so we're going to win more medals at next Olympics – daft thing to say?

Me – I think it is:

– England said similar after rugby world cup, look what happened there
– crowd factor I reckon was significant in quite a few of the medals – would Hoy / Farah / Ben Ainslie some of the rowers have found that bit extra away from home?
– as above – extra motivation in training for home games
– don’t think we’ll be allowed to dominate velodrame as much 3 times in a row
– why not accept we have done well, but keep a low profile?

hoy won 3 golds in 2008
ben ainslie silver 98, gold 2000, gold 04,08,12

so for them guys atleast i dont think it would have made any difference

most of the other golds came from people that have been destroying championships etc upto this event

sports funding is going to stay the same, and seeing as alot comes from the lottery i expect that will be true.

i think we have a good chance of equaling or making better what we have got this year.

lets not be defeatest the first step to being the best is thinking your the best 😀

Regression to the mean?

This year was good, but at some point they’ll go down?

Wasn’t there more funding for niche sports this time around which will probably dry up, I did notice (or was it just publicised) a lot more medals in sports I’d never heard of or thought were in the Olympics.

Lottery funding is currently supposed to end in 2015. It cost about £25m for the swimming, not a lot of reward for all that dosh.

It cost about £25m for the swimming, not a lot of reward for all that dosh.

Much more effective at cheering people up than giving everyone in the country 38p.

Or put it another way, I’m sure most people would donate 38p to try and get some swimming golds.

EDIT: actually I think we could be onto something there. It’d be pretty easy to set up a fundraiser for sports, and now’s a good time to do it. And the more you want to see golds, the more you chip in – it works, and frees up funding for other stuff.

no funding has been confimed to be carrying on at 125 million untill 2016

Hoy – out (presumably)
Pendleton – out
Ainslie – out (surely !?)
Farah – pretty “old” next time round

there’s quite a lot of stepping up to be done if they’re to improve on 2012

I think it’s simply a function of how much money you throw at the problem, if we spend the same or more, we’ll most likely do better (unless other countries raise their game by spending more).

Wasn’t there more funding for niche sports this time around which will probably dry up, I did notice (or was it just publicised) a lot more medals in sports I’d never heard of or thought were in the Olympics.

Sport funding (whatever the body is called) was a little between a rock and a hard place this time. Some of the niche (to us) sports like handball, etc. where our heritage / world status would mean we wouldn’t normally qualify for the games, we were allowed a home nation entry. As a result they had to provide a degree of funding to put a semi-competitive team out.

Hoy – out (presumably)
Pendleton – out
Ainslie – out (surely !?)
Farah – pretty “old” next time round

On the other hand:

Annie Last: coming of age.
Aaron Cook: might bury the taikwando hatchet
etc….

However – its a really tall order I must admit.

For Hoy read Kenny

For Queen Vic, read Trotty, or maybe even Shanaze Reade, or….

BC is so sorted now in their talent identification and knowing what they are looking for, and then developing that to bear fruit, I suspect that the bigger issue will be whether anyone else can get magic wheels in the meantime. That’s not to say an exceptional talent may come along to challenge (a Bolt, or Phelps type that is simply better than the rest) but I suspect BC will always remain competitive from now on.

if we spend the same or more, we’ll most likely do better (unless other countries raise their game by spending more)

Leaving the poor countries to make up the numbers. Shame.

For Hoy read Kenny (etc)

well, yeah, but better than 8/10 medals on the track and 2 on the road ?

Leaving the poor countries to make up the numbers. Shame.

Well basically yes, but did you ever think it was anything different?

As said above Cycling is very good at talent spotting and feeding new talent into the system via world cup events in the years between Olympics that I expect the GB team to keep the success going

Wasn’t there more funding for niche sports this time around which will probably dry up, I did notice (or was it just publicised) a lot more medals in sports I’d never heard of or thought were in the Olympics.

