Sport but not as we know it

Like many, before the Olympics I was a typical British sceptic, fed up with all the hype and spiralling costs. However, when they arrived that all changed and I too was swept up in the wave of euphoria generated by Team GB's performance, kick started by my beloved cycling with Lizzie Armitstead's silver in the women's road race.

Then followed two weeks of magical experiences and moments that turned the nation into one, proud, united nation.

But then, what struck me was that the unexpected happened. In many previous Olympic years, once the closing ceremony finishes, everyone moves on and enjoys remembering a few select moments from those two weeks. The broadcasters and public seem to completely forget that there is another massive sporting event taking place - what rightly holds the title now of the second largest event in the world. The Paralympics.

For many years this hasn't so much been seen as the poor relative of the Olympics, more like the black sheep to the Olympics. And unfairly too.

Ironically, in 2008 host nation China, a country infamous for its lack of human rights and communist structure played an instrumental role in catapulting the Paralympics closer to a level playing field with the Olympics - examples such as telling giant global corporations that they could not choose to sponsor the Olympics but not the Paralympics, and putting the Paralympians in the same athletes village that the Olympians stayed in are just two examples of how they helped the advancement.

Its not that long ago that Paralympian athletes were staying in school halls or with kind supportive families, relying on volunteers to ferry them to and from venues for the games - and even then many of these didn't take place in the same venues as the Olympics, and it wasn't that long ago since the Paralympics took place in a completely different country to the Olympics!

Its also strange though to think how advanced the Paralympics have become. The first games (not even then known as the Paralympics, but the origins of the games) took place in Stoke Mandeville in 1948 - hence the Paralympic mascot being called Mandeville. And in just 16 games we reached London. Now, in the UK we have some of the world's brightest stars and biggest players in Paralympic sport.

David Stone - Won Gold in London, his third Gold medal

Hannah Cockroft - Winner of 2 Gold medals in London

Jessica-Jane Applegate - Gold medal winner in London 2012

Maddie Thompson - Youngest member of Team GB's Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team, tipped for a huge future

What I loved most about the games was the way in which those taking part were viewed and treated - an opinion shared by many of the athletes taking part (and if you are wondering how I could possibly know, well its because I have personally spoken to them). That is, as athletes with a disability, NOT disabled sport, or disabled people trying to do normal sport. They weren't patronised, molly coddled, talked down to or pitied. This made a massive difference.

I think a major part in this change in view and attitude was due to the coverage of the Paralympics and the media's attitude towards the games. At first I didn't really get why they were being covered by Channel 4 instead of BBC, but once the build up began, I got it. Two of my abiding memories of the whole summer were the Channel 4 ads - Superhumans and Warm Up

These ads put the Paralympics not on the same level as the Olympics for me - but ABOVE them. It really hammered home just what so many athletes have gone through before they even reach their chosen arena - some have been involved in car accidents, bike accidents, explosions in Iraq or Afghanistan, involved in sporting injuries or born with birth defects. Whatever their back story, it made them who they were - a superhuman, and I felt privileged to watch them perform and honoured to be a fellow Brit.

Above all I think there has been two great legacies created by the Paralympics - the way it has encouraged disabled children to get into sport, and secondly, and what I believe is most importantly, it has changed the countries perception of disabilities and those that live with them daily.

I applaud their strength and character, their humour, their passion, their drive - and their sporting ability.

To all Paralympians - I am in debt to you all. Thank you for opening my eyes and showing me and the rest of the world the beauty of the Paralympics.

Can 4% be anything other than disgraceful?

EVANGELICAL STATEMENTS AND STRONG OPINION ALERT!

First things first - I know some people can't and if this is the case, then there is no reason for you to feel guilty about the following. However, if you can, I make no apologies if the below makes you uncomfortable.

What am I talking about? I'm talking about blood donation.That magical red stuff that courses around our bodies and enables our bodies and organs to function properly, that does all sorts of magical things I can't even begin to explain, and much I don't even understand.

But there IS something I do understand. That's the numbers. Only 4% of those ELIGIBLE to give blood do so. I know many feel faint, have had bad experiences, been advised they shouldn't or can't for one reason or another, but some...some have no excuse.

4%. Every time I see it makes me angry. Every time I see it I struggle to comprehend it. Every time I see it I feel disappointed. If you think 4% is enough, let the numbers tell you the truth. Just look at the chart below.

Out of all the blood groups, the largest current supply is 9 days. 9 days! 4%. 9 days. It's a disgrace.

A human body contains 8 units.

On 13th June 2007 my son Connor was born. Following a difficult birth my wife Lindsey needed an emergency blood transfusion. 4 units. Half her bodies blood supply.

Put as simple as possible, Connor has his Mummy and I have my wife of 10 years and counting because of the generosity of 4 strangers. I may pass them in the street. I may never come in to contact with them. But I thank them daily.

