Other Multi-Sport Games Discussion Thread

[Olympian1010 8,073]

  On 6/1/2020 at 3:48 AM, JohnFoyne said:

@Olympian1010 I did. John Foyne is my "pen name" John Moorhead is my given name. I was the punter on the team, and was forced into place-kicking duties when our kicker couldn't make the trip. Our funding was pulled last second and our 45 man roster shrank to 32. I arrived in Wroclaw on July 20th in time for the opening ceremonies. Some of my teammates didn't arrive until the morning of our first game vs. Germany. We only had one team practice the night before the game. France had a two week long training camp, Germany was in the middle of their season, and Poland had their team together a month before the game. However, not to take anything away from those nations. Each of those countries have tremendous american football players and those guys can ball. The German League is third in the world in my opinion, behind the NFL and CFL. However, if provided at least another practice or two it would have been a different story. This actually all goes back to the USOPC not really recognizing non-Olympic sports. Other nations have their own organizing committees for non-Olympic sports. It also has a lot to do with the IFAF split in 2015 and IFAF recognizing two separate NGB for American Football in the United States. It was a cluster f***. Regardless, it was an amazing experience and really got me into international sports and multi-sport events, which is why I'm here! I could write for days about the World Games, IFAF, USOPC, and NGBs - I have some strong opinions as you may have seen on twitter  

Also, coaches and trainers do NOT receive medals at the World Games. Just like the Olympics, only athletes can receive medals. Now, I know with the American Football tournament, 45 medals were made for gold, silver and bronze. France brought 46 players with them, I am not sure why, but I do know that they could only dress 45 for a game. In the semis against Poland one of their players was seriously injured, so their injury replacement dressed vs Germany in the final. Therefore, I believe that one French athlete did not get a medal. On the other hand. We only brought 32. That means somewhere in Wroclaw there are 13 bronze medals floating around  

 

https://worldgames2017.sportresult.com/nh/en/-120/Participant/ParticipantInfo/c57c2f19-b5f1-4ca7-91f9-a1631303c6a5

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Ah okay, thanks for clearing that up. I was going through all my PDFs, and I was a little confused. Yeah the USOPC policy around non-Olympic sports is a killer. It’s a shock that we do do well at the World Games actually. I believe RUS, FRA, ITA all have NOC support (or similar organization like you referred to). It makes sense why they do so well, and have pretty deep programs in some of these sports. The size of the U.S. also makes a lot more sense to me now, so thanks for that info as well. I know it’s not the result y’all wanted, but I’m pretty sure you broke a lot of hearts in that bronze medal game . IFAF is a mess. Regarding the medal situation, if the 46th French player played in a game, then he is entitled to a medal. They OC may have only had 45 made, but I bet I received one (or some prize) later (again, if he played). 
 

How’d you get onto the US National Team for American Football? Was that the plan, or a nice a backup? I enjoy talking with multi-sports games athletes about their experiences, so I have more questions too if you don’t mind.

[John Foyne 34]

  On 6/1/2020 at 4:18 AM, Olympian1010 said:

Ah okay, thanks for clearing that up. I was going through all my PDFs, and I was a little confused. Yeah the USOPC policy around non-Olympic sports is a killer. It’s a shock that we do do well at the World Games actually. I believe RUS, FRA, ITA all have NOC support (or similar organization like you referred to). It makes sense why they do so well, and have pretty deep programs in some of these sports. The size of the U.S. also makes a lot more sense to me now, so thanks for that info as well. I know it’s not the result y’all wanted, but I’m pretty sure you broke a lot of hearts in that bronze medal game . IFAF is a mess. Regarding the medal situation, if the 46th French player played in a game, then he is entitled to a medal. They OC may have only had 45 made, but I bet I received one (or some prize) later (again, if he played). 
 

How’d you get onto the US National Team for American Football? Was that the plan, or a nice a backup? I enjoy talking with multi-sports games athletes about their experiences, so I have more questions too if you don’t mind.