I guess that is because GB got ‘host places’ in all sports when normally we have to qualify (or so I read recently) so there was money available. Next time around we won’t be in those sports so they won’t be featured on our channels as heavily, nor will they be funded in the run up.

EDIT: actually I think we could be onto something there. It’d be pretty easy to set up a fundraiser for sports, and now’s a good time to do it. And the more you want to see golds, the more you chip in – it works, and frees up funding for other stuff.

That is a great idea. But why don’t we, instead of just asking for 38p, ask for £1 but then give prizes back via a random draw. People will be much more likely to donate then. I bet it will be very popular so if we have any extra cash we could give it to charities and the arts and stuff.

That is a great idea. But why don’t we, instead of just asking for 38p, ask for £1 but then give prizes back via a random draw. People will be much more likely to donate then. I bet it will be very popular so if we have any extra cash we could give it to charities and the arts and stuff.

Brilliant idea, it would be like some sort of lottery, but on a national scale. We could rope in some B-list celebs to do the draw on some hard up down market TV channel….

I hope and believe we can keep this up, if not better it.

With regards to funding if you look at the money we spend elsewhere it’s not that much and while it may appear to be spent on a select few it does affect the masses – yes when we host the olympics the effect is magnified but why can’t we keep up the momentum with regular events now we have some of the best sports facilities in the world – something we have never been able to boast before.

We now have 2 fantastic velodromes and another on the way in Glasgow. I hope the stadium is kept for athletics so we can host world and commonwealth events and also host smaller events for up and coming talent with cheap tickets so anyone can go and watch. Same for swimming and the other facilities which are staying.

I also really hope the weaker sports get more help and attract more talent to try out for them.

On another note I think the way that several historic/royal venues have been used for the olympics. Obviously they can’t be kept as sporting venues but I thought it was a really nice way to get impressive venues and use them for something else. The Greenwich Park site was fantastic and I would have liked to go to the beach volleyball and shooting venues but didn’t get a chance.

I would much rather we spend money on promoting sports – both through the national team and for everyone else than the other ways we waste money. Hopefully it will become more self sustaining though by using spectator fees from events to go into the pot as people like to know their entry money is being used to fund the very sports they are watching and not going into someones pocket.

It does appear that the funding based upon Olympic performance measurement is affecting our overall performance though, leading to a peak every four years.

That is a great idea. But why don’t we, instead of just asking for 38p, ask for £1 but then give prizes back via a random draw

Cos it’s not the same thing at all!

We now have 2 fantastic velodromes

Four now, isn’t it? 5 including Glasgow.

I would much rather we spend money on promoting sports

Is funding Olympic and elite sport a good way of promoting it? I think it probably is.

Four now, isn’t it? 5 including Glasgow.

Really? Cool.

Just had manchester and london in mind but off to see where the others are now to see if there is one closer to the SW. 🙂

And one being built in Derby…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-18811586

London, Manchester, Calshot and Newport.

If the legacy of all this cycling success is more velodromes, I’ll be chuffed to bits.

I am going to play devils advocate a bit though…

velodromes and the like are bloomin expensive and and quite limited so maybe it would be better to build other facilities? If they don’t exist already of course.

tbh one of the most important sports venues I can think of is a decent swimming pool that is affordable and multi-use halls that are nice with good equipment.

Our local sports centre is now about £5 for a swim and £10 for a court for 40 minutes. Yes you can get discount cards but it’s still a lot.

I do want to go on a Velodrome though 😀

velodromes and the like are bloomin expensive and and quite limited so maybe it would be better to build other facilities?

How many leisure centres and swimming pools are there? Bloody thousands. Against FOUR velodromes. Ten years ago there weren’t any, were there?

Oh and Newport has badminton and table tennis courts in the middle, and a busy gym elsewhere in the building.. multi-use 🙂

Who’s saying we’re going to win more medals? Is there some news story I’ve missed?

Ainslie – out (surely !?)

