Nine-year-old wins competition to design coin for London Olympics

A new 50 pence coin to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, designed by nine-year-old Florence Jackson from Bristol, England, will be officially launched this week.

Florence beat more than 17,000 entries to win the contest, which was sponsored by a long-running BBC children’s television program.  She’s the first child ever to design a UK coin.

After winning the competition, Florence said: “I am so excited. It was a real surprise to win.

“I’d never entered a Blue Peter competition before, but really wanted to take part because I love drawing.”

The coin depicts a high-jumper, a subject Florence choice because she  thought it looked fun.

This year marks 40 years since the introduction of the 50 pence piece - the UK’s most distinctive circulation coin.

In April, double Olympic gold medalist Becky Adlington helped unveil a special collectors coin to mark the countdown to the London Games.

UPDATE: Sometimes even the simplest stories become mired in controversy.  Turns out Florence’s father is a (soon-to-be) executive of the TV network that aired the contest. Wonder if that will affect the outcome of the coin competition? We hope for Florence’s sake, that it doesn’t.

What’s new at the Olympics?

For a non-Olympic year, the Olympics have been in the news a lot lately.   There’s the controversy over whether female ski jumpers should be allowed to compete at the next Winter Games, the debate over which new sports should be added to the programme  and the choice of venue for the 2016 Games.

So let’s review (don’t worry – there won’t be a test).  The next Olympics takes place in Vancouver in February 2010. The Winter Games feature a lot of popular sports, including figure skating, skiing and snowboarding, as well as more obscure sports like curling and skeleton.  We’ll start to profile all the events soon so you’re up to speed on all the action.

The biggest story relating to the Vancouver Games concerns a group of women ski jumpers who aren’t being allowed to compete (despite the fact their male counterparts have been doing so for decades). After appealing to the IOC (International Olympic Committee), they’ve taken their complaint to the courts.  IOC President Jacques Rogge has repeatedly denied the women’s requests and their  case is scheduled to be heard in the BC Court of Appeal Nov. 12 & 13 – just three months before the start of Games.

The next Summer Games will take place in London in 2012.  Baseball and softball were both  dropped for the 2012 London Games in a move many believe discriminated against Americans who dominated in both sports. Japan, however, won the last gold medal for softball and eliminating the sport from the Olympics was a huge blow to women around the world who play the game.

What has been added to the 2012 Games is women’s boxing.  According the the IOC, the  change reflects the IOC’s desire to continually refresh the Olympic programme and its commitment to increase participation by women. Kind of ironic given their stance on women ski jumpers. And their recent pressure on Muslim countries who fail to support the participation of female athletes.

The Sochi Winter Games 2014 seem to be relatively drama-free although there are  activists protesting Russia’s politics who have demanded the 2014 Winter Olympics be moved from Russia to a new site. Despite the protests, the Sochi Games are moving forward with new venues and attractions currently under construction.

The most recent Olympic fanfare had to do with the venue of the 2016 Games. A number of cities vied for the chance to host the games including Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio.  Chicago appeared to be a top choice and President Obama and TV Queen Oprah Winfrey appeared before the committee on behalf of their city.  Much to their dismay, Chicago was voted out on the first ballot and the Games were awarded to Rio de Janeiro – making it the first time the Games will be held in South America.

Golf has successfully scheduled a tee time for the 2016 Olympics. The sport returns to the Games  for the first time since 1904 amid the spectacular backdrop of Rio de Janeiro’s sand and sea. Golfers will compete for Olympic medals, but the greater promise for the sport is that the game catches on in countries where golfers are few and golf courses are even fewer. Michelle Wie, for several years the world’s best known female amateur player, helped lobby for golf to be included.  She told the IOC  that putting golf in the games would give young girls everywhere something new to aspire to.

Rugby also got the nod for the 2016 Games after a campaign of its own to show off the sport to a wider audience. The IOC  voted to include rugby sevens featuring 12 men’s and women’s teams.

The two sports share an Olympic history of sorts, both making their debuts at the second modern games in Paris in 1900. Golf was played again only in 1904, while 15-a-side rugby was in three more games, the last the 1924 Paris Olympics.

