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

Youth Olympic Games

In August we had the first ever Youth Olympic Games with Singapore chosen as the nation to host it. The event spanned twelve days and saw thousands of young athletes aged 14 to 18 competing in a wide range of sports.

When I heard this was happening I couldn’t believe that we hadn’t had this before! But I am very glad that we have it now. It is so great for young people to be able to have the pride of representing their country, being able to meet people from different cultures and to get to compete against the best in the world in their age group.

Having a huge event like an Olympics for young people will also help the media attention and coverage that these youngsters get as many of these young athletes will have been doing amazing things for years with little recognition. The event like the regular Olympic games will be held every four years with China being the next host country. Hopefully with every Youth Olympic games the press coverage will grow even bigger.

I think by having a Youth Olympic Games it will give countries a great opportunity to prepare their young talent for when they are ready to compete in the full Olympic Games. It will also help the Olympic teams spot talent and to give them a test. The Youth Olympics will also help the young athletes prepare themselves to compete at the main Olympic Games.

I can’t wait to see what it is like in four years time!

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

The Weather

Now I know its seems like all British people do is complain about the weather but down in the South West we have yet another terrible and wet summer. I’m sure travel agents and airlines love this as it makes us all wish we were holiday somewhere nice and hot but due to the recession it just means that a lot more people in Britain will have no choice but to make the best of the British summer.

Not only does the weather affect the mood of young people in the country but it also limits their opportunities to do things. After a year slaving away in the classrooms their reward is six weeks holiday of what so far has been mainly rain and days are ticking away as before they know it they will be back in school.

When I was a kid summer was a time for getting out and adventuring, for walks, for going places for playing sports. With this weather it is hard for young people to either do these things or enjoy doing these things. Many young people will have just traded the classroom for the home. The lure of TV’s, computers and video games is already high enough for young people with time on their hands but now with not much else to do it is even worse.

Now I’m not saying young people shouldn’t enjoy relaxing, watching a bit of TV and playing a bit on the computer over the summer but it shouldn’t be the only thing they are doing. The summer can be a great learning experience for young people where they get to experience new things and actually have time to dedicate to things they want to do but to help them and increase their opportunities we need this weather to brighten up quick smart.

We want to know what you guys have been up to over your summer holidays, and what you do when it rains? Are you on your games console or have you found a way of keeping active and busy despite the rain? To let us know your thoughts log on to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=759

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