The latest interview I saw with him he seemed to be suggesting he might go to Rio.

Though personally I’d be surprised if we even matched the haul next time – was surprised we got as many this time (very nearly put on a bet that we’d get less medals than predicted, as I thought it was all overhyped – how glad am I that I never got round to it!) There is definitely a home games crowd effect – not necessarily for the big names mentioned by the OP who have internal motivation and would have won gold anyway, but possibly for some of the less expected medalists. Also a definite home advantage in competing in a known environment – even more so for the slalom canoeing, and the equestrian, events where we picked up 4 gold medals and 7 medals in total.

The next Chris Hoy….?

http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/article/gbr20120113-John-Paul-leads-GB-sprint-challenge-at-Bremen-Six-Day-0

I’m all for improving facilities and getting more young people involved in sport but not because I want Team GB to win more lumps of gold.
The Olympic Games are a fantastic event because they are supposed to be about internationalism not medal table bollox. (For me anyway)

why not accept we have done well, but keep a low profile?

Or set a high target and strive to hit it. Why be mediocre? Why not shout about it? We punch well above our weght as a country/team and we should be proud of it 🙂

One thing I like about the olympics is that they put the team (ie country) instead of the players names.

As for velodromes – i wonder if the government can get bulk discount, surely once you have a nice design you can buy the materials and special steelwork in bulk 😀

Came across this last night, probably deserves it’s own topic but a great example of investment in Bristols trails being put to good use.

Definitely a future star in the making.

yeah happy with setting a high target – but not with shouting about it

England rugby did that – said they were targetting winning the next 3 world cups or something similar, became a bit of a laughing stock, and played into the hands of the “arrogant English” lobby

@aracer

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/9475920/Team-GB-can-surpass-record-medal-haul-in-Brazil-Olympics-in-2016-insists-UK-Sport-chief-executive-Liz-Nicholl.html

That tiny child is going faster than I would be! Wonderful!

I think that once the Olympic honeymoon is over, the initial surge in enthusiasm created by TV and media coverage has worn off, and the colder wetter weather is back with us, we will see a sharp decline in the level of interest in sports. As is always the case after big sporting events and occasions. I don’t see how, without massive financial investment in grass-roots level sport, we can continue to ride the crest of the Olympic wave. Sports cost money, and people have less and less.

Also, track racing has about as much connection to ‘real’ cycling as F1 does to ‘real’ driving. Has go-karting increased in terms of participation, since Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton were world champions?

Awwww

I think that once the Olympic honeymoon is over, the initial surge in enthusiasm created by TV and media coverage has worn off, and the colder wetter weather is back with us, we will see a sharp decline in the level of interest in sports.

this is exactly why we need to keep boosting enthusiasm. Choose a sport each month and provide heavily discounted beginner tuition across the country so people might give it a try or send their kid along for a go.

yeah happy with setting a high target – but not with shouting about it

Well I’m very happy with shouting about it. 🙂

If for no other reason but to piss the Aussies off!

I agree with discounting sports to encourage new participants, but where does the funding come from?

I would love to see the new velodrome used by locals, especially some of the disaffected kids who have loads of pent-up energy and aggression, but as far as I can tell, access is going to be very limited, and probably quite expensive. And the velodrome, along with the swimming pool, won’t even be ‘open’ until 2014. Which just seems utterly counter-productive.

I think that once the Olympic honeymoon is over, the initial surge in enthusiasm created by TV and media coverage has worn off, and the colder wetter weather is back with us, we will see a sharp decline in the level of interest in sports.

I think that in 10-15-20 years time that there’ll be an athlete on TV that’ll say “Yeah i saw the 2012 games and it inspired me to take up sport” or something very simlar….. 🙂

And the velodrome, along with the swimming pool, won’t even be ‘open’ until 2014. Which just seems utterly counter-productive.

Better to have one by 2014 than not all all though, yes?