The Paralympic Games: Empowerment or Side Show?
This book is dedicated to:
Anne (Africa),Caja (Oceania), Caroline (Europe) & Tamsyn (America)
Our Global Children
DISABILITY & SPORT
Series Editors
Keith Gilbert
University of East London
Otto J. Schantz
University of Koblenz-Landau
This book is the first in the series which aims to highlight the relationship between disability and sport. The series is based in the Centre for Disabilities, Sport & Health at the University of East London and does not specifically relate to any one discipline but aims to develop new research in cross disciplinary perspectives. The editors have both worked in disability and Paralympic sport and are dedicated to the development of the area so that students, academics and individuals can learn from a variety of interdisciplinary dichotomies. In short, we are questioning what the relationship between disability and sport is, and how the lives of disabled people are changed by their involvement in sport. If you wish to contribute to this series, please contact either of the two editors.
THE PARALYMPIC GAMES:
EMPOWERMENT OR SIDE SHOW?
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
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Keith Gilbert & Otto J. Schantz
The Paralympic Games: Empowerment or Side Show?
Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer (UK) Ltd., 2008
ISBN: 978-1-84126-265-9
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our text is a culmination of ideas to create a book which developed the narratives of individuals working in the sport and disability fields and in completing this task to include both practitioners and academics in a text which supported the development of new and exciting research directions for the Paralympic arena. At the outset it must be clearly understood that we believe that this book would not have been possible to deliver if it were not for the kindsupport which we received from the authors of the various chapters. We are also proud to say that these authors are now friends and colleagues who we admire greatly for their ability to stick to the task at hand and never waver from their perceptions of the truth. We wish to give particular thanks to the following friends. Trish Bradbury, Jane Buckley, Brendan Burkett, Peter Corr, Anne Dinel, Mojca Doupona-Topic, Allan Edwards, Donny Elgin, Barbara Emener, Donna deHaan, Brent Hardin, Marie Hardin, Peter Horton, Mary Hums, Iris Lutz, Marilyn Kell, Peter Kell, Pamm Kellett, Katrin Koenen, Normazan Abdul Majid, Margie McDonald, Roger Noutcha, Chris Nunn, Lisa O’Keefe, Abdul Hafidz bin Haji Omar, Barbara Petri-Uy, Nathan Price, Frédéric Reichhart, Karen Richards, Heather Ross, Louise Savage, James Skinner, Kristine Toohey, Cesar Torres, Jo Winfield, and Eli Wolff. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Hans Meyer and Thomas Stengel from Meyer and Meyer for their ideas and guidance through the development and editing process of the book. Finally, we would like to thank Eva and Yuen Ching for their support, love and borrowed time throughout the publishing process of this book.
CONTENTS
1 RECONCEPTUALIZING THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT
Otto J. Schantz & Keith Gilbert
SECTION 1 PUBLIC AND MEDIA PERCEPTIONS
2 THE FIRE WITHIN: THE SYDNEY 2000 PARALYMPIC GAMES OPENING CEREMONY
Karen Richards
ELITE WHEELCHAIR ATHLETES RELATE TO SPORT MEDIA
Marie Hardin & Brent Hardin
4 FRENCH & GERMAN NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF THE 1996 ATLANTA PARALYMPIC GAMES
Otto J. Schantz & Keith Gilbert
5 SPECTATING AT THE PARALYMPIC GAMES: ATHENS 2004
Frédéric Reichhart, Anne Dinel & Otto J. Schantz
6 MEDIA AND THE PARALYMPIC GAMES
Margy McDonald
7 INNOVATIVE MARKETING FOR THE PARALYMPICS
Barbara Emener
SECTION 2 INSIDE THE PARALYMPICS
8 CLASSIFICATION AND THE GAMES
Jane Buckley
9 COACHING AT THE PARALYMPIC LEVEL: IF ONLY THE ADMINISTRATORS UNDERSTOOD
Chris Nunn
10 SPORTS SCIENCE AND THE PARALYMPICS
Brendan Burkett
11 FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN AND THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT: A COACH’S PERSPECTIVE OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN THE PARALYMPICS
Peter Corr
12 PARALYMPIC COMPETITION OR TECHNICAL BREAKDOWN
Katrin Koenen
13 THE PARALYMPICS: HORSE POWER
Donna deHaan & Jo Winfield
SECTION 3 OLYMPISM VERSUS PARALYMPISM?