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It is honestly kind of embarrassing to be an American athlete at the World Games. Many of the nations you just mentioned, are kitted out in style. Wearing much of the same gear that their fellow country men and women wore a year earlier in Rio. The USOPC gave us nothing. No money, no kits, no welcome, no formal gathering for American athletes. We all walked into the opening ceremony in different attire, which was to be given to you by your NGB. I can understand from a money perspective as to why the USOPC won't fund non-olympic sports, but even if you look at the Pan Am games, it doesn't seem that they care much. Also, I took some time between my event and the closing ceremony and visited Germany. During my stay, the country was pretty buzzing about the World Games. Newspapers, 24/7 coverage on Eurosport, you get the idea. My friends back here have no idea what the World Games are. Maybe this perspective will change in 2022 with it in Birmingham, but a lot of that has to do with the lack of backing from the USOPC. For an event that was created in the United States, it doesn't get much love here, which is a shame. 

 

I do feel a little poorly about beating Poland on their home soil, after they gave us such a hard fought game. If anyone deserved a medal it was them. Those guys spent years prepping for this event, and it was the highlight of their career as an American Football player. Many were in tears after the game. Unfortunately, the Polish NGB for American Football went to shit also after the World Games, which is a shame, because Poland is THE place to play if you want to play in Europe.

 

I made friends with some players from the French team and they got a ton of swag and awards from the FFFA. So I'm sure that 46th player was compensated and they got him a medal. 

 

As for getting on to the US National American Football Team. It was interesting. You couldn't have signed a pro contract in the last year. So no ex-NFL, CFL, Arena League guys. You had to have graduated/ used up college eligibility. So basically you had to be a free agent within the last two years, or be playing "professionally" in Europe. I graduated college in 2011 and went to the NFL combine for kickers/punters in 2012, nothing came of that. I was then on and off rosters in the Arena League from 2013-2015. I then tried to go to Canada was in camp with the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 2015 and Montreal Allouettes in 2016. I never signed a contract with them. In March of 2017, an old coach told me that the US National Team was recruiting a team of free agents to head to Europe in the summer of 2017. He sent me a link, and I filled out a questionnaire. They got back to me saying I was one of 450 that made it the next round. We had to fill out more questions and send in film. Then on May 1, 2017, I was told I had made it to the 100 man roster. We had to send more film and meet and talk with coaches. We did this for a month until the final 45 man roster was announced on May 31, 2017. It was a long and exhausting process and only got more tiring as we kept getting the work around from the NGB. First we were gonna leave from Newark on July 9th and have training camp in Germany. Then we were supposed to have training camp in Pennsylvania. It became apparent by June that the Federation had no money and we would have to fund our own way to Poland. IFAF was going to be in hot water, and potentially sued by the WLOC if they couldn't produce an American team for the American Football tournament. So we couldn't just pull out. 

 

I know that's a book, and maybe this isn't the appropriate space to write all of this. But I would love to answer all of your questions! 

 

[Olympian1010 8,073]

  On 6/1/2020 at 4:49 AM, JohnFoyne said:

It is honestly kind of embarrassing to be an American athlete at the World Games. Many of the nations you just mentioned, are kitted out in style. Wearing much of the same gear that their fellow country men and women wore a year earlier in Rio. The USOPC gave us nothing. No money, no kits, no welcome, no formal gathering for American athletes. We all walked into the opening ceremony in different attire, which was to be given to you by your NGB. I can understand from a money perspective as to why the USOPC won't fund non-olympic sports, but even if you look at the Pan Am games, it doesn't seem that they care much. Also, I took some time between my event and the closing ceremony and visited Germany. During my stay, the country was pretty buzzing about the World Games. Newspapers, 24/7 coverage on Eurosport, you get the idea. My friends back here have no idea what the World Games are. Maybe this perspective will change in 2022 with it in Birmingham, but a lot of that has to do with the lack of backing from the USOPC. For an event that was created in the United States, it doesn't get much love here, which is a shame. 

 

I do feel a little poorly about beating Poland on their home soil, after they gave us such a hard fought game. If anyone deserved a medal it was them. Those guys spent years prepping for this event, and it was the highlight of their career as an American Football player. Many were in tears after the game. Unfortunately, the Polish NGB for American Football went to shit also after the World Games, which is a shame, because Poland is THE place to play if you want to play in Europe.

