The Commonwealth Games

Over the last few weeks you will have probably heard, read or seen something in the news about the Commonwealth Games. The competition has got a lot of press this year, a lot of which has been very unfavourable which it wouldn’t have received in previous years.

The Commonwealth Games cost a lot to host and this year it was Delhi who got the pleasure of being hosts but they soon came under fire when in the weeks running up to the event the standards of the accommodation and sporting facilities for the athletes was brought in to question.

The Commonwealth games falls behind the Olympic Games in the pecking order and in many sports World and European Championships are regarded as more prestigious. This has got the press asking whether the games are worth the money the hosts have to pay out and after seeing low attendances to events at the Commonwealth Games in the opening days this year whether the interest is really there.

I personally think it is a shame that the press are spending more time talking about these issues that the people who matter - the athletes taking part. I think any place where an athlete can compete and test themselves against fellow athletes is important. Every chance a person gets to represent their country at an event should be seen as important.

To get good athletes for the Olympic Games in 2012 to represent their country they need to be regularly competing at the highest level possible in the run up and I think the Commonwealth Games are a great chance to do this as I think it is the closest thing to the Olympics you can get and there is no shame in playing second fiddle to the Olympics. By having the Commonwealth Games countries in the Commonwealth have a chance every two years to compete in a major sporting event which can only be a good thing.

I do hope that the events of this Commonwealth Games makes all sporting bodies sit up and take notice. When a country gets awarded to host an international event more should be done to make sure they have the finances and infrastructure to host the event at the standards they require. The sporting bodies should also manage the preparations a lot better so that situations like what happened in the weeks before the Commonwealth Games don’t happen to another sporting event.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

The World Cup

In a little under four weeks the football World Cup kicks off in Africa. The tournament will be watched by millions around the world. Millions upon millions will be ploughed in to hosting the event and millions of pounds will be made from sponsorship and TV rights. The question I ask is – for all this hype and investment what lasting difference will the tournament have on South Africa and the rest of the world?

The one thing the World Cup is good at is capturing young people’s imagination from all parts of the globe and getting them in to football. I think any event which inspires young people to take up sport can only be a good thing. As I m sure many young people will kicking a ball around the streets during the tournament.

I hope the World cup as well as inspiring young people to play football will encourage young people to find out more about the countries playing in the world cup and the cultures of those countries. I think every year it becomes even more important for young people to have an understanding and knowledge of the world around them.

I think this World Cup is going to be more special than most. I just hope that the World Cup can have a positive effect locally to the people of South Africa and really impact the local communities. If the money is invested correctly it could have a long lasting effect and legacy but we will have to wait a few years to see what difference the tournament made.

Are you looking forward to the World Cup? Who do you think is going to win? Share your thoughts by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=813

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

BT Seen and Heard Awards

It was my honour this week to be invited back to the Houses of Parliament for the second time in six months. I was there to pick up a BT Seen & Heard award and to participate in a day of leadership, politics and debating. Notable names that were in attendance were MP Ann Widdecombe and Olympian Leon Taylor to name but just a few.

It is so great to get recognized by big organizations for the work we do and to be recognized in such a prestigious building makes it such more memorable, it is a day I won’t forget. It is so humbling just to be invited in to a building like that, let alone pick up an award.

I also had the pleasure of meeting some other amazing young people who are making a difference in this country. Sometimes it is just so easy to get focused on your project and not realize how many other great projects there are out there so I love these events as I get to find out what is going on and network with other youth organizations.

It is events like these where one connection that can be made that can change everything for your organization and if it hadn’t been for the event you would have never have made that connection. If you email or write to an organization or person you want to network with they may not reply to it but if you can meet them in person and show your passion for your project you are more likely to get them on side.

So a big thanks goes out to the BT Seen and Heard team for an amazing day out.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

One Medal

Whenever the Summer Olympics are on there is always great talk and debate about team GB’s medal Haul, whether they didn’t do as well as people expected or if they do better than people expected. Its always front-page news. So why is this not the case for the Winter Olympics?

Yes it is great to see Amy Williams getting all the attention which is what she deserves but at the same time there should be front-page coverage and debate about our lack of medals. If we had come home from the summer Olympics with just one medal there would be an outcry but instead we seem to just be happy we got a medal at the Winter Olympics.

If this isn’t an alarm bell that more money needs to be spent on winter sports I don’t know what is. All I can hope is that over the next four years more money is spent on winter sports and that we see the fruits of it at the next Winter Olympics. If there is already a lot of money being thrown at it then someone needs to sit down and look at what we are doing wrong and how that money could be used more wisely.

Great Britain maybe a small island but it’s a proud island and we didn’t come back with much pride from the Winter Olympics.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Winter Olympics

I am going to go out on a limb here and say I prefer the Winter Olympics to the Summer Olympics. I have enjoyed watching the Ice Skating and Snowboarding events and can’t wait for the Bobsleigh.

One thing which I find impressive is when countries who aren’t famed for their snow, ice or winter conditions do well at the winter sports like, China, Germany etc. the Winter Olympics also give the chance for smaller countries who may not do well at the summer Olympics to excel like the Scandinavian countries.

In British schools as part of PE youngsters get taught track and field events in the summer but in the winter its team sports like Rugby / Football / Hockey and Netball that get taught, I can’t think of many schools that would offer skiing or ice skating. Now I know this is because we don’t have the conditions and these sports can be very expensive to deliver but I think more needs to be done to encourage young people in to winter sports. This can be done through the use of ice-rinks, dry ski-slopes etc. I personally would have loved to have had the chance at school to do Snowboarding.

I hope the Winter Olympics can capture the imagination in this country and encourage more young people to give winter sports a try. I also hope that sporting bodies, education bodies and the government can put more money in to the development of winter sports in the UK, now that I care about how many medals we win any Olympics it would just be great to see young people getting the chance to participate in winter sports and excelling in them.

The Winter Olympics is the subject of our weekly topic, and you can share your views on the games by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=804

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com