Both golf and rugby had to make some concessions to win their respective vote. Golf promised the IOC it would not stage any other major championships during the Olympics, while the Rugby Sevens World Cup will be canceled.

So, stay tuned. Despite the fact that the next Olympics are still four months away, there seems to be no lack of drama relating to the Games.

Softball players aim to impress IOC leaders this week in Switzerland

The leaders of seven sports hoping to join the Olympic program are in Lausanne, Switzerland this week making key presentations to the IOC .

All seven candidates – baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby sevens, softball and squash – are seeking a place at the games from 2016 onward after being rejected by International Olympic Committee members in 2005.

Olympic softball player (and current WSF president) Jessica Mendoza is joined in Switzerland by Michele Smith and other international softball athletes to make the case to reinstate the sport.

She’s confident the IOC will make the right decision but implores everyone to visit www.backsoftball.com to show their support.

For more background on the IOC decision to drop softball in the first place, Women Talk Sports has just posted a great podcast with sports journalist Christine Brennan discussing the Olympic Committee’s decisions to remove Softball from the Olympic Summer Program in the first place as well  as its refusal to add women’s Ski Jumping to the Winter program. In the interview, Brennan states, “Jacques Rogge, the IOC President, is in danger of having his legacy…be that he did more damage to women’s sports than any IOC President.”

There are a number of other sports hoping to make it into the games as well. Squash and karate were closest to Olympic status four years ago, after baseball and softball were voted out of the 2012 London Games.

Both advanced past golf, roller sports and rugby sevens in successive rounds of voting, but finally fell short of the required two-thirds tally of IOC members.

Hoping to bolster golf’s bid, Annika Sorenstam also arrived in Lausanne to plead the case for her sport.

World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinos said his federation had worked hard since Singapore to improve its marketing and appeal.

No votes will be cast Monday when each of the sports gets a 45-minute slot to impress the Executive Board. All 15 members, led by President Jacques Rogge, have received a report from the program commission which vetted the seven last November and attended major events.

The board meets again in August at Berlin to choose two from seven that will go before the full IOC membership for approval at their October session in Copenhagen. Voting rules have changed and a place on the program awaits either or both shortlisted sports which get a simple majority.

The IOC wants sports with universal appeal, which will not burden a host city with added costs and have a proven record fighting doping.

International Softball Federation president Don Porter said his sport would support the Olympic movement’s values.

“The ISF has made tremendous progress in the last few years, pushing forward our vision of a clean, inclusive, and accessible sport that enriches the lives of tens of millions of people around the world” Porter said.

Baseball suffered four years ago from a perception that the major leagues were slow to embrace drug testing and could not deliver top players to the games. Its presentation team Monday includes Donald Fehr, leader of the Major League Baseball players’ union, and Jean-Pierre Moser, anti-doping manager for the International Baseball Federation.

Squash proposes to play in mobile glass courts it will donate to the host, and has secured pledges from top-ranked men and women players that an Olympic medal would be the sport’s highest honor.

“We feel that we fit the bill for the IOC’s requirements” said World Squash Federation president N. Ramachandran.

Karate and squash will point to having world champions from all continents.

“We estimate to have 100 million supporters and we always have full venues at our events” World Karate Federation president Antonio Espinos said. “Karate can be organized in any venue of the sports already on the program.”

The IOC is said to prefer adding one individual and one team sport, which could favor rugby sevens after it scored well with program commission observers at its World Cup event in March.

Auriemma to be named U.S. Women’s Basketball Coach

The NCAA championships are over, the WNBA Draft is done and just when you thought there might be a lull in women’s basketball comes major breaking news.

UConn’s Geno Auriemma, 55, will be named coach of the U.S women’s basketball team through the 2012 Olympics. The university has scheduled a news conference for Wednesday in Storrs.

Auriemma just won his sixth national title at UConn as the Huskies finished off an unbeaten season (39-0) by defeating Louisville in the NCAA women’s final last week. He will serve as head coach through the Summer Games in London.

According to the Hartford Courant:

Auriemma is the first active college coach to head an Olympic team since Tara VanDerveer in 1996. Auriemma became eligible to coach the Olympic team after the USA Basketball executive committee approved a rule change last month. In the past, the Olympic head coaches were required to have WNBA coaching experience. Now the coach must only have five years experience as either an assistant or head coach at any level at the time of the selection.

