, but both you and MJ have made that point too.