Dr Lucas Marie’s Post

Great article out over the weekend, Travis Tygart! "The Olympic movement is rife with examples of sports hijacked for national and political purposes. And the very agency charged with safeguarding clean competition, WADA, is implicated in the political theater." "Ultimately, WADA’s failures will damage the Olympic Games themselves. Who wants to watch unfair races or rigged events?" "The very future of the Olympics—together with its ethos of amity, respect, and fair competition—is at stake. How many medals will be stolen from clean competitors by doped athletes—even under the noses of Western and other democratic leaders at this summer’s Games in Paris—before those who purport to back the Olympic movement take decisive action? If the Olympics are to be more than an arena for great-power games, world leaders need to act and resume their responsibility to back the world anti-doping effort. The soul of fair sports depends upon it." U.S. Anti-Doping Agency https://lnkd.in/eseVNgjj

As Australians all turn their gaze to the Olympics, it is a very good time to remind everyone in all levels of government of the importance of sport in the well being of our country. Sadly, of late, we have had to rely on the foresight of long gone governments for our sporting facilities, as modern governments make sports facilities less of a priority for its citizens. We need more pools, multi-court facilities and open space if our children of today become the Olympians of tomorrow. In this election year, why not ask your local candidate how they plan to improve the access to sporting facilities for the next generation of Australians ?

The European Olympic Committees - EOC and the European Commission are united in their dedication to the European Sport Model, which is characterised by its pyramidal structure, openness, and solidarity. This model is vital for promoting healthier, more active communities while respecting the unique nature and autonomy of sport. Central to our efforts is the focus on athletes, whose perspectives are crucial in shaping decision-making processes. We are committed to enhancing access to education and training for athletes, and supporting dual career schemes. Sport organisations across all levels, from grassroots to elite, play a key role in ensuring accessibility, especially for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. They also contribute significantly to community building and the development of young athletes, officials, and referees. Financial solidarity schemes are essential, allowing revenues from elite events to be reinvested in grassroots development and education, ensuring a robust and supportive ecosystem for sport throughout Europe. Together, we are committed to preserving and advancing the European Sport Model, ensuring that sport continues to be a force for positive change. Find out more about our joint commitments in the Arrangement for Cooperation (https://shorturl.at/oV7NR).

The debate around the Raygun performance is FASCINATING. So much polarisation! Not many academics have managed to engage such a broad range of people in genuine discussion about a fringe cultural activity. “While some breakers see the Olympics as an opportunity and space for wider recognition, many have expressed concerns with the growing influence (and embrace) of transnational commercial organizations and institutional governing bodies in shaping and managing breaking’s future […] breaking’s institutionalization via the Olympics will place breaking more firmly within [Australia’s] hegemonic settler-colonial structures that rely upon racialized and gendered hierarchies.” Gunn, R., & Marie, L. (2023). The Australian breaking scene and the Olympic Games: the possibilities and politics of sportification. Global Hip Hop Studies, 4(1), 39-56. https://lnkd.in/gUhargDC

Once in a while I'll start what I think will be a simple, short trivia post and then it becomes an obsessively detailed article. When you're watching the Olympics *exactly* 100 days from now, and you're like, "How do they sort the countries in that parade?" you'll now have a solid resource to refer to! https://lnkd.in/eG4kug8u

"In principle, WADA’s job as global regulator is not complicated: All it has to do is apply the rules to the facts without fear or favor. But the pursuit of global power-politics in sports is a systemic problem that overrules any notion of fair play, and WADA failed to deploy its new tools effectively. When WADA received notice of the Chinese swimmers’ positives in 2021, it should have sanctioned CHINADA for its mishandling of the violations. The positive-test findings occurred just months, in fact, before Beijing was to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. So had WADA applied the rules correctly, both China and the IOC itself would have faced grave embarrassment. Instead, WADA chose to give one country—a very powerful, rising country that had already been favored as host of the next Games—preferential treatment." - Travis T. Tygart, USADA CEO Read the full op-ed in The Atlantic: https://bit.ly/3QSFMZc

It’s easy to assume that UK Sports Institute, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee, Australian Institute Of Sport and High Performance Sport New Zealand are fierce rivals and improbable allies in sharing high-performance practices and intelligence. However, the quartet have formed an unlikely partnership, prioritising collective progress over competition, for the good of female athletes. The result is the Global Alliance, and on our most recent Women’s High Performance Sport Community call, we were joined by Dr Helen Fulcher, Dr Amber Donaldson, DPT, M Physio (Manip), SCS, CSCS, FACSM, Dr Rachel Harris and Dr Richard Burden to discuss what it is and how it works. Read more about the transformative collaboration here: https://bit.ly/3ZwDhAu.

The 2024 Summer Olympics are officially here! 🌎🏅As athletes from around the world come together to compete, it’s fascinating to consider the massive economic impact on the host city. Check out this article to learn how cities prepare financially and the impact on their economies. #2024Olympics #USA

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are one of the biggest cultural events in a nation’s history. Now is the time for Australia to harness the opportunity of Brisbane 2032 and secure our place as a global cultural powerhouse. As outlined in the latest analysis from A New Approach (ANA), there are clear steps we can take to achieve this. Our nation needs a long-term national cultural plan to inform collaboration between government, industry, business and philanthropy, which could be modelled on the successive National Sports Plans and Strategies. The creation of a formalised Ministerial Council as part of National Cabinet would help facilitate the development this plan, along with a national partnership agreement for the Games’ four-year cultural program, to ensure it leaves a legacy of cultural, social and economic benefits for all Australians. To secure global impact, we should also pursue the creation of a dedicated cultural relations institute. Australia is one of only two nations in the largest 15 economies in the world to not already have an institute of this type. Learn more about how Australia can leverage the Brisbane 2032 Games to enhance its global standing, strengthen its cultural and creative industries and achieve lasting benefits in our latest Analysis Paper - 'Pathways to becoming a cultural powerhouse: Perspectives for impact in arts, culture and creativity' - https://lnkd.in/gSV2P4Jh #anewapproach #artsandculture #thinktank #culturalpowerhouse #Brisbane2032 #Seoul1988 #olympicgames

Not happening. Seriously, the IOC is well-documented to be a corrupt rentseeker. (Many sports governing bodies are). Countries that want to host the Olympics fall into 2 categories: 1. Coming Out Party (Seoul, Athens, Beijing, Barcelona, Rio); 2. We are a superpower (Atalanta, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, Sochi, Beijing Winter Olympics). Only these countries are willing to pay the mafia-price to host Games or the World Cup. Not all the coming out parties have worked out - and not everyone has convinced everyone that they are still a superpower. But if you have the money and the willingness to bid for it - it is a kind of show of power. A bit like making trains run on time. Like we (mostly) do in Singapore.