I admit I never gave blood before Lindsey's transfusion. I doubted I would be eligible because of medication I take. I hate needles, and have done since a young age after more blood tests than there are days in a year. But that day was the biggest kick up the arse I could get.

I won't lie to you. There have been times when I've donated that the needle going in hurts. I don't like the needle being inserted each time I donate. I always turn away when they do it. But from the time of the needle going in your arm it takes approximately 10 minutes to donate a unit. 10 minutes. Who can't spare that 3 or 4 times a year? We all spend more than that in a supermarket queue, filling our cars with petrol or skipping through TV channels each year. They encourage you to eat before and after your donation to keep your blood sugar up and help this by giving you free biscuits. Surely that's an incentive on its own?! In addition to all this, the staff are awesome. At my first donation, I told them of my fear of needles and nervousness, and they made me feel incredible. I lost count of how many times they thanked me, they gave me one on one care through out the donation and brought me a supply of drinks and biscuits until I told them to stop.

I left that room feeling amazing. I had done something amazing that day.

I have now given blood 7 times and have my next donation already booked for January 2013. I have also joined the British Bone Marrow Register.

You may be reading this and thinking "bully for you" or "get you, you little cocky git" or worse. But this isn't about me saying "aren't I amazing!" and seeking praise. It's about raising peoples awareness, getting people thinking. Ultimately, it's to ask the question...

Can you, and will you give blood?

Sporting Fair Play - but not with equality

Here we are in the year 2012, the modern era - a time of austerity, but a time when many things have improved from centuries gone by.

A combination of watching Downton Abbey and live sport this weekend has got me thinking. Whilst the  inequality divide seems to be shrinking in many aspects of modern life, Why is this not the case in sport?

As previously mentioned, 2 of my favourite sports are cycling and cricket.

In cycling, the elite male riders can earn upwards of 2 million Euros a year, and there is a minimum wage in place for base level pros of £30,000. There are then of course win bonuses, endorsements, sponsorship etc which can top up the earnings pot each year. And there are more races to earn winnings or at least race fees from - from January right through to October, races varying from 1 day to 3 weeks, with the majority of the Pro Tour level (cycling has different levels of events, such as Pro Tour and Pro Continental - a bit like football leagues) receiving live coverage on some channels, or at least highlights. In fact, as I write this, the Paris-Tours race is live on Eurosport with highlights scheduled for later.

With the boom in the sport recently following the Olympics the public's demand for cycling has grown fantastically. But this is one of the anomalies for me. For most people who watched Olympic cycling, there is no differential in their mind between men's and women's - names like Laura Trott, Lizzie Armitstead and Vicky Pendleton are mentioned as frequently as Sir Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins and Ed Clancy, yet when it comes to the professional side of the sport this doesn't continue.

Significant issues are arising within women's cycling, many caused by the economic climate, but races are being cancelled at an alarming rate and teams are going under on an annual basis - Lizzie Armitstead, one of Britain's and world cycling's best riders has had to change teams three years in a row because teams have folded. When HTC Columbia folded last year it was major news within world cycling and the most disappointing aspect for me was that it also saw the end of their women's team. Because, unlike many Pro Tour teams, they had set up a women's team which also formed part of the structure of the organisation. Yet not many others have. Granted, Garmin have before, as have Orica GreenEdge when they formed last year, but there is not many other "dual" teams. This to me is an incredible shame, imbalance and a massive missed opportunity.

Recent reports suggest Dave Brailsford is considering setting up a new women's Team Sky to help nurture British talent whilst also bringing some of their ways of running a team to the women's game, but I have to ask myself, why didn't they do this three years ago as part of the formation of Team Sky? I'm not interested in the 'logistical difficulties' blah blah blah, as if they had wanted to, they could have. This is another area I feel the UCI is slacking on. I think the UCI should require all new team set ups to have a women's AND men's team to increase the competition and quality of the field in women's cycling.

Then there is the issue of the races. Whilst I believe women's racing can be as exciting if not more so - the women's Olympic road race was full of aggression, attacking riding and non stop action, compared to the men's where too many teams were on the defensive from the word go - there is no reflection of this in terms of races and coverage.

I would love to see women's versions of all men's major races take part throughout the year too. This would need time to develop year on year, but they should have regular grand tours like the men's Vuelta, Giro and Tour - yes they have versions but on many occasions these have been cancelled due to lack of funding. They should have the Spring classics, the season opener Tour Down Under and the season finales in Europe again. Why not simply run a women's version of each event a day later or earlier? For so many of the Spring classics for example that take place on Sundays, women's events could take place on Saturdays. The men could support the women and vice versa. The women's route could be slightly shorter than the men's. This would also encourage "dual" teams as it would mean they could have all their riders in one place, and could run on less back room staff. I think it would appeal to sponsors as its part of the package and they get more exposure for very little extra.

