London’s Olympic legacy intangible, but real
Baca Juga
With the running of the equestrian events of London 2012 right away consigned to history, the contestation leading upward to the selection of Greenwich Park equally the venue for the Equus caballus competitions is right away a distant memory.
In his address to in conclusion week’s National Equine Forum inward London, British Equestrian Federation Chief Executive Andrew Finding told delegates why Greenwich was chosen, as well as gave an insight into the procedure to acquire to London 2012.
With equestrian sports at diverse times beingness at run a jeopardy of beingness dumped from the Olympic Games, Finding said his squad developed a vision to raise the global profile of Equus caballus sport as well as to secure it in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee (the IOC) equally a sport for retention inward the movement.
“Early inward 2003, I stood alongside my small-scale working political party at General Wolfe’s statue, overlooking the World Heritage Site that makes upward Greenwich Park.
“We placed iii recommendations earlier the leaders of our Olympic disciplines. They were, in order: first, Greenwich Park, second, Horse Guards Parade as well as Hyde Park, as well as third, Regents Park. We won the bid to host the Games inward Singapore inward July 2005. But why was Greenwich as well as so controversial? We struggled to communicate our declaration effectively as well as to convey accurately the potential nosotros saw for the venue. We also struggled inward the human face upward of some conflicted interest, the exclusively understandable persuasion that for years nosotros possess got staged outstanding events at Hickstead, Badminton, Burghley as well as Windsor as well as assumptions that since ours is a reason sport the Games should move staged inward our traditional heartland – the countryside.
“We also faced a media get developed yesteryear some inward the Royal Borough of Greenwich nether the NOGOE banner as well as parts of the press determined to spin and, frankly, acquaint appalling distortions of the truth. And, I am boundary to say that the FEI, the international equestrian federation, captured the anti-Greenwich bug.”
Despite this, Finding said that Seb Coe as well as organising commission LOCOG were resolute. “They saw the vision as well as from the
outset looked upon Greenwich equally 1 of the greatest of the iconic venues – nosotros pressed on.
“Were nosotros nervous? We sure enough were, but our faith didn’t waiver.”
He said the squad was determined to demo that the sport didn’t involve an “undue grade of exceptional treatment, that it tin move staged inward the centre of a major global city, that it doesn’t involve hundreds of acres of land, that a temporary venue is quite acceptable, that nosotros could bring the world’s media to our show”.
“Never earlier possess got nosotros seen so many spectators at an equestrian trial inward Great Britain. Over the iv weeks of the Olympic and Paralympic Games nosotros welcomed some 400,000 people to Greenwich to witness our sport. We also wanted our athletes as well as officials to experience they were an integral business office of the Games, to drive the benefits of habitation wages as well as to alive at the pump of the greatest demo on earth. And, as well as so they did. They loved every infinitesimal of it.”
Finding also pointed to the unprecedented success of Britain’s equestrians, taking habitation v Olympic as well as 11 Paralympic medals. “The iii Olympic Gold medals came from the dressage team, the demo jumping squad as well as the individual dressage Gold came from Charlotte Dujardin; the silverish from the Eventing team; as well as an individual bronze from Laura Bechtolsheimer.
“Never earlier possess got our dressage riders won an Olympic medal of whatever coloring as well as our showjumping team in conclusion won a gilded medal inward Helsinki inward 1952. We took xiii Olympic riders as well as xiii horses to the Olympic Games, 12 returned habitation alongside medals, only 1 missed out. That’s a remarkable strike rate. They are all heroes.”
Two weeks later, the Paralympic riders as well as their horses took upward residence. “They were supported yesteryear the same bird of professionalism as the Olympic riders. This remarkable squad of five athletes, 1 inward each of the Paralympic classifications (1a, 1b, 2, 3, as well as 4), won xi medals, 5 Gold, 5 Silver as well as 1 Bronze. They entered xi classes inward all as well as won xi medals – that’s a 100% bang charge per unit of measurement – and it’s an astonishing achievement.
