The Olympic Torch Comes To Bournemouth: A Special Review

Published in Nerve Magazine in October 2011 in collaboration with James Hartnett. 

When Coca Cola perched their iconic red bus down at Talbot Campus to give people the chance to get their photo taken with the Olympic Torch, anticipation for 2012 to kick off got that little bit more real. Nerve Sport headed down to the event to catch all the hype that next year is already giving off, with interviews from all the key people involved.

On the road since May, the Coca Cola Torch Tour is travelling to every major town and city in the UK to give people the opportunity to become part of London 2012 by having their photo taken with the historic torch, as well as nominating 1 of 8000 torchbearers who will carry the Olympic flame through Bournemouth next year. With the tour now reaching its finale, the NUS tour is the final leg, with the bus visiting 20 selected universities across the UK, making students the only candidates left available to become torchbearers.

The torchbearer themselves will become part of a completely unique Olympic event. By taking part in a 70 day tour across the UK, 8000 people will travel 300m each through their own town or city with the Olympic flame; a feat that has never been performed at any Games before. The idea behind this is that 95% of the UK population will be within 1 hour drive of the Olympic flame, and for people who weren’t able to get tickets for 2012, this is a way of feeling a part of the legacy. It is estimated that within the 70 day tour, the flame will travel 8000 miles across the nation until the opening ceremony kicks off on July 27^th.

Bournemouth is set to have the torch towards the end of the tour on the 13^th July, and according to organisers, the town the flame ends up in each night will host a huge celebration, with a range of musical artists and events to commemorate the occasion, all whilst the flame remains alight.

Yet the day wasn’t simply about the torch, it was about promoting all things Olympic, whether that be university based, or through the local community. Sport BU used the day to increase sport participation at the university, with rowing and kicking competition as well a punch bag tournament, designed to increase student involvement in sport. This was supplemented the presence of various volunteering opportunities, including the Relays (Regional Educational Legacy in Arts and Youth Sport) which aims to increase sporting participation to schools around the area in conjunction with 2012.

Andy Cope –Coca Cola Torch Tour Team Representative

Part of a small team touring every corner of the UK, Coca Cola Torch Tour Representative Andy Cope spoke to us about the journey.

“We’ve been on tour for about 3 and a half months now, and visited over 100 locations. We will literally finish one evening and drive up to 100 miles to our next location. We’ve done all the music festivals, most of the theme parks and currently this is the last leg of the tour; the NUS tour which will last 4 weeks.”

Talking about the aims of the tour, Andy highlighted the importance of getting everyone involved in next year. “2012 is a huge event for the UK as a whole, and I know loads of people that have applied for tickets and haven’t been able to get any, myself included. But the Olympic torch tour will go all around the UK, so everyone will be within 1 hour drive of the Olympic flame.We know how much it means to everybody. Everybody loves the Olympics here.” As students are the only remaining candidates eligible to become torchbearers, Andy reinforced the importance of young people representing Britain, as they represent the brand motto of “Future Flame”.

“People at university are the future and young people are leading us there, so we want young brand ambassadors that people can look up to and bring fresh ideas to the community.”

The decision to who the 8000 torcbearers will become will be passed to a panel including Olympic athletes, brand ambassadors and the International Olympic Committee, and Andy claimed the board were looking for passion.

“We’re looking for future flames so someone with a passion for anything. It could be sport, environment, or anything that gives back to the community. You need to sell yourselves to us and we can decide whether you can carry the flame next year.

The arrival of the Olympic Torch was obviously the focus for the day, and Andy explained the fascinating story behind the Olympic flame’s journey:

“The flame is always lit by the power of the sun, using a parabolic mirror in Greece. It is then transported by private plane with 24-hour security alongside back up flames from the original fire source.

You can’t just light it from any means; it has to be from the sunlight in Greece. If it any point, all the back up flames do go out (which won’t and hasn’t happened), we would have to transport it back to Greece to relight it. So in reality, the flame itself is more important than the torch. “

Virginia Bailey

Virginia Bailey, the schools coordinator for local volunteering scheme Relays (Regional Education Legacy in Arts and Youth Sport) spoke of her pleasure in welcoming a leg of the Torch Tour to Bournemouth.

“Visually it’s been fantastic.  It’s starting to get people really excited about next year, and it’s been a great platform to launch everything Olympic related that we’re doing down at the university.”