14 A KALEIDOSCOPE OF COLOUR AND VIBRANCY: PERSONAL REFLECTIONS ON THE PARALYMPICS
Lisa O’Keefe
15 TWO GAMES ONE MOVEMENT? THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT VERSUS THE OLYMPIC MOVEMENT
Peter Kell, Marilyn Kell & Nathan Price
16 OLYMPISM AND THE OLYMPIC ATHLETE WITH A DISABILITY
Eli A. Wolff, Cesar Torres & Mary A. Hums
17 VOLUNTEERISM AND THE PARALYMPIC GAMES
Pamm Kellett
18 HERDING CATS: MANAGING AND ADMINISTERING PARALYMPIC TEAMS
Heather Ross
19 IT COMES WITH THE TERRITORY: TERRORISM AND THE PARALYMPICS
Peter Horton & Kristine Toohey
SECTION 4 CULTURAL DIVERSITY AT THE PARALYMPICS
20 PARALYMPIC SPORT AND NEW ZEALAND: THE JOURNEY
Trish Bradbury
21 THE RISE OF PARALYMPIC SPORT IN SLOVENIA
Mojca Doupona Topic
22 KOSOVOS ATTEMPTS TO JOIN THE WORLD STAGE
Barbara Petri Uy
23 THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT IN THE AFRICAN CONTEXT
Roger Noutcha
24 THE PARALYMPICS: A MALAYSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Abdul Hafidz bin Haji Omar & Normazan Abdul Majid
SECTION 5 FUTURE DIRECTIONS OF RESEARCH ON THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT
25 CRITICAL THEORY AND THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT
Allan Edwards & James Skinner
26 BREAKING THE CHAINS
Keith Gilbert & Otto J. Schantz
1 RECONCEPTUALIZING THE PARALYMPIC MOVEMENT
‘When normal and stigmatized do in fact enter one another’s immediate presence, especially when they there attempt to sustain a joint conversational encounter, there occurs one of the primal scenes of sociology’.(Goffman, 1963,13)
In July 1948, when the Games of the XIVth Olympiad opened in London, the neurosurgeon Ludwig Guttmann organized at Stoke Mandeville hospital in England a small sports competition for 16 World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. His vision was that “one day the Stoke Mandeville Games would achieve world fame as the disabled men and women’s equivalent of the Olympic Games” (Guttmann, 1949, 24). Indeed, this humble contest grew to become the second largest multi-sports event in the World. Despite the fact, that the Paralympic movement is rather young compared to other sports movements, it has undergone tremendous changes in the last twenty years, as have the social treatment of people with disabilities. Interestingly, there have been sports competitions for people with different disabilities since the end of the 19th century, which occurred at the same time as modern sport began spreading from England to Europe and North America. However, competitions for people with physical disabilities often resembled freak shows rather than serious sporting events (Schantz, 2006). The first disability groups to organize sport activities were the people with sensorial disabilities (visual impairments and deafness). Apart from some rare exceptions, it was only after World War II that the war heroes with physical disabilities were allowed to enter the stadium to then become sports heroes. For a long time physical activities for people with disabilities were merely seen as a means of rehabilitation and adapted physical activities had been part of the medical field for quite some time. There is, we believe, still a big influence of the medical paradigm within the Paralympic movement, but disabled sports whether as a leisure activities or as formal competition have meanwhile been widely accepted, and recently universally promoted under the human rights umbrella. People with disabilities in almost all cultural spheres in the world have become emancipated and the disability sports movement has somewhat followed this evolution. However, the question needs to be raised as to whether the Paralympic Games really contribute to the emancipation and empowerment of people with disabilities? Do they aid the struggle for justice and equal treatment towards persons with disabilities?
