It’s time for me to admit something about my country’s performance at the Beijing Olympic Games: it sucks. It really sucks.
I’m apparently not alone. In response to hordes of comments and complaints over Canada’s less-than-stellar performance at the Olympics, the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) is telling Canadians to “calm down and relax.”
With the games now in the fifth day and Canada still without a single medal, many of my fellow Canadians are becoming frustrated with our athletes. While the summer sports haven’t exactly been our strong suit, the lack of medal production in China does seem a bit shocking.
Readers of CBC’s website have erupted in days of debate over the Olympics and Canada’s shutout. Okay, so it's more like hours of whining...
Never fear, says Chris Rudge, the director of the COC. "This is the time to support the athletes who are there.” Rudge added that he hoped Canadians would be this vocal about the Canadian athletes when the Olympics aren’t taking place, noting that the support among fans for Canadian swimmers, divers, and other summer sports athletes is less than flattering.
He has a point. Canadians have systematically ignored diving and swimming 365 days a year in favour of hockey, curling, and the illustrious Maple Syrup Races. Perhaps our incessant complaining over the lack of production from these athletes would be better served had it come from a more consistent fanbase instead of a slew of fair-weathered Canucks.
Rudge told the CBC’s unfortunately-named Heather Hiscox that more money would be sent into the system for these athletes so that the level of training and competition could be enhanced. It is also true that, for a relatively wealthy country, our contributions to athletes of the sunnier and wetter sports tend to be a little slight.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Erik
The Canadian records are good, but considering most of the swimming world records were smashed... by the second place finisher, you wonder if the cheat suits are working their magic.
2 - Clark
nevertheless, when you see that Canada is behind such countries as Tajikistan and Zimbabwe, as well as behind our constant rivals in winter sports such as Sweden, Finland and Russia, you really start to wonder what is going on with the sport in Canada. There must be some other explanations apart from ignoring summer sport and negligible funding. The purpose of Olympic Games is to get the medals, not visiting them for another Canadian record.
3 - STM
Interesting that Oz gets a mention and Canadians are making the comparison, but it's apples and oranges and has nothing to do with national psyche or anything that abstract.
When people try to compare countries like Canada and Britain to Australia in terms of how many medals they think they should get in the summer games, they forget one thing.
Australians might be sport obsessed (virtually all 20 million of us), but there's an obvious reason: because of the climate, kids are outdoors actively participating in sport both summer and winter often from the age of about five or six onwards. It barely rains here most of the time.
So there's a constant flow-on. Some school competititons like the rugby league, cricket, GPS rugby and GPS rowing, are regarded as benchmark world standard and a springboard into the national squads, which is also one of reasons Australia has had more world champion teams consistently over a range of sports than any other nation.
When I lived in the UK, I noticed that most boys were starting to play rugby at the age of 11-plus, once they'd started high school. In Oz, they were on the park from the age of six, playing mostly on hard, dry grounds that are conducive to a running and handling style of game, which is why when you watch a game between England and Australia, the Aussie backs at least always seem to have an edge and a natural understanding.
It filters the other way too. In the US, for instance, you don't see a lot of world-standard competitive amateur adult American football or baseball, but the professional sports in Oz, like rugby union, rugby league, cricket and AFL, have hundreds of thousands of people playing these games in lower grades but at high standard right through to their forties (or while they can still stand).
Kids are at the beach or in the pool swimming almost from the time they can stand up. In the most populous states on the eastern seaboard, you can swim and surf all year round. Going to early-season rugby training on a February evening, you aren't worried about the cold but how to beat the late-summer heat.
Contrast that to Canada or Britain, where the cold winter months demand a certain dedication just to leave the house to brave the elements, and you get an idea why there's a difference.
On the other hand, Australia does absolutely crap at the winter sports Canadians are so good at at. That's because snow and ice in Australia is as rare as rocking-horse shit, and in the one place we do get it, most of us can't be bothered because it involves a) money, b) a trek, and c) putting up with the cold.
Canadians, however, have an enviable record in the Olympics so I don't see why anyone is worried. All countries go through their down periods at the Games.
