The wrestlers didn’t sign any “papers saying the country is bad”, I’m absolutely sure of that. And skiers won’t!
“…Now if you are too proud of your president, then to compete for a medal or run for a race, you have to sign a paper saying the country is bad…”
This is a quote from an interview with Russian Wrestling Federation President Mikhail Mamiashvili in July of this year. And now, in September, the national team led by Mamiashvili performs brilliantly at the World Championships. Correct me if I missed something, but this is the first world championship in an Olympic sport, where all of our strongest compete, fight and win. And no boycott of reasonable athletes from other countries – no one refused to fight with ours – neither the Americans nor the French. Person!
And Mikhail Gerazievich is a great guy. He and Elena Valeryevna Vyalbe are two leaders of sports federations who initially did not hide their harsh attitude towards the withdrawal of Russian athletes. And his fighters did not sign any “papers attesting that the country is bad”, I am absolutely sure of that. And skiers won’t!
With all my joy for the success of the wrestlers, I did not miss two important details: the championship takes place in Serbia, and the head of the United World of Wrestling is also Serbian. This is what “a neutral field and an impartial arbiter” is in the current situation. By the way, the Spaniards did not allow the youth wrestling team to participate in the European Championship a little earlier: they simply did not give them visas. Okay, there is a difference between “the rivals refused to compete” and “the country’s authorities did not grant a visa.”
The sports psychologist is a respected and sought-after profession. But certainly not in online form
“…I sympathize with your injury and defeat in important competitions. Do not despair! I work with the best athletes in the country, provide them with psychological support and conduct mental training with a charge for success! My qualifications have been confirmed…”
Has infogypsy reached sport?
Not a day goes by without messages like this arriving by mail and on social media. And if earlier it was a massive and standard mailing, now their authors follow the events in the life of an athlete in order to “come to the aid” of the loser.
I think it’s still an artificial intelligence that writes and sends letters, but behind it is clearly an interesting person with a completely human body. Where do all these “mental advisors” and “victory coaches” (these are nicknames taken from advertising messages) come from? A sports psychologist is a respected profession and likely sought after by some athletes. But certainly not in this online form. Athletes have a great way to quickly increase dopamine and serotonin levels in the body: intense training. Don’t thank me for the idea!
How to find the right formula of rights and responsibilities in the relationship between the athlete and the federation
I follow the Norwegian press closely when they write about cross-country skiing. Norway has a huge influence on our sport, both in terms of money (all major sponsors of international competitions are Norwegian) and in terms of technology. The trends that originated there then spread to other countries.
Here is what VG wrote last week:
“…Since the advent of television, the value of sponsorship cooperation was measured by the number of people who watched the broadcast and the number of seconds the sponsor’s logo was displayed on the screen …” (I think we’ve all seen ourselves with skis of one brand or another at the finish after a victory, it’s a strict requirement from the sponsors).
…This approach is outdated and does not fit into the digital media environment. When fans follow sports, it’s increasingly digital, and on social media, they’re less interested in the process and more in the athletes themselves. More and more sponsors are looking to use athletes as influencers to promote their products and services,” explains the VG expert.
And further: why pay for advertising on shows if you can promote something to the target audience through the most popular stars for much less money?
VG here gives the example of Johannes Klebo, to whom sponsors are lining up, but the ski federation has an outflow and a deficit.
A day after the article was published, a message appeared stating that Klebo refused to sign an agreement with its ski federation. The reason is a difference in understanding an athlete’s marketing rights and responsibilities.
An excellent topic for lively discussions. Someone will refer to what I mentioned above: Klebo now needs the Norwegian federation much more than Johannes needs the federation. There are no real stars there anymore besides him. And without stars, sponsors are not interested. On the contrary, someone will remember that it was the federation and the national team that contributed and played the most important role in Johannes winning five Olympic gold medals and nine world gold medals.
As you understand, the question arises not only in Norway. What is the right balance in which athletes will strive to win, so that they can then turn their medals into advertising revenue? But so that the club/federation has the opportunity to earn money and receive dividends for its efforts?
I don’t have a clear answer, but I think this is where the best lawyers can work to find the right formula for rights and responsibilities. In fact, when I conducted a survey on my Telegram channel, up to 30% said they didn’t like “skis” and “money” in the same sentence. Yes, our fan circle is conservative…
Source : MatchTV
I am Sandra Jackson, a journalist and content creator with extensive experience in the news industry. I have been working in the news media for over five years. During this time, I have worked as an author and editor at various outlets producing high-quality content that attracts readers from different demographics.
