Chambers the drug cheat swears at the cameraman.

[Yoda]

There is more money/funding in athletics now, than there ever has been.
Which I assume to mean more coaches and 'proper' coaching sessions.

If only that were the case. The money only every seems to be at the very top of the rankings. I know some one who is ranked 2nd in the women's High Jump this year (finished 3rd at the trials) and apart from expensis and her coach doesn't get anything from the sport. It only seems to be those who can make the quilifying grades that do, so what motivation for kids is that, spend all your money to try and get to a level where you can get the funding.

There is not enough funding at ground roots level, and even UKA came up with the brilliant idea of cramming the Young Athletes League into a 6 week period so come the end of the English Schools there is nothing left this season for the kids to do, and for those that don't make that grade it is already over. Almost as if they are trying to accomodate those that are in Football clubs so they can not miss out on that.

 

[Yoda]

From personal experience. My 13 and 14 year old went to some local athletics coaching sessions when they were younger. Unfortunately, only having an outdoor track here and no indoor facilities, just like most of the country - they soon got bored doing what amounted to cross country during the winter months. Our 14 year old now sadly does next to no sport as drama and music now dominate her life. Our 13 yr old plays football and spends all his spare time down the local astro turf with his mates playing football. Our 7 yr old is mad keen on running and at some point I'll be taking her along for some athletics coaching. Conclusion = we need better facilities and more money at grass roots level too to make all kids sports, and I'm not just talking athletics now, free for anyone who wants to take part. Having one of your kids take part in regular organised sport is expensive enough, but for people with several kids and kids who want to play several sports, finances can put some parents off. Currently, without very supportive parents, lots of kids just aren't getting as involved in sport as they could be, and consequently there must be huge pools of talent out there going to waste.

Could agree more, and that's coming from within the sport. There needs to be more money being invested down to the local clubs and councils to improve facilities. Someone at my club did a survey looking at what the other's in the county charge the athletes, and they all charged an anual fee (more than our's in most cases) as well as a track fee for each time they trained (which we don't do as we have a contact that states our members can use our track for free Mon-Fri 6pm-9pm and Sun 10am-1pm. We are also quite lucky in that we paid half the money towards the track, where as most the others relied on the council.

 

[Questions]

Which is a shame, as you have to think there must be a few kids out there with the potential to be great. I don't think Jamaica humps millions of dollars at its track programmes for junior sprinters. The difference is, they have the role models in Bolt, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, and perhaps the desire and incentive to succeed where British kids don't.

Given the make up of your average 100m final, it does point towards there being some sort of genetic disposition in Afro-Caribbean males towards sprinting, and therefore you'd have thought the talent would be out there somewhere amongst the UK's not inconsiderable population (particularly those of Caribbean heritage) to produce a future champion.

Even the ones who show potential as teenagers seem to stall and go nowhere. Look at Mark Lewis-Francis, he was world class as a junior and tipped for greatness, but has never really progressed. Likewise Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (sp?), the commentators thought he could really push on, but instead he just seems to have become ridiculously ripped- much bulkier than most sprinters- and hasn't ever really made an impact as a senior athlete.

The fastest junior since MLF has been lost to athletics through football although I hear he is pretty good at it and that is how it will always be because of the lure of soccerball in this country. Alex Kiwomya is the lad - his father and uncle both played at pro - and good luck to him but that sort of talent ideally needs to stay in athletics but football loves a lad with pace.
If he doesn't,t make the grade at football it will be too late to return to sprinting at 22 or so.

 

[Questions]

Which is a shame, as you have to think there must be a few kids out there with the potential to be great. I don't think Jamaica humps millions of dollars at its track programmes for junior sprinters. The difference is, they have the role models in Bolt, Asafa Powell and Yohan Blake, and perhaps the desire and incentive to succeed where British kids don't.

Given the make up of your average 100m final, it does point towards there being some sort of genetic disposition in Afro-Caribbean males towards sprinting, and therefore you'd have thought the talent would be out there somewhere amongst the UK's not inconsiderable population (particularly those of Caribbean heritage) to produce a future champion.

Sussex doesn't, even have an indoor track, the county champs are held at Sutton aren,t they. It tests the metal of the youngsters on a nippy January or February night at the track doesn't,t it's?
PS I think we know each other Yoda.

Could agree more, and that's coming from within the sport. There needs to be more money being invested down to the local clubs and councils to improve facilities. Someone at my club did a survey looking at what the other's in the county charge the athletes, and they all charged an anual fee (more than our's in most cases) as well as a track fee for each time they trained (which we don't do as we have a contact that states our members can use our track for free Mon-Fri 6pm-9pm and Sun 10am-1pm. We are also quite lucky in that we paid half the money towards the track, where as most the others relied on the council.

 

[1066familyman]

Sussex doesn't, even have an indoor track, the county champs are held at Sutton aren,t they. It tests the metal of the youngsters on a nippy January or February night at the track doesn't,t it's?

Precisely. Without the weather we need the facilities. Unfortunately we have neither.

