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Bigging Up Guatemala: A Sporting Chance
It's nice to see the Sunday Times bigging Guatemala up for a change… well it would be nice if perhaps they did it once. Amazing to see this paper giving so much press to a British team moaning about their chances in winning in this particular international sporting event (Modern Pentathlon World Championships). Are they getting their excuses in early?
That this kind of writing may be reinforcing outmoded stereotypes about countries like Guatemala (that sports journalists are barely qualified to write about) is by the by. It's seems pretty evident that the journalist (David Powell) in this case has never been anyway near Central America.
“Some 35 countries will be represented and, such is the rarity of top
professional sport being hosted in Guatemala, that the opening ceremony
will be attended by the President, Oscar Berger. If Bartu’s worst fears
are confirmed, the opening ceremony may prove to be a precursor to
chaos.”
professional sport being hosted in Guatemala, that the opening ceremony
will be attended by the President, Oscar Berger. If Bartu’s worst fears
are confirmed, the opening ceremony may prove to be a precursor to
chaos.”
Bartu and Powell are forgetting something crucial. Sport is a source of pride for all nations- and Guatemala is no different. The impact that sporting success can have in Guatemala, whether it's Juan Carlos Plata or Jaime Viñals is enormous. Questioning the right of a country like Guatemala to stage an international sporting event because the President will be in attendance implies a snooty chauvinistic regard for other nations that ironically is hardly sporting.
The sentiment that smaller nations take part just to make the numbers up- makes you wonder whether people like Powell and Bartu just see international sport as an opportunity for self-interested ego tripping and back slapping.
If international sport is really more than that- its about making it more inclusive. And perhaps we could start by stamping out this kind of bigoted attitude represented above.
Postscript (20-11-06): We were wrong, the venue was great
So Britain got silver and Bartu ate humble pie, as reported in The Times:
“Despite British officials expressing pre-championship concerns at the choice of venue, a spokesman admitted they were unfounded.
Bartu, in particular, had voiced reservations over whether Guatemala had the expertise to host the year's most important event but the spokesman said: “Any fears surrounding the staging of the championships so late in the year in Guatemala have been dispelled with well-organised days of competition.”“
…all of which kind of leaves you wondering why they bothered to report these 'voiced reservations' in the first place.
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