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Death in the Luge in Vancouver - Is This a Symptom of Something Else?

19-02-2010

DEATH IN THE LUGE IN VANCOUVER – IS THIS A SYMPTOM OF SOMETHING ELSE?

The Olympic Games are a media event. Opening ceremonies use high tech show business tricks to woo the prime time TV audience. The message is clear. Sport can be a bridge between people, transcending cultural and political differences. Animosities can be temporarily put to one side. These are the “motherhood statements” which are part and parcel of the extravaganza.

One minute’s silence was observed for Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died during practice for the luge event. That done, the show must go on!

There are some large elephants in the room however. Organisers of the Winter Olympics soon had people sliding on that fatal track again, with the help of some quick carpentry at the site of the accident and by shortening the men’s course.

The luge is an example of an “Extreme” sport. “Extreme” used in the sporting context usually means “extreme danger” ie. a high risk of serious injury or death. Few individual sports have escaped the push towards greater risk taking in sports of the past decade. This presumably reflects the preferences of the audience, and the likely “good footage” which is possible. Any random viewing of sports-dedicated pay TV will produce xtreme motor cross, xtreme skiing or snow boarding and young males (and sometimes females) fighting “no holds barred” in a cage.

Young people in the prime of their lives, mainly male, but increasingly female, are prepared to risk injury or death, presumably for money and/or fame.

Sports of all kinds select talented individuals at younger ages for special training. This is a reflection of the degree of specialisation required to be successful at the elite level in any sport. One wonders about the thousands of kids who are trialled by various sports “institutes”, but fail to make the cut. What does that experience of abject failure mean for them? Maybe, on reflection, they’re the lucky ones. Once the long process of preparation for elite competition beings, a chain of events is set in motion. Sport becomes central to young people’s sense of who they are. What about those who begin this process, but have to drop out, usually due to lack of financial support or a career ending injury? What about the “third best” athlete who trains just as hard, but doesn’t make the team?

After years of personal investment young people have an expectation of success, at least in the short term. Elite 20 something sports people are not particularly concerned about their retirement plans. They feel full of life and invincible.

The big money and exposure in sport is in televised events. Promoters of these events need to provide “entertainment”. Often this translates into people pushing to do ever more extreme moves; this makes better TV, and scores more points! It is also more dangerous and appealing to a ghoulish audience. There is nothing new about ghoulishness, witness the Colosseum. The only difference is that the events at the Colosseum weren’t televised.

The other elephant in the room is politics. The Olympics have become a way of making a political statement. Host nations use this medium to “sell” messages about themselves eg China’s emergence as a powerful economic force was demonstrated by their impressive production of the last Summer Games.

In the sporting arena, success also says something about a country’s worth as a nation, not to mention its investment in expensive sports institutes. As Aussies, there is a large amount of reflected glory to be had from the success in sports. Generally we punch way above our weight, especially in sports requiring year round outdoor training. Our climate is in our favour. Success in sports is equated with prestige on the international stage. This has been the case since the early 20th century in Australia. As an emerging nation this is one of the areas where we could signal our presence to the world.

So where does this leave us? The Olympics seem to be here to stay. The huge TV audiences reflect their appeal. Ditto extreme sports. They seem to have the same ability to entertain.

If this is the case, there might be a time when “extreme” becomes “too extreme”. The problem is that extreme risk is becoming normalised by peoples’ repeated exposure to it. Herein lies the problem. It is also big business, “show business”!

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