The U.S., which has won four straight Olympic gold medals, will first have a chance to qualify for the London games at the FIBA World Championships in 2010 in the Czech Republic. The winner of that tournament will receive an automatic berth to the 2012 Games

Olympians Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, former UConn players who also won national titles playing for Auriemma, are likely to be on the U.S. roster.

Being a big UConn fan, this news is huge. There’s no doubt Auriemma is an amazing coach and will serve the U.S. team well.

Surely pundits will have a lot to say about the news in the coming days and months so we’ll keep you posted.

Gender Equality in 2012?

I’ve seen the recent articles pop up about Britain’s Olympic minister Tessa Jowell calling for gender equality if London wins the bid for the 2012 Games. Did you know that 40 more events are offered for the men than the women at the Olympics? That’s 120 medals the women are not allowed to chase. This issue is of obvious interest to me, as it was only in 2008 that my event, the 3000m steeplechase, was added to the list of events for women. Guess who won the Trials in 2004 but couldn’t go because there was no steeple at Athens?

I’m not the only one affected by this. Women have been steepling since the 80’s with no final goal of making the Olympic Team being an option. The columnist at the link below echoes my exact sentiments on this issue, so I see no need to elaborate other than to say, to those who think, “How many women are going to want to wrestle at the Olympics anyway?” think again. If you build it, they will come. If you offer an event, they will train and they will focus and they will surprise you. They will chase that gold just like anyone else if you create the opportunity. Just ask the best steeplechasers in the world, who used to run the 5K or the 1500m or who used to not run at all. Ask Jenny Barringer, the second fastest indoor 5000m runner the U.S. has ever seen, and also the American Record holder in the steeplechase.

If you are still uncertain, then I have a question: “Why not?” Why can’t we offer the same events for women as men? Is there any reason other than that’s the way it’s always been?

Please read the below column by Barney Ronay of the UK’s The Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/feb/17/olympics-2012-sexism-tessa-jowell

Making a case for 2016 Olympics

November 13, 2008 – How does one sport or event get voted into the Olympics while another doesn’t?

BMX made it’s debut in Beijing and the International Cycling Federation wants to include a freestyle event for the London games.

But last year, attempts to introduce skateboarding to the London Olympics failed.

The sports for London 2012 have already been decided but there are currently seven sports short-listed for consideration 2016 Summer Games. Only two will be added.

Leaders of baseball and softball, along with five other sports seeking inclusion in the Olympics, will present their cases to the International Olympic Committee in Geneva this week.

Golf, karate, roller sports, rugby and squash officials will also meet the 16-member commission, which will deliver a report to the IOC before the  members vote in October.

Baseball and softball were dropped after the Beijing Games because they didn’t receive enough votes in 2005 to remain on the 2012 program.

Read more

All-woman sporting version of The X-Factor

September 4, 2008 – The London Games are four years away but already Britain is on the hunt for Olympic Gold.  An all-woman sporting version of The X-Factor has started auditioning for fast-track training in cycling, canoeing, rowing, sailing and modern pentathlon. It’s all part of the effort to identify athletic girls who have what it takes to stand on top of the podium.

More than 900 hopefuls are participating in Britain’s increasingly sophisticated talent hunt for London 2012. Contestants leap their way through a high-jump series, pedal a static bike and haul away at two rowing machines as a first step to possible Olympic gold.

A force behind this recruitment drive for young athletic women is Girls4Gold – an organization spearheaded by cycling champion Victoria Pendleton and Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman.

The aim is to uncover hidden talent with the potential to rise to the podium at London 2012 and beyond. Girls4Gold’is the latest in a series of talent identification initiatives led by UK Sport and the EIS on behalf of targeted national governing bodies.

It will introduce promising female athletes into specific sports and boost Britain’s overall talent pool by embracing those sports where female athletes have a real chance of medal success.

British women aged 17-25, who have competed at county level or above in any sport, are invited to apply.

China made a concerted effort to win a record number of gold medals at the Beijing Games and it looks like the UK is following suit. With this newly fueled interest in female competitors, look out world – London’s calling!