Speaking of money, that is another issue. The top women make a standard wage by comparison. Many women domestiques (the term for riders who's role is to help the team and team leader) will earn less than 10,000 Euros a year! And then there is the running of a team - teams like Omega Pharma Lotto, Orica GreenEdge and Team Sky all operate with annual budgets of around 5 million Euros, female riders reckon a women's team could be run for 10% of this!

If this type of model seems impossible, just look at women's cricket. The finals of the Twenty 20 World Cup are on today. The women's final between England and Australia took place before the final of the men's between Sri Lanka and West Indies. Incidentally, the England women's team are the best in the world - but how much do we hear of it? They have won numerous Ashes tournaments, but did they cover it in the media like the Men's team? Women's cricket is growing massively and they have found having their games before men's matches - in some cases one of their internationals before a men's county match has meant they have bigger crowds, a better atmosphere, and more to play for. Surely this is what every sport deserves? If tennis can achieve equality in pay and level of competition, why can't other sports?

Sport has been male dominated for too long, like the world in general. Isn't it about time this changed? We have all taken much from the Olympics - I just hope more sports governing bodies take a look at their sport and ask themselves - "are we equal?"

Cycling + doping = awkward

Cycling. Doping. For many, inside and outside the sport, fan and non fans the two subjects/activities go hand in hand.

I have been following cycling avidly since I was in my early teens, and the events of the 92 Olympics and the infamous Lotus bike that Chris Boardman rode to Olympic Gold in the Individual Pursuit grabbed me completely. The design and the look of the bike along with the atmosphere in the velodrome and the speed they could achieve just consumed me. I began to learn more about road cycling and attended the Wincanton Classic in Leeds when it first hosted it in 1992, and attended each year until it moved to Rochester in 1997.

This was an unbelievable experience for me, I got to be up close to the teams, chatting to the riders, getting autographs, even discussing bikes in later years - Sean Yates and Max Sciandri complemented me on my Raleigh Team Banana bike because of its colour scheme!

I chatted to Max and Sean and other Team Motorola riders at the Wincanton Classic in 1992 (which became the Leeds International from 1994-96 if I remember rightly). One of these other riders was a fresh faced, cocky, brash and chatty 21 year old American by the name of Lance Armstrong.

Following this interaction with these British and American riders who were so at ease with the public, they became the idols of the skinny and awkward 15 year old Jamie Strachan. I hadn't learnt to ride a bike yet (after having hearing issues when I was younger, I had a gromit put into my ear which affected my balance, meaning I didn't learn to ride a bike at the same age as everyone else). Following meeting these guys and seeing them race I began watching road racing when it was shown - this was primarily 30 minutes of highlights on Channel 4 when the Tour de France occurred in July each year. The Tour de France became my  inspiration to learn to ride. I decided one summer that by the time Lance, Sean, Max and the rest came down the Chance Elysee I would be able to ride. And I was.

My affection for cycling grew and my idolisation of Lance became even greater. I remember his stage wins in 1993 and 1995. I cheered him on. I cried when his team mate Fabio Casertelli died on a decent on stage 15 in 1995 and cried again on stage 18 when Lance won and dedicated the win to Fabio.

I was amazed and delighted to see him come back from cancer and win seven tours on the trot. I had seen Miguel Indurain win 5 on the trot and I wasn't a big fan, but here was MY idol, who had fought cancer and returned and won 7 in a row!

Following some of the rumours that followed about Armstrong doping, especially after Floyd Landis, I put it down to a bitter ex team mate who never had the potential or ability to be as good as Lance. This man had beaten cancer, who would he dope? As he said "he had never tested positive".

But when more and more issues arise, more and more people come out with statements, you HAVE to look into it further.

Doping and cycling and not easy bed fellows. From such a long history, you would imagine they would be very comfortable around each other, but like any difficult break up with addictive elements, it is an awkward situation. Cycling as a whole is trying to distance itself and become a clean sport, but issues keep arising to drag it back into the debate.

The two major incidents in recent years being the Festina Affair (when a team employee driving a team car was stopped by Police, and found to have hundreds of doses of doping products along with doping paraphernalia such as syringes, tourniquets etc) and Operacion Puerto (a Spanish Police operation investigating the doping network of a Dr Fuentes).

Operacion Puerto is an interesting one. There is too much content and detail to go into here but the main element is that he helped athletes dope and also performed blood transfusions on these (removing their own blood at particularly beneficial times such as following a key training phase) and transfusing these back when a rider was fatigued during a major race. I say athletes very specifically as athletes from other sports were implicated, such as Spanish footballers and tennis players. Yet neither of these sports carried out in depth investigations and in the case of tennis, the governing bodies never even reviewed the evidence. Yet cycling is the worst sport apparently.

