2013 came rushing through the door and already January has flashed by. It’s all happened with plenty to talk about in the World of Sport and in the Special World of Hockey.
Let’s start with Lance Armstrong. Having read his books, what he went through in recovering from testicular cancer and his achievements on the bicycle made me feel he was a great role model but now as the truth is revealed it turns out that he is just the opposite.
Thus far hockey has been relatively untouched by doping and scandal and all I can say is. “Long may it last”. It is simply not fair play for athletes who abide by rules and good practice to be disadvantaged because others cheat. What sort of role models are these people for our young sportsmen?
Then we move to the Australian Open in Melbourne where the World’s finest tennis gladiators (except for the injured Rafa Nadal) produced wonderful tennis but sometimes in cauldrons of excessive heat. I can’t help wondering what the Medical Committees of the ATP and WTA have to say about this. I note that the presentation of the game and on court post match interviews have also been receiving increasing attention.
I watch other sports such as soccer, rugby and cricket and am amazed how many matches the top players are expected to play often with little recovery time. In rugby the “laws” of the game (most other sports call them rules) are such that the physical “demolition” of an opponent in the tackle, scrum or ruck is very much part of the game. This has resulted in many players sometimes having one or two very serious injuries per season.
Are our top hockey players “over worked, given the present hockey calendar, including the new Indian Hockey League? Do they have adequate medically approved recovery periods? Have we found the right balance including player “protection”?
I have marvelled at how soccer steadfastly refuses to use full technology. Only goal line technology will be introduced after some shocking decisions in recent years including the 2012 World Cup where England’s legitimate goal was disallowed.
Recently, watching Barcelona versus Malaga in La Liga, the TV replays showed that the linesman (referee’s assistant) disallowed 2 goals by Pedro for offsides which were perfectly good goals. So why doesn’t soccer use more technology or even change their offside rule?
All of the abovementioned cameos have direct or indirect parallels for hockey. There is no doubt that there are areas in which we are leaders (e.g. rules), areas in which it is ‘a work in progress’ (e.g. TV umpire referrals) and areas in which we have more work to do (e.g. game presentation).
It’s always healthy to take a look in the mirror and we must find a balance between enhancing the attractions of our game (for players and spectators), the morals (drug free and fairplay) and the’ heart and soul’ (traditions, loyalties and friendships) of our game!