Furthermore, as I said before, everything costs in this country. Despite some good efforts to get kids involved in sport through local council free 'active' type schemes, as soon as your kid gets involved in a club in ANY organised sport, it's money that's required, along with a lot of time commitments. All the time that's a bar to some, and it is to many, we'll never have huge progress at the grass roots in sport in this country. That's not to say as parents we should expect to just hand our kids over to some sort of free creché - support should come from parents in the form of time and obviously some money will have to be spent too, but at the moment, for a lot of people, the balance is a tricky one.

I seem to remember Richard Williams said some interesting things along these lines as regards to any chance of a future British Wimbledon champion.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Are you saying young raw talent has no chance in England because they can't get a leg up without drugs, and they can't juice in the UK.
If that were the case, the whole system and people working in it needs to be scrapped, and they are not doing their job properly.

If it was just me saying it then everyone could ignore it as a sceptical bit of ignorance.

Actually it's the opinion of a lot of the current and former elite of British track and field. Linford Christie (cheat) has spoken of this as have Daley Thompson and Christine ohrugu at various times. The penalties in UK sport have been the toughest in the western world for as long as this has been a problem. Win at all costs is a more settled view everywhere else.

The Olympics in London will not be looked forward to by a lot of Athletes who are in doping programmes now ahead of the games...a lot more of them will be exposed here than would be discovered in other countries because our testin infrastructure is so much more rigorous and our labs so much more effective than others.

We should have a drugs Olympics where everyone can take whatever they want. World records would fall like ninepins and a bunch of heavily muscled superhumans with tiny genitals and short tempers could battle it out to their hearts content.

 

[1066familyman]

We should have a drugs Olympics where everyone can take whatever they want. World records would fall like ninepins and a bunch of heavily muscled superhumans with tiny genitals and short tempers could battle it out to their hearts content.

I believe it was none other than David Hemery who once suggested this very thing.

 

[Stat Brother]

If it was just me saying it then everyone could ignore it as a sceptical bit of ignorance.

Actually it's the opinion of a lot of the current and former elite of British track and field. Linford Christie (cheat) has spoken of this as have Daley Thompson and Christine ohrugu at various times. The penalties in UK sport have been the toughest in the western world for as long as this has been a problem. Win at all costs is a more settled view everywhere else.

The Olympics in London will not be looked forward to by a lot of Athletes who are in doping programmes now ahead of the games...a lot more of them will be exposed here than would be discovered in other countries because our testin infrastructure is so much more rigorous and our labs so much more effective than others.

We should have a drugs Olympics where everyone can take whatever they want. World records would fall like ninepins and a bunch of heavily muscled superhumans with tiny genitals and short tempers could battle it out to their hearts content.

as a sceptical bit of ignorance Oh I was a long way from thinking that, I just assumed I got the wrong end of the stick, from such an outlandish statement.
I'm fairly shocked I didn't and you are happy to back it up.

If this is even remotely the case UK Athletics the BOA need to grow a pair and start 'spitting in the soup'.
If they don't there won't be a sport to be the governing body of, in 10 years time.

 

[Yoda]

Sussex doesn't, even have an indoor track, the county champs are held at Sutton aren,t they. It tests the metal of the youngsters on a nippy January or February night at the track doesn't,t it's?
PS I think we know each other Yoda.

Horsham still have the Tube, until Tesco knock the place down that is, but yes the Counties are held in Sutton, but more from a cost saving point of view as Surrey hold theirs at the same time.

(give me clue as to who you are)

 

[Questions]

Horsham still have the Tube, until Tesco knock the place down that is, but yes the Counties are held in Sutton, but more from a cost saving point of view as Surrey hold theirs at the same time.

(give me clue as to who you are)

If you train the kids on tue and thur think of the boy who needs a kick up the arse when he sprints..... Then think which idiot drops him off and takes him round the bloody south of england for running.
Are you GS ? I claim my prize ?

 

[Yoda]

If you train the kids on tue and thur think of the boy who needs a kick up the arse when he sprints..... Then think which idiot drops him off and takes him round the bloody south of england for running.
Are you GS ? I claim my prize ?

I'm not, but I help out with that group.

 

[nwgull]

We should have a drugs Olympics where everyone can take whatever they want. World records would fall like ninepins and a bunch of heavily muscled superhumans with tiny genitals and short tempers could battle it out to their hearts content.

Sadly, I don't think we're currently that far from that in certain events already! Look at the 100m. Lots of recent men's and women's champions have subsequently been found out as drugs cheats, or had a massive cloud of suspicion hang over them without ever failing a drug test. Clean athletes must almost feel like they're not on a level playing field sometimes.

I really really hope Bolt is 100% clean. His gangly frame certainly doesn't have the bodybuilder look of a steroid enhanced athlete anyway.

 

[Stat Brother]

I really really hope Bolt is 100% clean. His gangly frame certainly doesn't have the bodybuilder look of a steroid enhanced athlete anyway.

Unfortunately the way of the drugs cheat, is a lot more complex than a few 'roids round the back of the bike sheds.

Knowing the ins and out of cheating is the down side of being a cycling fan.