This is my biggest issue. I am passionate about cycling. And passionate about CLEAN cycling. I despise doping, primarily for two simple reasons - it is destroying the sport I love and is cheating.

Riders such as David Millar are rare. Someone who doped and is now an advocate for clean riding. Hypocritical you may say. However, no other current, or retired pro rider discusses so openly about their involvement with doping, and this is where cycling does have a problem. There is an issue referred to as Omerta. It is the silent code of secrets that goes on. Unfortunately the sport has to deal with the likes of Lance Armstrong, Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde and Alexandr Vinokourov who have been convicted of doping, banned yet still claim they are innocent and have never apologised for their actions. Vinokourov, is one of the worst in my opinion. I have significant doubt over his ability. In the 2011 Tour de France, he broke a leg. He retired. He therefore, became exempt from doping controls. Then this year, a couple of months into the season he announces he is returning to the sport and wins an Olympic gold medal. After breaking a leg less than a year ago. And being past the prime ago for cyclists. That period of 'retirement' would have been an excellent chance to go off and 'prepare' ('prepare' is the term dopers use for the period they dope and prepare for a race) for his return and remain exempt from doping controls. Handy eh?!

For a long time I too was in denial about how big the situation was, and how deep it went. And who was involved. I recently read David Millar's book which was eye opening, but not as much as Bad Blood by Jeremy Whittle. It was a hard read, as much as for the fact that it shattered some of the illusions I had about my favourite sport. Including Lance Armstrong. Jeremy covers some disturbing issues including the way Lance dealt with whistle-blowers who tried to raise the issue of doping, including public humiliation and bullying. Not traits you look for in an idol.

Then to top it all off, Tyler Hamilton released his new book last month. I haven't read it yet but apparently it blows the lid right off Armstrong's involvement with doping and its use to help him win.

I find it heart breaking how people who make a living from a sport can treat it so badly - I don't think people around me who don't love cycling the way I do get how much Lance's behaviour has affected me, its a type of betrayal - my hero and idol has destroyed all perception I had. I lost blood sweat and tears learning to ride - inspired by him, and his achievements, when he was most likely doping to win.

I believe the sport, beginning with its slack arsed governing body the UCI needs to get its house in order. Implement life bans for dopers, or if you are going to let them back after a ban, a) make them serve a full length ban - not like Alberto Contador (who funnily enough was linked to the Operacion Puerto affair) who was given a two year ban but only served six months; and b) relegate them to a low level team to rehabilitate and work their way back up allowing smaller teams to benefit from their ability, and c) force them to undertake a rehab programming including owning up to doping and giving full information about their involvement in doping, who supplied it etc.

I don't know if cycling will ever be completely clean - and that makes me sad. However, knowing that cycling is more open about its doping history, and works to deal with it publicly (even though it could do more) makes me proud, at least it isn't swept under the carpet like other sports do.

I am still proud to be a cycling fan, and passionate about my favourite sport. I hope the inspiration of clean athletes like Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Laura Trott, Lizzie Armitstead and Sir Chris Hoy can inspire a younger generation to come through the sport - clean.

If you have read this far thank you! And sorry for the rant. And talking so much. But you can't say I didn't warn you!

Strax shares...

If you know me, you will know I am a person who is never short of a few words - not always logical, coherent, appropriate or intelligent, but never less, always able to make a contribution.

If you don't know me, and have stumbled across this blog in some way shape or form, welcome, and you will soon realise I say a lot!

I will also state this now - this is my chance to air my views and opinions on stuff. I don't expect you to agree with me all the time, or always like what I say, but to be brutally honest, that isn't my biggest concern, so if you are some troll who sees this as an opportunity to abuse someone you don't know and have never met, save your finger tips and move along, I have more intelligence than you and will always have the last word - its my blog after all! For the rest of you though, please feel free to comment, as many of you know, I won't always agree with you but I always respect others opinions. And I truly appreciate constructive feedback - Wakey and Linz know this more than most as they had to give me more than most!

Anyway, as you can see I can talk. I should have added "not always on subject/wanders off on tangents frequently" to that list...

So this blog is my talk space - as the name says, for Strax to share. The main topics for this blog will be:

Cycling
Photography
Cricket
Blood and organ donation
Mental Health
Asthma
The charity sector
Civil responsibilities
Bullying
Family
Customer Service
Fitness
Eating (perfectly suited next to each other don't you think?!)
Banks
and general Ranting

But in true corporate small print style, this list is not exhaustive and I reserve the right to talk tripe about anything I see fit at any time.

So, thats the first one done and dusted, I hope you enjoy - genuinely, thank you for taking the time to visit and read, I really appreciate it.