Oxymoron

FA, award England women central contracts

2009-06-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

The England women have been awarded 17 central contracts in an effort to increase their chances in major competitions’. The FA has awarded the national team £1.28m as a part of a four year scheme. Players will receive a salary of £16,000 with, more players being added to the pay role upon greater success.

There are a further five squad members in addition to, the 17 contracted players who already play professionally in the U.S reportedly earning twice as much as full time professionals.
This begs the question why has the FA taken so long to hand central contracts to the women’s’ squad? After all isn’t England is meant to be the ‘home’ of football, lets face it the men’s squad has not had any recent significant success.

With three months until the 2009 European Championships finals in Finland, the support from the FA has never been needed more. This gives Powell the opportunity to lead the possibly the best squad since her appointment in 1998.
Players living in England will be allowed to allocate 24 hours maximum, to part-time work outside of training to supplement income.

This is a move that Powell has greatly welcomed in contributing to the consistency in training and “time to concentrate on helping England to qualify for major tournaments…and compete at the very top level.”

Hopefully the support from the FA will filter down to the grassroots level making the profession feasible and contribute towards reaching the level of support the men’s squad receives.

You can have your cake...you just cant eat it says NHS

2009-05-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

The idea of incentives to get people fit and healthy sounds innovative at first but the financial rewards being offered by the government seems like a lazy solution to the rising cost of treating the growing obesity problem.
However, surely the way and why we look to be healthier had to change at some point to mirror the evolving society and its needs.

The donkey and the carrot stick...

Stick.com's approach is based on making forfeits should you not ‘stick’ to or achieve your goal, giving all the details of your progress to referee that you must not lie to. Subsequently, in the end you may just be working hard in order to prevent forfeiting; this aspect may have the tendency to cause the loss of focus making it difficult to maintain your goal once achieved.
StickK's approach would appear to be aimed at the rich who can afford to spend up to £200 on failing to achieve their goals. This method of getting healthy does not sound sustainable in the long term but is innovative nonetheless.
Other websites such as Fatbet.com are based on group weight loss.
The group weight loss sounds attractive at first but everyone loses weight at different rates. Subsequently it could prove to be de-motivating if one was in a group with all the others members’ progressing faster. The result of which would be one unsatisfied person, no way near their goal and slightly out of pocket.

The government is running their own trial scheme ‘Pounds for Pounds’ based on monetary rewards for weight loss and the cessation of smoking. Overweight patients are given a certain amount of money for every goal they achieve. Pregnant women are given food vouchers for every week they do not smoke and more vouchers after the baby is born and cessation continues. However it is difficult not to notice that such schemes have flaws, can the government really maintain such schemes? Can the government counteract the UK's growing obesity problem with schemes such as these and most importantly what are the costs.

The government is running their own trial scheme ‘Pounds for Pounds’ based on monetary rewards for weight loss and the cessation of smoking. Overweight patients are given a certain amount of money for every goal they achieve. Pregnant women are given food vouchers for every week they do not smoke and more vouchers after the baby is born and cessation continues. However it is difficult not to notice that such schemes have flaws, can the government really maintain such schemes? Can the government counteract the UK's growing obesity problem with schemes such as these and most importantly what are the costs.

Incentives’ based on monetary rewards are a bit of shame, it will only be a matter of time before we see health clubs and gyms offer money back guarantees on health...what next? It’s slightly sad, what price is your health really worth?
Is throwing money at the problem going to work? The government seems to be gambling with people’s health with the possibility of the reward scheme. Surely if the government want to be taken seriously, gambling with public's’ health is a treacherous path. What needs to be addressed is the sustainability and the support given once these goals have been achieved.

More details of the NHS trial can be found at nhsweightlosstrial.com

Tyson Docu-film

2009-03-23T14:53:00.000-07:00

I recently read an interview in the Guardian on the forthcoming docu-film ‘Tyson’ directed by friend of Tyson for 23 years and director James Toback.
The interview paints a vivid picture of former great boxer on his life in the ring and outside of it.

Tyson is man who has and is unmistakably surrounded by controversy, despite all his criminal convictions; he is man who has risen and fallen in the boxing world. What I find most interesting is his departure from the sport wanting to ‘respect’ it these I find, are the words of someone who truly did love the sport.

There are regular occurrences of two Tyson’s throughout the interview, the first ‘uber man’, who is aware of his entourage and ego talks of his disadvantages making him a winner in the ring. The second, who is introspective, confesses that he is probably better off without money and fame as he claims it is ‘pretty dangerous…I become accustomed to it.’

Throughout the interview he self-analytical, he admits his problems, such as success at a young age ‘ a tragedy’ for someone who does not understand how to deal fame and money. Further to this he believes his struggle with drugs and alcohol are life long a battle that will follow him to grave.

What I admire most is Tyson’s honesty, his willingness to accept his mistakes, he openly confesses the type of father he would like to be and the hope that, one day he will catch up with children having ‘never really hung out with them’.

In true contradictory fashion the interview closes with the glimmer of the introspective Tyson admitting ‘I’m ashamed of so many things I’ve done -in life and- …in the ring too’ coming from the man who not long ago stated he was ashamed of nothing.

I look forward to watching the film and seeing if Toback portrays the two Tyson’s seen in the interview.

