WTF? and Whine Wednesday

by Erin Gee in Blog on February 24th, 2010

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WTF? and Whine Wednesday is a regular feature on my blog. However, I felt that this week, it would be better suited at Define.

It’s week 2 of the 2010 Winter Olympics, time is running out. Presently, Canada has 11 medals. And we should have more. The Own the Podium program is receiving a lot of flack lately for the lack of Canadian performance. They are also getting heat because of their name.

What is Own the Podium?

Launched in 2005, Own the Podium’s purpose is to develop Canadian sports to achieve sustainable podium performances at the Olympic level. The program has set goals for each of the upcoming Games since its inception, Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, and London 2012. Certain sports receive this extra funding, but not all.

Achieving the 2008 goal (Top 16 medal finish), I honestly believe that the 2010 goals were considerably lofty, placing 1^st in the medal count. In Torino, Canada came 5^th, with 24 medals. During those Olympics, the host country, Italy, received 11 medals, good enough for 9^th overall.

The USA is currently on track to finish at the top of the medal count for the first time in 78 years. 78 years. It’s like the Boston Red Sox, always the bridesmaid, never the bride. But so what, right? Wrong. The USA consistently dominates at the Olympics. While they may not always be in the #1 spot, they are at least always a contender. Canada tries. Oh we try. We try so very, very hard. So, after 78 years of hard work and perseverance the USA may come out on top. Good for them. If this is the case, is it at all realistic for OTP, the COC, VANOC, SportCan, and whoever else, to expect that in the 5 years of OTP’s existence that we could come out on top? Not even a little bit. But, it was a goal that they had to make because the Olympics were at home. The public wouldn’t have been satisfied if the goal had been a Top 5 finish. So now because of their lofty goals, OTP is catching hell because Canadian’s aren’t “Owning the Podium”. But a more realistic goal, a Top 5 finish, and people would still be talking. It’s a no win situation for anyone involved.

Why AREN’T We Owning the Podium?

Really, your guess is as good as mine. It’s possible that it’s because of the immense pressure that we’re putting on the athletes. But, as a high performance athlete, I know that at this level, they thrive on the pressure. These moments are what they live for. It is these very moments, this very pressure, that make these individuals feel alive. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes an athlete can psych themselves out and underperform. In fact, many people that I’ve heard discussing this topic and from what I’ve read, feel that this is the case, that their countrymen are putting far too much pressure on them. Especially with the Own the Podium mentality.

Fair statements.

But.

If ‘Own the Podium’ is too taxing on our athlete’s mental states, then what is an acceptable mantra?

Athletes set goals. At the Olympic level, they want to be the best. And the best is on the podium. If this is a realistic goal, then what’s the harm in saying that you want to be the best? I don’t expect athletes like the Ethiopian cross-country skier to want to Own the Podium, he just wants to improve. And who knows, maybe one day Owning the Podium will become a feasible expectation for him. But, we live in Canada. We have the resources and now, the money, to Own the Podium.

When I was competing, I received $1500 monthly to train. Lucky for me, I lived at home and didn’t have to pay rent. I went to school, trained, and competed. No time for work. None of my teammates had time to work because they were so dedicated to our team, but they had rent to pay. So gym memberships, additional trainers, facilities, equipment, etc. are needed. And rent. And proper nutrition. $1500 goes fast. But Own the Podium provides extra funding for these athletes to get the extra training and opportunities. Ashleigh McIvor said on CTV that OTP got her extra ‘start’ training. Would she have gotten gold without it?

Un-Canadian?

Many people are saying that Own the Podium is un-Canadian. Un-Canadian because it is cocky and assuming, 2 things Canadians are not. This is a fair statement. However, maybe it’s time that our mentality changed, even if it’s just on a competitive level. Canadians want great things from our athletes. We want, we expect them to succeed. And yet when they underperform, we coddle them, tell them that it’s OK. And maybe it is OK because on that day they gave it their best, but we should also let them know that we expect better.

