Olympic dreams
With the Olympics upon us we can settle down to watch the
best in the world compete on the world stage. Magnificent facilities set in
gorgeous scenery in a city which many of us would love to visit. Meanwhile in
the UK, Roller Derby continues apace in sports centres that are past their
best, in locations which due to their familiarity hardly seem exotic. The
Olympics seem to be in a very different league.
A few weeks ago I was chatting to a guy at my local life
drawing class. He’s a keen sailor, having circumnavigated the world in the past.
I enquired to see if he had any new sailing trips planned. Alas no, he was heading off to
the Olympics as his wife, also a keen sailor, was heading out there as a medic for
the Team GB sailing team. Wow, I thought, what an experience, I assumed that it
was all funded. But no, apart from the top athletes in the glamour sports, sponsored
by large multi-national companies, those in minority sports struggle to find
funding and many in support roles have to clear out the penny jar to get
themselves there.
Over the past few years I have forked out on several occasions for
London Rollergirls t-shirts to help get them to the Championships. This year
there is another UK team heading out to the States to compete at the highest level,
Rainy City Roller Derby. Roller Derby like all minority sports, even those at
the Olympics, struggle with funding as there bugger all money in the game, so
lend them a fiver.
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