Plus, let's face it, it's only sport. Sport's fun, and we should all love the doing and watching of it, but in the great scheme of things, it's not that important.
One thing I do find annoying in this country is how we pin our feeling of national well-being to our sports results, which puts huge expectation on athletes, and once that happens it ceases to be fun ... and probably therefore isn't worth doing.
4 - Marie
There is nothing wrong with Canadians wanted to see their athletes competing on par with the rest of the world. And I am tired of Canadians being blamed for our athletes' dismal performance on the world stage. I am tired of excuses.
Success encourages interest. And constantly hearing about "personal bests" and "Canadian records" that are not even good enough to make finals and semi-finals breeds disinterest.
I have stop watching the Olympics
5 - El Bicho
I am curious about the swimsuits and what they accomplish as well since NASA is involved. All you should get his trunks, goggles, and a cap.
Best of luck the rest of the way out.
6 - seven star
Canadian athletes need to start thinking differently, they need to go in with the mindset that they will win, rather than going in thinking they will do their personal best. Canada needs to rethink how kids participate in sports where the focus is on doing your best and not winning and where everyone gets a chance to play, even if they suck. Coddling future Olympians is not the way to go as evidenced in the Olympics
7 - STM
Too many kids sitting behind computer screens?
8 - KC
Our population in Canada is less than 10% of the USA, they have 30 medals so far so 3 medals is a reasonable number for us. However, the USA also spends 2-5 times more on their sports programs than Canada. In today's world it takes money to train atheletes to win medals.
We have Canadians that have trained the best the can with limited funding. Let them enjoy the experience which is amazing. If they do win, celebrate the success. If they don't win, celebrate their involvement. Individually, they have all been working very hard to be there. They are our best.
If we want to win more, then get more corporate, and individual sponsors. Currently with our limited budgets, our government budget is on health, social and justice priorities. You decide what goes.
Do I want Canada to win medals. Absolutely!! Let's cheer them on!!!
This discussion should focus on how well they are doing relative to their best scores in Canada.
Be realistic and keep celebrating. We have great people participating. So do other countries!!
That is what the Olympics is all about...
9 - A typical Canadian
As a Canadian, I must say that the reason why we don't perform well at the summer olympics at all is because as a general whole, we don't give a rats ass. We care only about Hockey. We know who Mark Messier is, but we don't know who Mark Tewsberry or whatever the heck his name is. Ask any schmuck on the street which of those two names he's heard of, and he will immediately say Messier. I say that we don't even bother sending a team to the summer Olympics. Canada is a winter country, period. The government should stop wasting tax dolars on summer sports and divert it to much needed social funding and education issues. Or at least spend it on fixing hockey arenas, where Canadians youth REALLY go.
10 - Coddling? No. Winning isn't everything.
Sport SHOULD be stricly for FUN. Not competition. It is nice to win at the same time, but it really hsouldn't be the only reason for sports. It is more important for every child to feel included than to divide those who "suck" from those who "win". So who cares is the USA and CHina win a lot of peices of metal? Put it this way, in a hundred years, who will really care about who won how many of what? Fun above all. The real problem is that there are people out there who think that winning is everything. That encourages division and entrophy. What kind of mentally healthy child are you going to produce if you drill them with such a monolithic mindset? You will either have a child that wins everything and is unhappy, or a well-adjusted happy child who doesn't care about winning, just about having fun. I think most children will tell their parents they'd rather be the latter.
Canadians shouldn't let these sporting events upset them. They should be viewed only as a gathering where people from all over the world share their love for one thing... SPORT. Whether you win or not is secondary to the spirit of sport. I think Pierre de Coubertin would be rolling over in his grave if he found out how the focus of the Olympics has mutated to a single-minded approach of win at all costs.
11 - EZ explanation
There's an easy explanation to why Canada has no medals so far. There's no hockey played in the summer olympics. Nuff said
12 - Duke
Totally agree with the comments about hockey. I love the sport, but we are waaaay too hockey obsessed in this country. There are hundreds of thousands of kids playing soccer, basketball and a hundred other sports across Canada - but those sports get no profile, no support, and most importantly, little funding.