Read the full article at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/mar/21/mike-tyson-interview-boxing

Round up of the exciting weekend of sport

2009-03-18T15:47:00.000-07:00

Starting with the football Premiership, Man United’s 4-1 home defeat against Liverpool, was catastrophic to say the least. The title race is definitely back in contention despite clouded judgements from critics. United seemed to crack pressure in this particular game; given their track record this season they managed to make all the seasons’ mistakes in one game. Liverpool made good use of their chances. The rarity penalty for an away team at Old Trafford also seemed to be silencing critics…(cough cough) Benitez? Unfortunately as a realistic Blues fan, I think Man United will stay strong and still look like they have the title within their reach.

The athletics were certainly refreshing and marked the true beginning of Spring for me. Usain Bolt particularly made stimulating viewing as he won his first race - 100m sprint - of the season even if it only was 9.93 seconds, he’ll defiantly working on getting rid of those cob webs. With Asfa Powell is dealing with his chocking syndrome, Tyson Gay on form with his fitness and the return of Dwain Chambers (in the events he’s not banned from) makes this sprinting season all the more thrilling.

The largely anticipated boxing match between Amir Khan and Mexican legend Antonio Barrera ended with invigorated Khan on his win. However the first round caused some controversy when the pair clashed heads leaving Barrera with large gash. The match was stopped at round 5 where Barrera was told he no longer allowed continue, giving Khan the victory on a technical win. The World Title is in Khan’s sight, whether he is ready to rise to the occasion, is a matter of watch this space or ring rather.

Deli set to continue to host 2010 Common Wealth Games

2009-03-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Common Wealth Games are on schedule to go ahead in Deli after much receiving much criticism over the lack of security surrounding the games. Given the recent terrorism in the Indian subcontinent there have been calls for the games to be moved from Deli to be Melbourne after the recent attack on the Sri Lankan Cricket team in Pakistan.
However Common Wealth Federation Chief executive Michael Hooper assured the press that there was no other alternative host and Deli would receive all the support it required for additional security.
This announcement came after pressure from the Australian media to transfer the games to Melbourne.
Deli has been under scrutiny for its security following the bombings last September, which resulted in 21 people being killed. Two months later the Mumbai terror attacks carried out by Islamic militants leaving over 170 people dead.
Further warnings were issued to the Indian government by a parliamentary committee, in regard to the inappropriate security arrangements.
The only party that should be under scrutiny are the Australian press, implying that Deli is unable to deliver a safe and successful games. Michael Hooper further commented ‘there is no plan B, the Games will be here, that's the reality. The Games are 20 months away and no other city, no matter how good its infrastructure, could manage to stage an event of this magnitude in the time now available.’
The reviewed plans set by the Indian government increases security presence by hiring an additional 5000 officers for Deli. The 5000 strong force will be responsible for security on the city’s metro system to the Central Industrial Security Force, a parliamentary unit.
For the event to run smoothly from 3rd -14th October, he Standing Committee on Home Affairs said ‘urgent measures’ had to be made on safety.
The government assured the CGF that it is working closely with the Australian security firm Intelligent Risk to implement the recommendations, made through a series of eight meetings between now and next October.
India is nation that requires this opportunity to illustrate that it is serious competitor in the international sporting platform. The city has made clear revisions of its security measures. Not only will the games contribute towards boosting tourism and the economy, but transform India into a nation capable of hosting world class sporting events.
The Games are scheduled to be in 2010 congregating 4000 athletes from over 80 nations.

Should obese children be taken away from their parents?

2008-10-16T12:24:00.001-07:00

Childhood obesity in the UK has become a recognised problem by the government, it has been estimated by the BBC to cost the NHS and the economy £2.6 billion a year.

At a recent Local Government Association (LGA) conference David Rogers the (LGA) public health spokesmen, suggested councils are being forced to take action when children’s health is at risk. There is a serious concern when a child is very overweight; the LGA has informed social services to treat the cases as parental neglect. In extreme cases children would be taken into care to nurse them back good health. The LGA also commented on the fact that if malnourished children are in danger then the same should apply to overweight and obese children.

These measures are not just for the future health of these children but the potential costs they could incur on the NHS in the future.
Obesity in the UK is already affecting government spending, local council tax is being increased due to the need in larger furniture and equipment such as classroom chairs gymnasiums to cope with bigger children’s needs. Hospitals have to hire winches, larger beds and ambulances are being adapted to have extra wide stretchers and stronger winches.

The Department of Health has taken action in the form of warning parents through letters from the Local Primary Care Trust, informing them if their child has become overweight. This is to be done through the national weight and height programme.

The focus should be on educating the parents of these children, many adults are not educated on the dangers of bad a diet for themselves or for their children.
Preventative measures should be considered by the government in educating parents and children on the importance of health diet and exercise to prevent future costs on the NHS.

The FA

2008-08-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

The FA is known as one of the richest sporting associations in the world, yet they can not seem to find the money to put together a national side to compete in the Olympics. With the 2012 looming the FA seem to waste money on the ridiculously expensive and late Wembley Stadium, the cost of the 'arch' went well into the millions. It obvious this money could have been better spent on grass roots projects. Surely those that complain about the lack English players in premier league should blame the FA for the lack of nurtured talent that is clearly out there.

Consequently there have been many 'talks' of an academy in Burton but to no avail, with countries such as Nigeria and Brazil with their own talented sides doing well at Beijing, isn't time the FA stepped up and actually did something?