 

I made friends with some players from the French team and they got a ton of swag and awards from the FFFA. So I'm sure that 46th player was compensated and they got him a medal. 

 

As for getting on to the US National American Football Team. It was interesting. You couldn't have signed a pro contract in the last year. So no ex-NFL, CFL, Arena League guys. You had to have graduated/ used up college eligibility. So basically you had to be a free agent within the last two years, or be playing "professionally" in Europe. I graduated college in 2011 and went to the NFL combine for kickers/punters in 2012, nothing came of that. I was then on and off rosters in the Arena League from 2013-2015. I then tried to go to Canada was in camp with the Hamilton Tiger Cats in 2015 and Montreal Allouettes in 2016. I never signed a contract with them. In March of 2017, an old coach told me that the US National Team was recruiting a team of free agents to head to Europe in the summer of 2017. He sent me a link, and I filled out a questionnaire. They got back to me saying I was one of 450 that made it the next round. We had to fill out more questions and send in film. Then on May 1, 2017, I was told I had made it to the 100 man roster. We had to send more film and meet and talk with coaches. We did this for a month until the final 45 man roster was announced on May 31, 2017. It was a long and exhausting process and only got more tiring as we kept getting the work around from the NGB. First we were gonna leave from Newark on July 9th and have training camp in Germany. Then we were supposed to have training camp in Pennsylvania. It became apparent by June that the Federation had no money and we would have to fund our own way to Poland. IFAF was going to be in hot water, and potentially sued by the WLOC if they couldn't produce an American team for the American Football tournament. So we couldn't just pull out. 

 

I know that's a book, and maybe this isn't the appropriate space to write all of this. But I would love to answer all of your questions! 

 

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There’s not much else to talk about at the moment, so I don’t think anyone cares. I debating about asking more questions. We usually do a little weekly podcast for Totallympics Media, but we’ve been off lately because of Covid-19. Maybe an interview about your experiences at the World Games would be a good way to bring it back this summer if you’re interested. If you’re down for that, we talk more in Twitter DMs about the details.

 

Yeah, I’ve noticed we look more like the Hobo Olympic Team than the U.S. National Team when it comes to the World Games. In fairness, at least we had an actual flag bearer (which is more than some other countries could say). It’s unfortunate the U.S. didn’t give you guys the “Olympic experience” though. 
 

Our sport climbers were barred from the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics because the (then) USOC refused to send athletes in “non-Olympic sports” (which was a lame excuse, since sport climbing is on the program in 2020 (and probably here to stay for a while)). 
 

I heard that the games were really popular in Central European, but it’s nice to hear confirmation of that. I’m not super hopeful Birmingham 2022 (World Games, not Commonwealth Games) will catch the attention of the public. I will say the LOC is doing their best. They’ve had a great outreach program at local schools to get kids interested, and they’ve toured Alabama to drum up so interest in the local communities. I would imagine they’ll strike some type of broadcast deal with FOX, NBC, or ESPN (though ISB will be the host broadcaster again thankfully (which means the world feed will good as long as you have a vpn)), but I would imagine that the games won’t get a ton of air-time (though I’d love to surprised). The World Games did start right here in the Golden State in 1987, so maybe there’s still some lingering interest (though I doubt it). 
 

Maybe the tournament would have been better (for the Polish) without the Americans in hindsight 

 

The French, Russians, Italians, Germans, Chinese always get kitted-out no matter what games it is. 
 

