Job Discussion Forums

[ghost]

Rachid Ramzi, a former Moroccan national, now running under the colors of Bahrain, won the Olympic gold in the 1500m in Beijing - one of the most prestigious events in the Olympic schedule. This is the first time in the history of the small, petro rich nation, that an Olympic gold medal has been won.

It will be interesting to see whether Ramzis' medal will inspire the youth of this country to start running on a competitive level.

My feeling, unfortunately, is that this medal by Ramzi, will do little to inspire the youth in this country (Bahrain) and neighbors (UAE, Kuwait, Saudi, Oman) to start developing into world class sports stars.

Bahrain is not like Morocco, Kenya, Ethiopia, where economic opportunities and professional advancement are not guaranteed. The desire and hunger to succeed, be it for extrinsic motivation reasons, are not present in Bahrain.

One wonders, in the bigger picture, why Bahrain and Qatar are investing so much in importing Kenyan, Ethiopian and Moroccan athletes, when, for most of the population in those countries, those sports hold little, if any, interest.

Bahrain will continue to 'import' top runners and sports stars from other countries, with little, if any, 'trickle down effect.'

What is the reaction of those in Bahrain, and neighboring countries, to this gold medal by Ramzi? Is he a national hero? Do they realize that he is merely a running mercenary running for economic gain. And nothing wrong with that, as Ramzi was originally snubbed by the Moroccan Federation (athletics). He is merely doing what most EFL teachers are doing - 'selling' one of the only market skills he possesses to the highest bidder.

Discussion topic in class for EFL teachers?

Ghost

[sheikh radlinrol]

[lukey]

Gulf States citizens becoming Olympic athletes? They might enter if there were Toyota Landcruiser races. Otherwise not a chance - they will keep hiring mercenaries

[15yearsinQ8]

now appearing on the platform is mohammad khan, the driver of kuwaiti 3 meter springboard diver, essa al enzi......

in 2004, islamists raised a fit that women's events were shown on state tv - apparently the beach volleyball babes were HOT
esl topics - should women's sports be on television? would you watch them?
but also in 2004 kuwait's first female olympian, a 16 year old who only competed internationally once and in athens finished
last in every race
she has not been heard from again
my guess is she'll surface in 5 years with 2 kids and twice her olympic weight
esl topics - what sports should gulf women compete and not competein?

[Gulezar]

When new facilities were being developed, I asked my students what sports were allowed for Muslim women. They told me "swimming, shooting and horseback riding". They even told me that these were not only allowed, but recommended.

[ghost]

The performances of Rakia Al Gassra of Bahrain were especially commendable for several reasons.

She is a real native of Bahrain, born and raised in Manama (birthdate 1982), and is not a cheap import from one of the East African countries or the Maghreb.

Al Gassra also has achieved high level performance in athletics (11.12 in the 100m, and 22.65 in the 200m) wearing full gear, respecting muslim traditions of modesty. She is covered entirely in dry fit athletic wear, which, admittedly, does give an indication of her muscular and powerful build, but credit to her, nevertheless.

In Beijing, Al Gassra did exceptionally well to reach the semis of the 200m, eliminating several world class athletes in the process. It was interesting to contrast her full gear and head wear, with the skimpy-minimalist gear worn by her rivals.

In the men`s 800 - Mohammed El Salhi, Saudi Arabia, also reached the semis in the men`s 800, but could not advance to the finals, as he finished outside the top 8 times required to advance. El Salhi is also born and bred in Saudi, and not an import. Credit to him.

In the men`s 800 semis an athlete from Kuwait also took part, and he is a true Kuwaiti - not an import.

His name is Mohammed Al Azemi, and he has very good personal bests in the 800 in the 1:45 range. He was born in Al-Kuwait city in 1982. Born and bred in the region. Not easy, as there are not many good training venues in Kuwait. It lacks the mountain venues that Saudi Arabia has.

This all goes to show that sports excellence can be achieved in the Gulf countries if the desire is there. Saudi Arabia has several very good high altitude training centres in the mountains, which offer good temperatures and training for elite sports athletes.

Hopefully the youth of the region will be inspired to emulate these wonderful sports stars from the region. But I remain sceptical of the trickle down effect these stars will have.

Ghost

[ghost]

In the men`s 5000, Moukheld Al-Outaibi, who is a true Saudi, born and bred, just finished outside the qualifying spots in the semis of the 5000, with a time of around 13:44. He would have needed 13.40 or better to advance. Al-Outaibi was born in 1980, and is now 28 years old. Not old, by distance running standards, but it remains to be seen whether he has the motivation and resources to carry on until the next Olympics in London, 2012, when he will be 32. I personally think that with his small size, and economical running action - he should move up to the marathon distance. The marathon prizes also tend to be more lucrative compared with track running for people in his ability range.

Al-Outaibi was at his best in 2004 and 2005 when he ran a world class time and Saudi record of 12:58.58 for 5000 in Belgium at the Heusden-Zolder meet.

Al-Outaibi is now past his best but credit to him for trying and also kudos to the Saudi sports federation for selecting him to take part in Beijing and showing the world that born and bred Gulf runners can rub shoulders with the best.

When discussing sports with your students in the region, you may use the examples of Al-Outaibi and others to show that sports excellence can be achieved. But the interest and motivation have to be there, just the same as for wanting to learn English or any other endeavour.

The potential is there, but the easy living and sedentary habits of the majority of the youth in the region make this difficult to achieve. The desire and acceptance to live a spartan like existence, necessary for high level sports performance, are not there for most.

Ghost

[007]

Well, let's check the medal table for Gulf countries (updated today 21st August):

Country GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL
BAHRAIN 1 0 0 1
QATAR 0 0 0 0
KUWAIT 0 0 0 0
KSA 0 0 0 0
OMAN 0 0 0 0
UAE 0 0 0 0

Whereas Ethiopia which is a poor country and does not have petrol, and which export athletes to the world has 3 medals!!

Ethiopa 2 1 0 3

So, you can judge by yourself!
There is no culture of sport in the Gulf countries, there is only eating, drinking, sleeping, and dreaming!

[sheikh radlinrol]

Words of wisdom, as always, from 007. I like your new avatar. Could you explain its significance to us?

[007]

[johnslat]

Dear 007,
Did your new avatar come, perchance, from this site?

http://www.sfusd.k12.ca.us/schwww/sch618/Calligraphy/Calligraphystyles.html

Regards,
John

[007]

Yes.

[scot47]

I do not know about Bahrain but in KSA there is ZERO interest in the Olympics. ZERO !! Zilch. Nada. Nothing.

[ghost]

Interesting to note that Turkey, which is fast developing economically, is importing Ethiopian athletes by the dozen. They have more than 4 athletes competing for them, and one of them - Abeygellesse - has won two medals in the women`s 10,000 and then tonight in the 5,000 with a magnificent silver in the women`s 5000. They also have a couple of guys.

In the past, only so called `rich countries` could afford to import players from third world countries. Now it is fast developing countries like Turkey importing sports people.

Morocco is also developing at a phenomenal rate thanks to massive foreign investment, and low to non existent trade and tax barriers. Morocco does not have many natural resources, but human capital is rich.

A Moroccan scholar in Montreal, recently commented that Morocco is now at an economic level that Spain was at around 1980, and fast increasing in economic progress.

Will we have the strange situation in a few years time, when Morocco catches up (according to theory) to other Euro developed countries - that Morocco itself will import runners and athletes from less developed countries? That would seem strange, but Turkey is already doing that.

Ghost

[007]