Canadians are nice and polite to a fault. Compared to the USA and other countries, we lack that competitive edge; the edge that takes an athlete from good to great. Without this killer instinct we will never achieve greatness. It is not wrong, or un-Canadian to want to be great, to want to win. These are athletes, doing what they love, making sacrifices, giving their lives for their sport. They should want to be nothing but the best. We should ALL be embracing this mantra, this program. To accept and expect less than greatness is settling for mediocrity. And I can tell you right now that these athletes do no settle for mediocrity. They may not be getting gold, or podium, all the time, but they do not settle for mediocrity. And you, as a Canadian, shouldn’t let them.

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Erin Gee

Coming from a strong sporting background, Erin Gee is one of the most competitive people you will ever meet. She can turn everything into a competition, giving her all until the she crosses the finish line. With a BA in Criminology, Erin criminological interests lie on the international level. Her other passions are fashion, softball and travel.

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http://sundaralife.blogspot.com liv

We’ve had some fantastic performances by our athletes and in some cases, gotten great results. As you pointed out, we’ve also faltered in other key instances when the pressure was on and we were heavy favourites to win. As a spectator, it’s also frustrating to keep seeing the 4th and 5th finishes time and again at these games.

I think having a program like Own the Podium is a great start if we want to be taken seriously in the international sports scene. I’m sure the program is not without faults, and it’s not realistic to think within a few years we’ll be dominating world sports, but if we want to be anywhere close, resources are needed to get there. Look at China – they are a nation that is seriously committed to dominating in the sport arenas they choose to enter. They put tons of money into their programs and put their athletes under extreme (and likely unethical) training to achieve it. i’m not saying that’s what we need to do but that’s the kind of thing we’re up against.

As for the program being Un-Canadian – what’s wrong with that? We are still a young nation that is figuring out our identity. Maybe it’s time to shed that image of being overly nice, politically correct, fuzzy-wuzzies and take charge and be the best.
http://sololisa.com lisa

Good post! Other top metal contender countries have a decades-long history of investing money and resources into developing their athletes and courting the best international coaching talent there is. I was watching CTV Olympics coverage and they talked about how China was spending big bucks to develop their curling team because it was lacking. Can you imagine something like this happening in Canada? OTP represents a drop in the bucket compared to the money other countries have spent, but nonetheless it’s a huge help to athletes. You can’t expect to throw money at the problem over 5 years and make up for the competitive gap that’s been decades in the making.

Which brings me to my next pet peeve about OTP criticism: this notion that “we put x number of dollars in, we expect y number of medals out.” The last time I checked, athletes were human, not slot machines.
http://highmaintenancewoman.blogspot.com Jordana

Great article Erin, you hit it right on the money! I feel like we are expecting too much of our athletes and expect more “bang for our buck” as they say. I heard on CTV that if you count the # of top 5 finishes, Canada is #1! Not bad I would say. I think we should encourage our athletes and strive for podium finishes, but not become arrogant like other un-named countries and chant “We’re #1!!” all the time. As long as our athletes continually improve and give it their all, then I don’t care what rank they finish in.
kellen fo

dude, that was an awesome article.
http://www.buzzbishop.com bz

Own the podium is an awesome effort. Just look how the country has come together during these games. The investment in the athletes is an investment in the country. Never mind some of the silly tv commercials the gov produces to get us to love Canada, just toss Alex Bilodeau, Virtue and Moir, and Clara Hughes on a podium with a big frackin’ grin and we will all be Canadian.

Besides, we might just own the podium in the end anyway… Euros define the medal ranks by the most golds. We’re already tied for first with shots at another half dozen.

I was an early games hater of Team Canada (and with nearly 20 finishes of 4th and 5th, there’s lots of reason to be frustrated or disappointed) but am loving the spirit with which the team is finishing up strong.

O. Frickin. Canada.