Thursday 23 July 2009

“All Must Have Prizes!”

Dame Kelly Holmes yesterday launched a stinging attack on the decline of competitive sport in schools and said it risked spawning a generation of bad losers.

The double Olympic champion and former Army physical training instructor blamed a culture of political correctness for making 'competitiveness' a dirty word.
Can’t see the loony PC crowd coming off the blocks too quickly to take on a darling of the sporting world and a Dame to boot, can you?

Odd, that…
Her comments come a year after Gordon Brown admitted Labour had made a 'tragic mistake' by allowing dozens of mainly left-wing councils to scrap competitive sports in schools in the 1980s.
And after that, what happened?

Well, pretty much the same thing that happens every time Gordon makes a promise.

Once the headlines are achieved, nothing:
After the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the Government pledged to end a 'medals for all' culture in which sports days have been cancelled and field sports 'dumbed down'.

But Dame Kelly has criticised established policies that continue to allow health and safety concerns to ride roughshod over sporting rivalry.
See, with the government, it’s never just one hurdle you have to overcome. It’s several, and they get progressively higher…
The 39-year-old former middle distance athlete said: 'Too often, in these politically sensitive times, it seems that competitiveness is seen as a dirty word.

'I was surprised by how many schools I came across where sports day had been abandoned. It's very important to learn how to lose.

'What you should do is pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start all over again. If everyone gets a prize, where on earth is the incentive to push yourself to do better next time?'
But if only one or two people get a prize, it’s not f-a-a-a-i-i-i-r!

Think of the children!

8 comments:

Ross said...

"Gordon Brown admitted Labour had made a 'tragic mistake' by allowing dozens of mainly left-wing councils to scrap competitive sports in schools in the 1980s."

Gordon Brown is still not in favour of competitive elections thougjh.

Oldrightie said...

I like it Ross! He's only in favour of rigged elections for his old headmaster?

Anonymous said...

"field sports dumbed down"


It might help, too, if they hadn't sold off the actual fields for a quick buck during the housing bubble.

That was another thing El Gordo promised to stop, irrc. And with the same outcome.

Edwin Greenwood said...

"Can’t see the loony PC crowd coming off the blocks too quickly to take on a darling of the sporting world and a Dame to boot, can you? "

Not only that, Julia, but she's half-Black too. The buggers are completely stymied.

Bring back the three-legged egg-and-spoon race, I say. With a sound thrashing for any competitor who breaks the egg.

JuliaM said...

"Gordon Brown is still not in favour of competitive elections thougjh."

*snigger*

"That was another thing El Gordo promised to stop, irrc. And with the same outcome."

It's be easier to compile a list of the promises he DID keep, wouldn't it?

"The buggers are completely stymied. "

Hoist by their own petard. Again.

Nick von Mises said...

Not just a dame. A black woman too. Untouchable.

Go Kelly!

James Higham said...

Great heading, Julia. I wrote a humungous set of posts two years ago on this syndrome and it might be time to go for it again. Excellent post.

Von Spreuth said...

They should get rid of this "second" and "third" rubbish as well. You come FIRST or you are a LOOSER!, and that's all there is to it.

Von Brandenburg-Preußen.