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IF Russian athletes are allowed to compete Paris, I predict almost 100% of the headlines will be negative.
How does BAD PRESS further the Olympic cause?
The ethical decision, too, is to keep the pressure on dictator Putin. If he is successful in a war against Ukraine, it will embolden China and others to invade neighbours. Putin is a danger to the entire world.
The best decision is to continue the ban — at least until after Olympics 2024.
Azerbaijan is an oil rich semi-dictatorship under ‘President‘ Ilham Aliyev.
Capital Baku — which hosts many FIG competitions — can be accused of sportswashing, trying to improve their international reputations tarnished by wrongdoing.
In fact, the first usage of the term “sportswashing” may have been applied to Azerbaijan hosting the 2015 European Games in Baku.
September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale military offensive against Armenians in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh — internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but populated by Armenians.
Human rights organizations and experts in genocide prevention issued multiple alerts, stating that the region’s Armenian population was at risk or actively being subjected to ethnic cleansing and genocide.
I post this information here because the world seems to have mostly ignored the most recent attacks on Armenians. We should be aware of the situation every time we talk about the World Cup in Baku.
And every time we talk about Artur Davtyan, 2022 World Champion on vault. From Armenia.
The world P Bar champion is dubious about reasons to reintegrate Russians — especially those who represent police or military.
One legacy of the greatest of all time, is Simone normalizing gymnasts talking about their mental health.
Still little discussed is the importance of mental health for coaches.
It can be a very stressful job. But in 2023, most coaches want to hide any anxiety.
That should change.
TrueSport is offering an online event on the topic Nov. 6th.
While I am disappointed for Russian gymnasts not allowed to compete internationally, I fully support the BAN on Russian athletes as long as Putin insists on expansion into Ukraine.
Why Russia and not every other nation that is at war with neighbours?
Good question.
Russia is different, I argue. That nation was already banned by the IOC for systematic doping. sReason enough.
Totalitarian states like Russia, China, Turkmenistan, North Korea, etc. should be held to a different standard by IOC because one human being can make decisions personally. For decades. IF Putin is allowed to get away with invading Ukraine, why should he stop there?
Putin has virtually had 100% control since 1999 and seemingly plans to rule for life. He pretends to have elections — but there is no chance citizens can decide on an alternative.
Nikita Nagornyy is Chief of the Main Staff of the All-Russia “Young Army” National Military Patriotic Social Movement Association. He should never again be allowed to compete in FIG sanctioned competition.
Critics have described the organization as the Russian equivalent of the Hitler Youth and a modern, republican form of the Soviet Komsomol and Young Pioneers.
Here’s the kind of things children are trained to do in Putin’s Russia.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Chellsie Memmel:
… Obviously, there’s a lot of great male coaches, but it feels really special to have a whole delegation of women.”
In addition to Landi, who coaches Jordan Chiles, Tiana Sumanasekera and Zoe Miller, and Memmel, who helps oversee the U.S. program, personal coaches Kelli Hill (coach of Kayla DiCello), Haiou Sun (Kaliya Lincoln) and Marnie Futch (Katelyn Jong) round out the delegation. …
Olympics.com
No response yet from the University, as I post.
I take that as a bad sign for the Head Coach, Tom Farden, who’s already been investigated and not found guilty on complaints similar to what Kara has experienced.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The NHL (National Hockey League) was infamously homophobic and non-diverse.
I know. I’m a Canadian.
That league has improved tremendously in recent years, however. Protecting minority players and taking actions so that all in the sport can be treated equally.
But now …
Rainbow-colored Pride Tape has been part of pro ice hockey for seven years, symbolizing the sport’s pledge to be welcoming and inclusive. But the NHL has banned the athletic tape, quickly sparking a backlash.
Critics say the league’s decision is a step backward. …
The tape got a big boost in early 2016, when the Edmonton Oilers used it as a way to support young LGBTQ+ athletes who might otherwise quit playing ice hockey in the face of homophobia and discrimination. …
The NHL bans Pride Tape, setting off a backlash from players and fans
One bit of good news where I live …
The BIGGEST problem with Artistic Gymnastics judging is the Execution Score range between best and worst.
That range is too small — therefore it’s mostly Difficulty Score that decides ranking.
This article doesn’t address the BIG issue, but it is interesting to see how FIG is evaluating their judges.
Dr Hugues Mercier speaks exclusively to Olympics.com about his 10-year project that evaluates judges’ performance in disciplines such as artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. …
“Judging a routine in pommel horse is intrinsically much more difficult than judging a routine in vault, and it’s very important for the tools we provide to be fair. So, I always tell the judges that the mathematical tools that we use take into account that judging in pommel horse is difficult.
“So, on a 7.5 routine, which is a good routine on pommel horse, a judge who makes an error of, let’s say 0.3, 0.4 is completely normal. In vault, giving 9.5 instead of 9.1, it’s a very, very, very large error… it’s an outrageous difference. So, this is all scaled, so that when we analyse the accuracy of judges, we take into account the apparatus on which they judge.” …
Olympics.com
Every other team had no more than five.
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