A miserable sports discussion

(Published in Slovak Sport daily)

The success of the junior ice hockey team in Canada sparked a brief flash of public debate. But did that success come about by chance, the coach’s work, favorable circumstances, or a solid and systematic approach to talent development? A few voices spoke in favour, and a few timidly against, the project of having the under-20 national team compete in the top domestic league. After three weeks, an oppressive silence settled in among influential media, despite there being no shortage of topics worthy of analysis.

Let’s mention just a few outside of ice hockey: the multiplicity of youth talent funding channels, three elite sports centres, the long-unchanged system of sports high schools... A familiar pattern persists in Slovakia: a sports achievement, or the appearance of one, is followed by three days of shallow commentary and long-term silence. The disappointment following the London Olympics lasted perhaps a millisecond longer than usual, mainly thanks to a public spat between a private TV station and the Olympic Committee.

Since the winter Olympic gold medal, things have been touchingly calm—until now. No visible initiative has come from the Slovak Olympic Committee and, unfortunately, little from the sports federations either. There is no leader, no driver of change. Not even the ministry with “sport” in its name plays that role. The 20-year strategy has long since been eaten by moths. The debate about three hours of physical education in schools died at birth, and the project of afternoon cooperation between federations and schools faded just as quickly.

Two months have passed since the public poll, and nothing.

Athletes are waiting. Various respondents in Šport point out how excited they are that a new law will finally solve sport’s problems. The bigger issue, however, is that many of them can’t recall a single idea from it. With a little over a year to go before elections, the ministry has still not officially published any substantive proposal for reform—let alone new initiatives.

What’s missing are ideas, proposals, visions - something to agree or disagree with, and most importantly, something to discuss.

And the key issues haven’t changed in years. Nine years ago around this time, the author, along with Peter Goliaš and Eugen Jurzyca, released many proposals for national-level sports development as part of the Viktoria project. The main systemic change, “define funding priorities and allocate money based on a ranking system and a formula: success multiplied by popularity,” was only slightly adapted and put into practice years later by Minister Čaplovič.

The second priority: getting more children and youth involved in sports, especially in schools is only being implemented very slowly. Many of the 25 points from 2006 remain relevant today. For example, the ongoing failure of sports federations to support highly gifted young athletes, many of whom stop training due to financial hardship. Back then, we proposed creating a ranking of extremely talented young athletes who would receive state support. We improved this proposal in a 2012 ministry document.

What’s the conclusion in 2015? It’s high time to put the cards on the table and publish substantive proposals. If the current minister can’t handle it, maybe the former one can. Even through a parliamentary bill.