And in the middle of July, watch TSN or Sportsnet, and the lead story will be something about hockey. Some trade, draft pick, or Sid Crosby picking his nose.
Like I said, I love hockey, but let's expand our interests a bit, and realize that only about 8 countries actually give a s#!* about hockey.
If we want to do well at the summer olympics, then let's get serious at summer sports. That means coaching, leagues, media coverage, and most importantly, $$$$$ (from both government AND the private sector).
13 - Mike
The other thing that is sadly lacking is a strong base of private (i.e. corporate) money. That's not because corporations aren't donating. Far from it. But look at HOW MANY corporations other countries have sponsoring their games. I read that Michael Phelps alone is sponsored by Speedo, Nike, Adidas, and VISA.
The government isn't the only funder, and we have to be realistic about how much government money can realistically be thrown at this stuff before citizens revolt. (Let's also remember that the Pacman that is health care keeps gobbling billions more every year, to the point that it's cannibalizing other areas like education, infrastructure, and sport.) There's only so many tax dollars to go around.
Corporate sponsorship is a vital ingredient. But in Canada we are still behind when it comes to economic competitiveness. Our tax rates are too high. We don't have large a number of home-grown Canadian corporations that can bankroll these athletes. In fact, we've had many Canadian corporations bought out by foreign-owned companies just so they can secure capital and remain competitive.
It's time to lower tax rates, stimulate a larger economy and help grow the number of successful corporate businesses in Canada. This way not only Olympic ahtletes, but a host of other organizations and charities, would have a larger private donation pool to drawn on.
14 - Joe
To all the people who say that we do badly in the summer because we are too hockey obsessed, please consider this: CANADA FAILED TO MEDAL IN MEN'S HOCKEY IN TWO OF THE PAST THREE WINTER OLYMPICS.
It may be true that hockey is the only sport we care about, but we can't even do consistently well in that!
15 - S Elie
I completely agree with all the commentators that are stating the Canadian athletes performance has nothing to do with funding. I think it is about time the Canadian olympic committee take a look at their qualification process. To send a delegation of 620, that is comprised of 332 atheltes, and not winning a single medal after 6 days of competition is probably unheard of! I think the tax payers money has to be spent only on those who has a good chance to win, not at every one who thinks he/she got a talent and is willing to try. Let's just compare the number of medals our athletes are expected to win, 16 to France's 30+, with more or less the same number of athletes (324). By the way, France has already won 14 medals. It looks our Olympic committee knows that the team is comprised of athletes of has no chance of winning! The way things are going, we will get the medal for a delegation that won the least of medals proportional to its size.
16 - JON
Success at the Olympic level has nothing to do with how much money is thrown at an athlete. It has everything to do with the mentality of winning, something which is non-existant with Canadian athletes. For some unexplained reason, Canadian athletes seem to be under the misconception that finishing in the top 12 positions is perfectly acceptable. They would be absolutely correct if this was a national or a provincial meet but not at the Olympic level as the last time I checked, they do not hand out medals for anything past the third spot.
It just makes me cringe when I hear a Canadian athlete say that they are happy with their placing in a competition. Ask any American or Australian athlete how they feel about their respective forth-place finish in any event and they will always say, 'I am not happy with my performance and I am thoroughly disgusted with what I did today'. Ask a Canadian athlete how they feel about their twelfth place finish and they will always say, 'I am so happy that I was able to finish in the top 12 and get a personal best time'. CRINGE!!!
If you want to finish in the top 12 then stay home! If you want to improve your personal best time then stay home! If you want to go to the Olympics to get some experience then stay home! If you want to go to the Olympics and take someone elses place who really wants to win then stay home! If, on the other hand, you want to go to the Olympics and win and know that you are capable of winning, then by all means go and I will back you 100%.
It may come as a complete surprise to Canadian athletes but it is ok to stand on the upper-most podium and say for that brief moment in time when all the eyes of the world are upon you, 'Hey, look at me. I am the best in the world and I won!' Why Canadian athletes are content with standing in the shadows is something which I cannot understand.
