mpjmcevoy

I wonder if they might get one free quota, men's OR women's but not both. They can probably use the recent T20 to justify men's - IOC usually just want a competent team, USA men are well above that. I agree 6 is a ridiculously small number, and if cricket sticks I imagine it won't stay that way long. 6 may be enough for an effective lacrosse tournament though, given the spread of the sport. Flag football, who knows.

From an IOC point of view, they've long wanted certain huge sports in - consider how much ticket revenue comes from football, in particular. Seen at its best, getting major eyeball sports in creates more revenue for all the sports, including the not so many eyeball ones. That's why IOC buckled to allow in pro athletes in cycling, it's why they brought in tennis, and badminton (very big in some parts of Asia). It's why they were so keen to get Golf and baseball in when golf and baseball themselves didn't seem bothered, and they've long wanted cricket in, and some sports with an X games quality. But Cricket was the big win, after golf, the key to an entire subcontinent. Lacross sixes and flag football os a small price to pay as a one off for that, and LA were happy to pay it.

Having read the regulation in question (1.1.0033 and 0033 bis) the only argument I can see is that the Aussies are claiming this is his second change - that he 'changed' to Aussie from GBR in the first place. However, that change would have to have been when he was a minor if it happened at all, and special rules apply to minors anyway I wonder if this is what the Assies are trying to rely on - if so, I don't think they've a chance in hell. "- in case of a second change of nationality under letter c., the rider’s ineligibility for participation in World Championships and Continental Championships shall apply to the two subsequent editions of each event, starting from the confirmation of the change of nationality by the UCI."

I get the feeling they are grasping at straws, and its not a good look - It seemed obvious enough the UCI had already told GBR exactly which events Richardson has to sit out

The Maori all blacks did spring to mind

I agree - there are certain relatively small footprint urban sports it made all sorts of sense to include to the IOC. In a sense I'm surprised (though happy) that Breaking didn't survive. As for the teams sports, I think LA asked for and got too many - and happy though I am to see it, arguably cricket could have waited to Brisbane - but then Sevens should have been brought in London, not Rio, and LA didn't know Brisbane was getting the 32 Games when it bid. I still think, for the new teams sports, if they aren't already small sided (Lacrosse sixes, sevens etc), the best way is to start working out a 'cycle'/revolving list

"Don't really understand, by the way, why fluid nationality ,diversity and multiculturalism rather than Western culture are so popular among Europeans" I bet you don't.

Perhaps they can be Independent Neutral Athletes... More seriously, if they have no NOC how can they argue to be part of the Games? It's a basic entry requirement. Disapplying it would open up another can of worms in every separatist region on earth. I'd much rather they were there, but it would realistically have to be as USA 2 or CAN 2. Otherwise I fear the tournament will go on without them.

Sovereign first nations and all that.

It's a dirty job but someone, you kmow...

Pint balancing Beermat flipping

That Simpsons 0 days since an accident meme was kind of made for us, wasn't it! Personally still haven't forgiven them for Kyran Bracken (who's pretty obviously Ciaran Bracken in reality!)

Including the Yanks

Sixes - basically box lacrosse outdoors - seems a very clever form to bring to the Games - there's something of the Rugby sevens magic to it in terms of fitting in a nulti-sport event. Any Random soccer/football field can hold it. Coming from Ireland where we have the two big fast moving Gaelic field sports, football and hurling, I can sort of see how Sevens and Sixes might actually complement each other rather well as major multi event 'tasters' for the main sport (and much like beach volleyball too, come to think of it)..If it works as well as some of the videos I've seen, it may be able to make a case for hanging about - and give the other larger team sports some pause for thought. Big team sports are almost absent from the European Games, and are probably the main culprit in the overexpansion of the Commonwealth Games - 'small sided' versions of these sports are going to get increasingly popular with organisers (hence, presumably 3x3, even though basketball probably didn't need to do it). So how could baseball/softball, cricket, hockey, water polo, handball meet that challenge? i know the Kiwis had an interesting Pre-T20 idea of six a side cricket in a football stadium, drop in pitch, with modified scoring (4 for boundary, 6 for first-tier stand, 8 for second-tier, 10 for clearing the stadium sort of idea) - six a side, 10 overs, 5 all-rounder's and a wicketkeeper, 2 overs per bowler. T20 is fabulous as a TV sized product, but it's not small sided - the round and the player numbers are still the same.