That’s a great story. When my dad graduated from U of Montana, he didn’t try out for any teams. He did pretty much go right into coaching American Football, Athletics, and Wrestling though. He coached quite a few high school state champions in Athletics and Wrestling in Oregon. American Football was always his favorite child though. He got invited to coach in Finland, and was ready to go, but that fell through at the last minute. It’s a good thing too, since he met my mother right after that 

[intoronto 5,886]

Per ATR, the 2022 CAC games will likely be moved to November or March 2023. @mrv86 @Olympian1010

[Olympian1010 8,073]

  On 6/1/2020 at 9:18 PM, intoronto said:

Per ATR, the 2022 CAC games will likely be moved to November or March 2023. @mrv86 @Olympian1010

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Interesting, neither of those dates are ideal. We might be witnessing the beginning of the end of the end of the CAC Games, which is a crying shame. I believe these are the oldest multi-sports after the Olympics in the world. The first edition was in 1926. They beat the British Empire Games by 4 years. That’s 25 years before the Mediterranean Games, Pan American Games, and Asian Games (which all began in 1951). There’s an even further gap to the Pacific Games (which started in 1963), and African Games (which started in 1965). It would be a huge loss to lose such a historic event no matter how you feel about it. I can see how Panama 2022 organizers are in a rough place though. There’s something like 25 (yes, you reas that right) multi-sports games scheduled for 2022 now; not to mention all the rescheduled world championships and the late World Cup.

[John Foyne 34]

  On 6/1/2020 at 5:45 AM, Olympian1010 said:

There’s not much else to talk about at the moment, so I don’t think anyone cares. I debating about asking more questions. We usually do a little weekly podcast for Totallympics Media, but we’ve been off lately because of Covid-19. Maybe an interview about your experiences at the World Games would be a good way to bring it back this summer if you’re interested. If you’re down for that, we talk more in Twitter DMs about the details.

 

Yeah, I’ve noticed we look more like the Hobo Olympic Team than the U.S. National Team when it comes to the World Games. In fairness, at least we had an actual flag bearer (which is more than some other countries could say). It’s unfortunate the U.S. didn’t give you guys the “Olympic experience” though. 
 

Our sport climbers were barred from the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics because the (then) USOC refused to send athletes in “non-Olympic sports” (which was a lame excuse, since sport climbing is on the program in 2020 (and probably here to stay for a while)). 
 

I heard that the games were really popular in Central European, but it’s nice to hear confirmation of that. I’m not super hopeful Birmingham 2022 (World Games, not Commonwealth Games) will catch the attention of the public. I will say the LOC is doing their best. They’ve had a great outreach program at local schools to get kids interested, and they’ve toured Alabama to drum up so interest in the local communities. I would imagine they’ll strike some type of broadcast deal with FOX, NBC, or ESPN (though ISB will be the host broadcaster again thankfully (which means the world feed will good as long as you have a vpn)), but I would imagine that the games won’t get a ton of air-time (though I’d love to surprised). The World Games did start right here in the Golden State in 1987, so maybe there’s still some lingering interest (though I doubt it). 
 

Maybe the tournament would have been better (for the Polish) without the Americans in hindsight 

 

The French, Russians, Italians, Germans, Chinese always get kitted-out no matter what games it is. 
 

That’s a great story. When my dad graduated from U of Montana, he didn’t try out for any teams. He did pretty much go right into coaching American Football, Athletics, and Wrestling though. He coached quite a few high school state champions in Athletics and Wrestling in Oregon. American Football was always his favorite child though. He got invited to coach in Finland, and was ready to go, but that fell through at the last minute. It’s a good thing too, since he met my mother right after that 

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Despite the USOPC not recognizing that the World Games exist. I still very much managed to have the “Olympic experience!” Staying in the athletes village at the university, going to other sporting events (the floorball final was amazing), meeting other athletes at bars and just wearing your credentials around and random people stopping to ask you what sport you played and where you were from was anything wilder than I ever thought would happen when I boarded that plane to Wroclaw. It also got me super interested in multi-sport events, they fascinate me. I would love to be on your podcast and could talk for days about the World Games.

 

Im really interested to see how Birmingham will turn out. I hope for the best and plan on going as a volunteer. I’m just curious how they are working towards this and I have not heard or seen anything from the USOPC about the event. How could have Birmingham even big w/o NOC approval? It just seems strange to me. Although, I do bet the US gets a kit sponsor this time, the BLOC won’t let the host nation look like a bunch of “hobos” walking into Legion Field.