17 - RonSays
Bring the level up. Yes, it's nice that Canadians, myself certainly included, have a great interest in hockey and winter (curling?) sports. But instead of shifting/diverting concentration to other sports, I say bring the same level of interest to other sports. And as your level of interest increases for other sports, the interest in hockey or other more established interests can go even higher. I hear a lot of people saying they want better results or more interest. Well, start watching other sports and showing your interest. Go watch some gymnastics or something.
18 - S
So what if Canada has not won any medals thus far? The thrill of competition and doing one's personal best is something admired.
19 - Dr Dreadful
I sympathize with Canada and I've decided to root for them in any event where I see a Canadian flag against someone's name in the lineup. But as someone observed above, most nations endure a lean Olympics from time to time.
As a Brit, I look back with distinct unfondness to our disastrous Atlanta campaign in '96, when the days dragged by with medal hope after medal hope falling flat. We did get the occasional silver and bronze, but the national sigh of relief when Redgrave and Pinsent finally crossed the finish line first in the coxless pairs was palpable. That was our one and only gold in those wretched Games.
We were stung by that humiliation, and surged back to win eleven golds in Sydney and nine in Athens.
The lessons hopefully will be learned, and Canada, as Britain did, will come back stronger in London in 2012.
And I don't agree with the nonsense that some commenters have spouted (not entirely in jest, I suspect) about Canada only being any good at hockey. There've been some world-class Canadian athletes in recent memory - Mark McCoy, Bruny Surin, Donovan Bailey, Ben Johnson (before he went bad) and a few decent rowing crews spring to mind.
20 - Luke
Canada never does well in the Olympics. Sure, we had a few fluke years like Atlanta and LA but our performance in the 76 Montreal is more typical.
Yes, our swimmers are breaking Canadian Records but so what? Canadian records are low compared to the records of many other countries. When a 15th finish is best ever Canadian finish in a sport that tells me that Canada is not competing at the same level as other athletes in that sport. It is tine that we re-evaluate Canadian participation in that sport in the Olympics.
We should not be sending 322 athletes to the Olympics. The Olympics is for the elite of the elite. And we should only be sending athletes with a proven ability (over the previous year) to at least qualify for a final. If that means that we don't have athletes of that caliber, then we don't send anyone.
21 - STM
"CANADA FAILED TO MEDAL IN MEN'S HOCKEY"
Since when did medal become a verb?
There's a fair bit of mangling of the Queen's English going on at the Games, and the other one that's bizarre: jubilate, and jubilating.
I blame the Americans, of course ... but surely, Canadians should know better?
22 - Dr Dreadful
I've got an even better one, Stan - and this one's bandied about a lot when Michael Phelps is under discussion: winningest.
And no, you can't give Canadians too much credit for good English - too much French influence spilling over from Tibet... I mean Quebec.
23 - STM
Mate, those Frogs just have SO much to answer for, non?
I can't believe the Americans got into bed with that fragrant, bouffant-headed nancy boy Lafayette.
Yes I can :)
24 - Jordan Richardson
Mate, those Frogs just have SO much to answer for, non?
Tell me about it. Just what the fuck is Captaine Crouche?
25 - Mama J
Quite frankly I've read through all the comments posted and the majority are making me sick. Our atheletes are not good enough to be there? If they can't win don't send them? In the top 16 or 8 in the world is not good enough to be there? How would you know? How would you judge? Some say it is neither the funding nor the training and yet when I hear that the Chinese gymnists are taken from their single child families at an early age and allowed to speak to their parents once a year and they train the rest of the time it certainly makes their brilliant performance more understandable. Maybe most countries should just stay home and not compete with them or Chinese divers either. We don't support summer sports in this country the way we do other sports. And we have no reason to expect the kind of results you seem to expect. So quit bitching. If you want only champions then fund and train them to be champions. There are enough examples in the world of how to do it. As for me I'll keep on cheering for all our Canadian atheletes who are trying their best to bring home a medal although if they hear what many of you are saying I have to wonder why!