It's always hard to tell, but to be honest, I don't think that's a bad squad looking forward, esp Aldridge - I do also wonder if this indicates something re Pidcock. He's not happy at Ineos, the Hayters have both left, Iget the feeling the sponsors interest has wained, the original principal's interest too and the team is in the doldrums - in addition, their raison d'etre is not only stimied by the superstar generation, but in a sense is now not needed, there's TONNEs of brit riders in the pro peloton now. I don't think Pidcock has it to be a GC rider - he's a great classics guy, but he loves MTB - I wonder if there's a team outside INEOS will offer him both, maybe with a bit CycloX, but broadly not bother with the GTs and stage racing, and try and get Sponsor value from his dualism,,

I believe His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland will perhaps suggest mercy to His Majesty the King of Australia. His Mjaesty the King of Canada may wish to intercede at some point, I wonder if he has the other Kings' numbers...

Yeah, funding is not the argument to make here. Hindes from Germany was a better example of that. The guy clearly had 'split loyalties' pretty much all along - he moved aged 9, so he already probably had some small sense of identity (football support etc) before he moved, he was clearly thinking of moving 'back' as it were as early as 19. Having a GB girlfriend has probably just made all the bits fit for now - he wants to be with her, he's automatically entitled to pull on GB vest, he was harbouring feelings about it anyway. Frankly it was pretty decent of him to see out the cycle with Oz and give them a good return in two cycles.

Australia has over 100 Olympic sized swimming pools, almost all open to the public. It's absolutely imbedded in aussie culture. Do some aussies dope? Sure, ever country has that, but some countries do also care a LOT about certain sports on a cultural level. I'm not sure aussie swimming is the best example.

Which means they would need triple the number of olympic size swimming pools to create the opportunities that exist in Australia per person, despite having about 10% of the pools so far. (UK has13, one of which is run mainly for swim Ireland - Australia has 100+) - so to get from 12 to 300 = 288 new swimming pools. The last one build was Sandwell in Birmingham for 2022 - it cost 75 million £ 288 x 75M =21+BILLION£ TWENTY - ONE - BILLION If you think the British government are going to spend 0.5% of that much on pools for a nation that prefers to bike and run, I have a bridge to see ya. You want low hanging fruit - work out why GBR has had an absolute world class competitor in almost every field event, and NONE of their learnings have been systematically used to create a high value elite field event culture except possibly Heptathlon. Why aren't we using Sanderson, Whitbred, Daley Thompson, Dean Macey J Edwards, Aldama, Ashia Hansen. Capes, Backley, Hill, Grant, Grabartz, Steve Smith, Kate Rooney and Holly Bradshaw, Ugen and Procter, Sophie hitchon, Nick Miller, Rutherford - in a concentrated and systematic way? Look at the GB cycling coaching system - sure hoy and Trott-Kenny and Rowsell took the media route, and do it well, but Jason Kenny is back in the pitlane, Paul Manning was a superb rider turned coach, and even the non coaches mentor. AND GB Cycling use them. When British Athletics do find something like that, look what happens - Painter and Jenny MEadows set up a coaching group with his know how and her experience...and we Get Keely Hodgkinson, Erin Wallace, Sarah Healy... Martin Rooney works with the Hudson smith and the relay team, look what happens - they KNOW how to do it on the track, yet never bother on the field... 16 events. Small fields, no 'fast twtich' advantages, no 'altitude' advantages...

Take away his passport!! Not an overreaction at all, like...

To be fair, reading up on Richardson he's been pretty torn about this for a while, it's not some new fangled thing. The fact he has a star cyclist Welsh girlfriend however, that's brilliant work by the GB Cycling entrapement department! Well done, agent finucane.

Name like that, obvious Scottish ancestry, time for Fabrizio romano...HER WE GO....

We're owed - you took Ellen Gandy of us and ruined her....

Dunno, that might make some GBR's cast lustful eyes over the two golds and two bronze won for Ireland by Nordies!

If we could, it would make sense for all the Americas to be treated as simple "Americas", Oceania to join asia in "Asia-Pacific" and "Europe" and "Africa" to remain more or or less as they are - that's between 50-60 NOCS in each of the four 'regions'. Or you could get creative and break off Commonwealth Asia from the Rest of Asia - IND, PAK, SRI, BAN, MAS, BRU, SGP and possibly in the future East Timor, Nepal , and join it with its Commonwealth brethren from Oceania.