“Our Olympic as well as Paralympic riders topped the FEI’s medal tables winning to a greater extent than medals than any other state inward the public as well as together equally a British equestrian squad they won to a greater extent than medals inward one Games than whatever other equestrian state has always won.
“Our Olympic athletes represented 2.4% of Team GB but won 10.35% of the gilded medals as well as 7.69% of the overall medal tally. On the Paralympic forepart they represented 1.67% of the athletes as well as won 14.71% of the gilded medals as well as 9.17% of the overall medal haul. Our athletes were precisely outstanding inward every regard.”
A controversial aspect of the games was that the venue as well as equipment equally packed upward as well as redistributed elsewhere, leaving some questioning the legacy for equestrian sport.
But Finding said “Legacy agency dissimilar things to dissimilar people, for some it is bricks as well as mortar, stadia, tangible
as well as visible high functioning venues.
“For others, it’s learning, education, systems, governance, coaching standards, drug-free sport, it’s profile, reputation, professionalisation, high levels of enquiry as well as development, long-term financial support for farther high-performance success as well as community support. Support for immature people, for men as well as women as well as for the disabled, for novel participants as well as those who desire to supply to sport.
“For many of us it’s either business office or all of these things.”
He said the team’s brain legacy benefit, was to secure a long term hereafter for our sport equally business office of the Olympic as well as Paralympic family.
“The costs of running permanent stadia inward legacy way for a unmarried sport are real high. For us a unmarried high functioning venue would compete alongside those already inward place. There are many disused as well as unsustainable Olympic facilities across the public to bear witness the point.
“However, nosotros possess got been determined to flora novel venues to run into specific needs inward the London area as well as to better the character of our existing stock of high functioning venues, equally good equally to support those riding facilities that demo the greatest potential to increment levels of participation.
“With Sport England’s back upward the Ebony Horse Club inward Brixton opened earlier the Games as well as shortly an all novel centre volition move opened inward Greenwich to serve the needs of Hadlow College as well as the Greenwich community. We possess got invested inward improvements as well as upgrades to a attain of riding facilities both inside London and further afield. We volition move investing inward farther facility upgrades where nosotros tin move confident that those upgrades volition back upward to a greater extent than people riding for the kickoff time, as well as through our “Take Back the Reins” programme, as well as our novel first “Trot to move Trim”.
“With Sport England’s continuing back upward nosotros volition invest where nosotros tin move sure that nosotros volition increase the levels of participation, thence using the Games to inspire nevertheless to a greater extent than activity. We must as well as will reduce the waiting lists for people alongside disabilities. Over 24,000 disabled people ride inward over 500 clubs as well as nevertheless nosotros are non able to satisfy the demand as well as volition increment the opportunities for more through a newly funded accessibility scheme.
We also intend to increment progressively our investment inward the existing stock of high performance centres inward back upward of our elite riders at venues that are good located as well as run into demand. We volition pay special attending to the needs of our Paralympian riders.”
Finding also said that the British Equestrian Team would practice into the 2016 Rio Olympics alongside a good developed high-performance system. “Over the in conclusion decade our systems, our governance work, our coaching programmes, our application of scientific discipline inward back upward of both horses as well as humans as well as the teaching of our people possess got made an immeasurable departure inward the way nosotros compete on the public stage.”
He said that in conclusion calendar month Hartpury College had announced substantial increases of upward to 35% in applications for a attain of their courses. Russell Marchant, the Principal, said “When I speak to young people it’s clear that the Olympics has had a large touching on as well as opened their eyes to the possibility of edifice a career inward the sport or equine industries.”
In closing, finding quoted FEI president Princess Haya: “It’s been a busy as well as wonderful yr for equestrian sport – including 1 of the greatest sporting events of the 21st century, the London 2012 Olympic as well as Paralympic Games. They were the best Equestrian Games ever.”
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