 

One other thing about non-Olympic sports and the USOPC, I did notice they sent teams in roller sports, wakeboarding, and bowling ( a few friends from Wroclaw were on that team) to the Pan Am Games this past summer despite not being Olympic Sports. Also, last year, the USOPC had a small countdown clock on their website for the ANOC Beach Games which were supposed to be in San Diego until they were pulled. I found that interesting.

 

Glad for your sake that your fathers coaching gig in Finland fell through. The Maple League is one of the top leagues in Europe these days, and they’re actually supposed to start their season soon. I have a bunch of friends playing and coaching in Europe, and it’s a great gig if you’re young and don’t have a family. 

[Olympian1010 8,073]

  On 6/2/2020 at 3:23 AM, JohnFoyne said:

Despite the USOPC not recognizing that the World Games exist. I still very much managed to have the “Olympic experience!” Staying in the athletes village at the university, going to other sporting events (the floorball final was amazing), meeting other athletes at bars and just wearing your credentials around and random people stopping to ask you what sport you played and where you were from was anything wilder than I ever thought would happen when I boarded that plane to Wroclaw. It also got me super interested in multi-sport events, they fascinate me. I would love to be on your podcast and could talk for days about the World Games.

 

Im really interested to see how Birmingham will turn out. I hope for the best and plan on going as a volunteer. I’m just curious how they are working towards this and I have not heard or seen anything from the USOPC about the event. How could have Birmingham even big w/o NOC approval? It just seems strange to me. Although, I do bet the US gets a kit sponsor this time, the BLOC won’t let the host nation look like a bunch of “hobos” walking into Legion Field.

 

One other thing about non-Olympic sports and the USOPC, I did notice they sent teams in roller sports, wakeboarding, and bowling ( a few friends from Wroclaw were on that team) to the Pan Am Games this past summer despite not being Olympic Sports. Also, last year, the USOPC had a small countdown clock on their website for the ANOC Beach Games which were supposed to be in San Diego until they were pulled. I found that interesting.

 

Glad for your sake that your fathers coaching gig in Finland fell through. The Maple League is one of the top leagues in Europe these days, and they’re actually supposed to start their season soon. I have a bunch of friends playing and coaching in Europe, and it’s a great gig if you’re young and don’t have a family. 

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It’s good to hear that you got the multi-sports experience at least.

 

I haven’t quite decided between volunteer or media yet for the 2022 World Games. I don’t think any of those processes will open until next summer at the earliest, so I’ll wait and see where I am then. USOPC isn’t supporting the event from my understanding. They just don’t wish to be involved. Birmingham win the bid because cities bid for the World Games, not the NOC. The process is open to any city/collection of cities. I think the U.S. will get a better kit this time.

 

Yeah, I’m not sure how that works. They supported the ANOC Beach Games because they are a member of ANOC.

[intoronto 5,886]

https://www.thespec.com/sports/hamilton-region/opinion/2020/06/04/could-hamilton-commonwealth-26-jeopardize-world-cup-games-in-toronto.html?

 

And the plot thickens....

 

@Olympian1010

[Olympian1010 8,073]

  On 6/7/2020 at 6:19 PM, intoronto said:

https://www.thespec.com/sports/hamilton-region/opinion/2020/06/04/could-hamilton-commonwealth-26-jeopardize-world-cup-games-in-toronto.html?

 

And the plot thickens....

 

@Olympian1010

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Personally, I’d chose Commonwealth Games over World Cup games any day, but obviously I’m very much in the minority there 

[mrv86 3,190]

  On 6/7/2020 at 6:19 PM, intoronto said:

https://www.thespec.com/sports/hamilton-region/opinion/2020/06/04/could-hamilton-commonwealth-26-jeopardize-world-cup-games-in-toronto.html?

 

And the plot thickens....

 

@Olympian1010

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To be honest, this could be Canada's only chance to host a Men's World Cup, even if it's a "joint" bid.

 

I think Hamilton could choose a date probably after the eightfinals, as I doubt Toronto could host a match after that.

 

I only hope that Mexico retires from this joke as soon as possible.