Empowerment or side show? The provoking question utilized as the title of this book will probably remain unanswered. However, we believe that this book brings together a variety of perspectives: personal experiences, descriptions, analyses and scientific papers which go some way towards answering the question. Of course, none of these chapters gives a definitive answer to our question which is clearly rhetorical in nature. Some chapters tend to indicate that the Paralympics could empower the position of persons with disability in the sports movement and across global societies in general. Still others are much more critical and consider the Paralympic Games as second class Games, or as a subtle form of exclusion which keeps sportspeople with disabilities at the margins of mainstream sports. Nevertheless, it is not the purpose of the book to give a clear cut response or to take a particular position for one or either of these opinions. We consider this volume of selected writings as a modest starting point which hopefully will open the way to new horizons in the form of innovative and probing questions in various research programmes within academic disciplines such as anthropology, philosophy/ethics, sociology, cultural studies, gender and disability studies. We understand that the medical and life-sciences paradigm is still largely predominant in this field; however there is an enormous lack of solid, independent, and critical research in all other relevant disciplines. Therefore we hope this book will act as a source for quality research to be conducted outside of the medical paradigm.
Many of the comments which appear in this book have been made to stimulate discussion, are often written from a critical perspective, and are designed to challenge preconceived thoughts. Nonetheless, they are in no way written to discredit others but to offer new opinions, which we are happy to have challenged, so that we can open up the debate regarding the Paralympic movement and not just offer a viewpoint which satisfies Paralympic organizers.
So much for the opening statements which by their very nature are designed to provoke discussion and debate and as such we hope that many of the chapters in this book will provide a similar logic and also assist in the support of the athletes, coaches and managers who work within the movement.
A large number of the following chapters are concerned with the development of the Paralympic movement over the past years. They contend that we are living in new times and that the athletes who are growing up in this century are very different from those twenty years before and that there is a growing need for accountability and enlightenment of the Paralympic movement in order to keep in touch with the grass roots of the Paralympics.
More importantly, this book came about principally because of our previous work with disabled individuals and Paralympians. It has been put together in response to a growing need for more information about the effect that the Paralympics and sport has on the lives of individuals with a disability. Indeed, we argue from the outset that we know little of Paralympians lives and the manner in which they became disabled either through birth or through accident. All the public sees is the athlete – the wheelchair – the disability and their countries uniform. They know nothing of what it takes to get the athlete to that level of competition or nothing about their struggles in life or the courage and money that it has taken for them and their families to get to this position in life together. For example we asked two Australian athletes what being in the Paralympic team meant to them personally and how this helped them in life and to conquer their fears and support them through the tough times. The responses are more important than anything written elsewhere in this book. They are personal as the athletes are sharing themselves with the rest of the world in order to make people understand their struggles. So we begin with a snapshot of Donnys Elgins life:
REFLECTIONS ON A LIFE WITH RESTRICTIVE DISABILITY
Try growing up missing a leg. Try having operations on both hands because one thumb is missing and all your fingers are joined together. Try open-heart surgery. Try teasing and humiliation at school then add the constant pain from ill fitting artificial legs, and now you have a big part of my childhood.
To be honest, I would love to have grown up with two legs to be able to run around with my ‘normal’ brother and my three ‘normal’ sisters but this was never going to be the case. However, if it were not for them and the rest of my loving family I would have achieved nothing in life. Indeed, for me to run was a far cry from what I was once able to physically achieve, as I had a hard time just being able to walk. I knew that I was always going to need artificial legs and worried about this constantly. However, now I am happy today to state that having two legs doesn’t really give you that much of an advantage in life and believe that most of the advantage which I feel I possess comes from my positive way of thinking.
As a kid being born without the lower 1/2 of my leg there was no way that you could convince me that it was ok or vaguely similar to other children. I clearly remember the day when I was teased so badly at school that I told my dad I didn’t want to live any more. I remember sitting down on a box and crying, uncontrollably sobbing until my dad approached me and asked what was wrong. I told him that it’s not fair. Why, why did I have to have one leg, why did I have to be the one to get teased, why couldn’t it be my brother or even my sisters? Why were they all ok and not I. It’s just not fair? Thankfully my dad was really smart and caring and had the ability to convince me that I was a good person even though I only had one leg. I will always be indebted to my father for his support and encouragement over the years. He was a good person for this role because he had a good attitude and a good sense of humour. My Dad also told me that the world is full of people that are the best in the world at something and it was up to ‘us kids’ to work out what that something is. He also showed me the other side of the tough times; he showed me that life could actually be worse and that I was actually one of the lucky ones.
