August 13, 2005
Sport who now?
Wonko is doing a fantastic job at exposing the disgrace that is Sport England, a body which is apparently very keen on funding a British Cycling team but see no merit in an English Cycling team because an English team would be crap somehow. The Scottish and Welsh teams, on the other hand, are permitted to ride by some body called the UCI (don't they also fund rather large cinema screens?). The view of Sport England on how competetive these Scottish and Welsh teams will be is not yet forthcoming.
The reason, apparently, that Wales and Scotland can ride is that the are classified as regional teams which I am sure will come as a surprise to those most excellent of nations. England is, apparently, not a region of something. Can I assume that it is a nation in its own right? No, not really. Apparently Scotland and Wales are nations in their own right whereas England isn't.
Those of you who are confused about the issue (and who can blame you) need to keep in mind the aim of our political masters to downgrade England from a nation into a mere collection of individual and competing regions. The legacy of this is that England is viewed by various semi-official and officious bodies as neither a Nation nor a region in the United Kingdom and positions such as that taken by Sport England and that 'cinema company' are the result.
Wonko is angry:
Sport England is a disgrace to this country and a disgrace to English sport. Scotland and Wales don't need Sport England's support, they have their own bodies. English sport needs an organisation behind it that is interested in England only, not the whole of the UK. Why would a British cycling event that has no English team inspire an English youngster to take up a sport that his or her country is not represented in?He also makes the excellent point:Sport England's attitude towards English sport is absolutely disgusting and I will be making my views known to the Minister for Culture, Media and Sport and anyone else who will listen. When the English people see what blatant disregard Sport England has for the English people I can only hope that those responsible for policy are as quick to resign as they are to disregard their own country.
Firstly, the British team presumably has a good chance as it is the first choice of British riders according to you. As Team GB consists entirely of English riders, it therefore follows that all the best British riders are English. Going on this, I fail to understand how an English team would be worse for English sport than not having one at all.Entirely of English riders. Riders who are not permitted to ride for their own country.
Look to the future when Sport England changes its name to Sport English Regions. It seems that only then will the North East English Region finally manage to ride against their bitter and very different somehow South East English Region rivals. Without such a brave move from Sport England there is no chance of the E word appearing on a cycling shirt any time soon.
