At a moment when we’ve just emerged from recession, when childhood obesity in Australia is at an all-time high and when some state schools have little or no sporting equipment — let alone PE teachers — David Crawford’s report into Olympic funding couldn’t have come at a better time.
Olympic games
Sport funding torn between going for gold and going for guts
The long-awaited Crawford Review of Australian sport has called the bluff of successive Australian governments and proposed a re-weighting of sports funding away from elite Olympic sports toward grassroots participation.
PHOTO GALLERY: The world’s dirtiest events
All public events tend to make a bit of a mess, but some are worse than others. Newsweek looks at some of the biggest garbage-generating events on the planet, including NASCAR, Glastonbury and the Olympics.
Does hosting the Olympics pay off?
Olympic host cities are usually lucky to even break even on the net cost of hosting the Games. But there are some unmeasured financial boons for staging such “mega events”, as seen with the huge surge in Brazilian stock prices yesterday.
America’s big Olympic sook
How could Chicago not get the 2016 Olympic Games? cries the US media. They had Oprah! And the Obamas! And the Northern Hemisphere! At least they won one thing, says Mike Hegedus: a gold medal in naivete.
The Olympics’ biggest losers
The biggest competition in the Olympics isn’t on the field or in the pool: it’s the battle to be the Games’ host city. But only one city can take gold every four year. The Economist looks at the cities with the most failed bids at hosting glory.
Dear IOC: say ‘no’ to Tokyo 2016
The IOC will announce the host city for the 2012 Olympic Games later today, and residents of Chicago, Rio, Madrid and Tokyo are holding their collective breaths — except Tokyo local Garrett DeOrio, who explains why the Olympics will bring nothing but problems to the city.
New twist for Kevan Gosper who’s seen it all
When a new twist came along, like Wednesday’s chance for the four 2016 Summer Games bid finalists to make lengthy presentations to 92 of the 107 IOC members four months before their final presentations on decision day, Gosper did not know what to expect.
Obama backs Chicago Olympics 2016
U.S. President Barack Obama announced the creation of the White House Office of Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Sport on Tuesday, which could provide a boost to Chicago’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Games.
The murky world of elite sports funding
Why, in a small country do we have three levels of sport funding, and worse, competition and duplication between levels – particularly the State institutes/academies? Writes Dr James Connor.
And the Wankley Award goes to … swimming’s Posh n Becks
This week’s Wankley Award concerns media feeding frenzy around the split of very photogenic pair Olympic swimmers Stephanie Rice and Eamon Sullivan.
Media briefs: Olympics journos face problems
They’re “bloggers”, so it’s new … Olympics: journalists face harassment … New inroads for citizen journalists.
The Olympic gold medal factory that’s still a secret
It’s a tiny boatshed unknown to most Melburnians, let alone Australian, that has been rich source of Olympic gold medals for Australian rowers, writes Adam Schwab.
Nick D’Arcy’s a dropkick, but we should let him swim
If Nick D’Arcy doesn’t get to Beijing it’ll be a funny sort of justice, writes Charles Happell.
Media briefs and TV ratings
Macquarie Radio, not Fairfax, holds Olympic radio rights … Flicked cricket boosts Pay TV … Last night’s TV ratings.
Media briefs and TV ratings
Seven wins seven in a row … Nine and Foxtel get the games … Last night’s TV ratings.
Let Beijing’s free speech games begin
A year out from the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games, the promise by the Chinese government to allow foreign journalists to report freely on China, and thereby project the image of a modern and open country, is under severe doubt.