“These guys have been on tour since May, hitting every corner of the UK to get everyone involved in the biggest sporting event in the world. It’s a brilliant idea”

Due to the scope of the event, the Olympics has facilitated for a number of volunteering opportunities available next year. Virginia spoke of the impact: “We’ve already had 100 people sign up to various volunteering schemes so today has really fore fronted the various ways students can get involved in the Games.”

As for Relays, which aims to improve school involvement in sport in the build up to the Olympics, Virginia said she would love to see one of her volunteers chosen as a torchbearer for Bournemouth.

“All our volunteers have been brilliant, not only today but with their overall contribution to Relays in general. One of our guys has just won a South West award for volunteer of the year, so hopefully some of our people have a good chance of becoming a torchbearer.”

Toby Horner – SUBU President

As one of only 20 successful university applicants, Bournemouth University’s Student Union President Toby Horner spoke of the impact the event had at BU.

“The torch is an excellent thing to have, and not only for the university but for the local community too. We’ve had schools coming along today as well as members of the public, so it’s a really good thing for Bournemouth in general, not just the university.

Students have now been given even more opportunities to get involved in sport thanks to new sportBU schemes. Toby told Nerve: “It’s great to see that sportBU have a presence at this event, and we’ve got people recruiting volunteers locally for the Games when they come to Weymouth. It’s just about highlighting the different ways that students can get involved in sport and be part of the Olympics.

“Here at BU we have the initiative to get students more aware of the Games and heighten excitement. In our bid we had a BU Medal Challenge for students taking part in pre-Games physical activity, ranging from free social sports and sport club parties to free group fitness sessions for students taking part in social and group sports.

On the back of a grant from Sport England, sportBU are also running Free Your Fitness – a campaign promoting taster sport sessions throughout the term to really get students involved in sport, be it on land or sea.

Amanda Kevern – Sports Development Officer

SportBU’s Sports Development Officer Amanda Kevern also spoke of her excitement after the Torch Tour, and has high hopes of student involvement in sportBU this year.

“The Coca-Cola tour has allowed us to promote volunteering opportunities within sport, directly linked to the Olympics, be it through participation or volunteering. As well as sportBU promoting physical, healthy activity, we also played host to RELAYS – an Olympic-based athletics project – and the Weymouth and Portland ambassadors scheme – a volunteering opportunity for students wanting to help at next year’s sailing events down here.”

Thanks to the various schemes sportBU offer, the Olympians of tomorrow may only be a stone’s throw away. “Our varsity programme is where we do our elite end of sport. We have students represent us as teams and as individuals, and last year we came 30^th out of 146 institutions in the British Universities and College Sports (BUCS) competition, being the lowest-populated university of the top 30.

“Athletes also represent us at an international level, and attend the World Games for universities. Alongside this, we also give scholarships for athletes that represent us at a national level or above.”

Dividends often pay off for sportBU athletes, and the university boasts a fleet of talent. A proud Amanda said: “Our golf team is the best in England, and often get invited to represent BU on a large scale.

We also have England football squad trialists, with one player put on the reserve list to represent Great Britain at the World University Games in China this summer.

“Ultimately though, we strive to push both ends – participation and elite – and although varsity trials have finished, there are other ways of getting involved in Sport BU, such as intramural or social sport in the lead up to the Games and beyond.”


Check out the magazine layout for this article, designed by me - http://issuu.com/tobygray/docs/olympic-bus

NBA Lockout: European Effect

Published online at SQ on October 6th 2011

Possibly the biggest talking point in the world of basketball at the moment is the potential NBA lockout for the forthcoming season.
After the current CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) contract expired between the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association and the NBA at the end of June, negotiations into player salaries have broken down, and with that the NBA season has been put on standby.

Whilst the NBA wants to implement a ‘hard’ salary cap that decreases salaries to combat wavering audience numbers, the players want to see their salaries increase, or at least stay the same. Both parties are standing firm on their proposals, with NBPA president and LA Laker Guard Derek Fisher explaining his disappointment in not reaching an agreement on labour, but reinforcing the player’s unity in preparing for whatever the lockout brings.

Much like the NFL lockout that happened this year as well, it is extremely unlikely that the lockout will last all season, as there is far too much at stake financially and professionally for the NBA to not resolve. This said the regular season looks increasingly unlikely to start on time, and as happened in the 1998 lockout, it may have to be shortened considerably.

At the time of writing, labour discussions were moving forward, but were nowhere near conclusive. However, its effect on European basketball could be of big benefit. Several high profile players have already considered relocating to Europe if the season falls short, including LA Laker superstar Kobe Bryant who claims he “hasn’t ruled out” playing abroad, with Turkish team Besiktas reportedly in contact with Bryant’s agent about a possible switch.

The likes of Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Denver Nuggets forward Gallinari are also looking to possible switches abroad, which at the cost of the NBA, will benefit European basketball massively, as the worlds best players may be forced to relocate and boost the publicity of other leagues, if only for a short while.

Olympic Basketball: Team GB's Shot at the Big Time

Published online at SQ on October 2nd 2011.

With 2012 fast approaching, and the anticipation hotting up nicely, Team GB are deep in preparation for their biggest Olympics yet.

For British Basketball, London 2012 holds massive importance. Team GB were granted automatic host participation by governing body FIBA back in March, making it their first Olympic appearance since 1948, an achievement that hopes to boost the popularity of the sport nationwide.

According to James Tombs, the Head of Commercial and Business Operations for the British Basketball Association, its significance for basketball in the UK is huge.

“The fact that all sessions have been sold out during the first rounds of ticket sales means that there will be an awful lot of people that will experience world class basketball for the first time and in doing so realise that GB have great men’s and women’s teams. Hopefully many of them will become fans after.”

Talking about the knock on effects for British Basketball, James highlighted the impact of media coverage and increased live spectators in giving the sport a profile in the UK that has never existed before.

“It would be fantastic if this could generate greater interest at the grassroots level of the sport which in time can deliver a more sustainable sport and begin to produce greater commercial investment allowing further development in all aspects of the game, both amateur and the professional league.”

We may spring some surprises, particularly with a partisan crowd.

  

Yet whilst the sport will certainly benefit from the Olympic inclusion, highlighted by the long campaign by the BBA to secure it, the expectations of the team must stay realistic. Team GB has mentioned a medal as a ‘realistic target’, yet the combined ranking for the men and women’s team is way down at 86, and with teams like Spain and Lithuania dominating at this year’s Euro Basket, mixed with the seemingly unstoppable force that is the USA, who have won 6 of the last 7 gold’s, a medal is a massive goal to push for. Although confident, Tombs maintained the main goal was for the team to just leave everything out on the court and with the home support; see what happens from there.

“We may spring some surprises, particularly with a partisan crowd. It generally provides a bonus for any team playing in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. We would hope that the home support, as we experienced during the test event will help the guys and girls to go that extra step.”

It is this confidence that has helped Team GB push forward and develop massively over the past few years. The men’s team picked up their first ever finals wins at this years Eurobasket against Portugal and Poland, and with the inclusion of NBA star Luol Deng into the squad, who helped the Chicago Bulls clinch the Eastern Conference and reach the conference playoff final, the position of British Basketball is better than ever.

As for the team, both the men and women’s squad have seen some great performances in the summer. The experience of the likes of 65 time capped Nate Reinking, who Tombs describes as a “consummate professional that always delivers when you need him to”, is pivotal, as well as many younger players beginning to take more responsibility in the achievement of the team. Constantly improving forwards Dan Clarke and Joel Freeland have been stand out players of the last year, cementing their place in squad for their versatility and intelligence.

Our inclusion means lot of people will experience world class basketball for the first time, and realise Team GB have great teams.

Coach Chris Finish has applauded his players for their development over the last few years, expressing how the strong performances in this year’s Eurobasket will have a knock on effect for 2012. Whilst Finch has admitted that the team is still learning, and mistakes have to be ironed out before the summer, the basis for a successful campaign is there.

Yet whilst it remains to be seen whether Team GB can truly push forward and challenge the top ions of international basketball, with a lot of work still to be done to topple the likes of Australia and Spain, let alone the mighty USA, its inclusion is a massive step forward. It gives British Basketball the publicity that has never really existed before, and a chance to prove themselves on the world stage in front of the vibrant home crowd.

So come 2012, Team GB will step out onto the court looking for medals, and never has there been a better time to secure one.