By the same token you don’t forget the times you walk down the street in shorts and have every single person take a look at you because you are different. Then there are the ones that just keep looking and then staring because you are not normal, you are handicapped, you are disabled, you are whatever the word of the day is to describe you being anything but the same as everyone else. Also, you never forget the days when the other children at school would call you names and not play with you. Some days you just want to reach out and punch them in the face, and then there are some days you do! There are the absent days at school, and the missed sports carnivals, I loved sport and missing these days was a really sad time for me. I hated no going on the excursions and the other the fun days because often I had to go and get a new leg made. This was a traumatic time for me and my Dad and I would get up at three a.m. so that we could be in the city by 6 a.m. and sit in a waiting room for hours, then eventually see the man that was going to draw on my stump, make a plaster cast or let me walk on this robot looking thing and then after hours of waiting and testing go home tired and saddened by the day’s events.
The realization that a good leg makes all the difference to your whole day doesn’t come that early in your life, mostly because your parents kept telling me that is the way life is and they argued that sometimes I just had to put up with a bit of pain. Over a childhood of hearing this and other comments and dealing with ill fitting legs I never quite got used to their comments because pain is just that, it is pain and pain is difficult to deal with. What happens however, is that you learn to deal with it, that’s not to say that it goes away, you just don’t make a noise about it. You learn to deal with it.
Then there were times when I experienced ‘phantom pains’, and the easiest and clearest way to describe ‘phantom pain’ is that it feels like somebody sticking pins into the bottom of your stump. The problem about ‘phantom pain’s is ‘figuratively speaking’ they totally have a mind of their own and you don’t know when they are going to come and more so when they are going to go. Often they would start when you are relaxed, sitting in a classroom, at home watching the television or having dinner or whenever I am tuned into whatever is happening at the time - they hit you as if coming from nowhere with excruciating pain, right in the bottom of my stump, normally my first reaction is to take the leg off, though this does nothing to stop it. Often I just kick or stamp the leg as hard as I possibly can to try and rid myself of the pain. As you could imagine, when I was younger, this type of outburst was not all that welcome in a relatively subdued classroom or at home watching the television with my family.
Then there were the days that I would have to go to school on crutches wrapped in plaster after an operation and spend my day telling all the other kids what it was this time. I hated having to do this as it prolonged the agony and made me think more about the problems which I had in comparison with able bodied children. Indeed, how can I forget always coming second, third, fourth and last and then being told, ‘oh, don’t worry it’s not your fault, you have got one leg, your disabled, if you had two legs you might have won’. Comments and problems like this become compounded until you get an opportunity to see other people that are different, and they actually appear the same. I began to notice that these people with other disabilities were the same as me and when you see them you realize that you are not different after all. These people were all involved in sport which saved me from myself and saved my life. However, there were some problems which I had to overcome.
The first barrier that I faced in my quest to become a Paralympian was not the competition and the tough training regimes but getting my parents to allow me to compete with other disabled people. My parents attitude was based on the theory that if you are disabled then you can’t do a great deal in life which was most definitely the stereo type of people with disabilities in those days, thus there was ‘no way’ that they thought that their kid was disabled or going to have anything to do with disabled people. In their opinion they were convinced that their boy was normal, but just missing a bit of his leg.
Nevertheless, after speaking with some people involved in the disability sport area and constant nagging from me, they allowed me to compete at the state championships. This was clearly the turning point in my life for both my parents and I. Initially, the training and sports were tough as most of the athletes were good, but above all, from my point of view, I was now on an even playing field. I had defeated my personal demons and thus the journey began for the most important part of my life thus far - to become a Paralympian.
These comments by Donny drove us forward and enthused us to put together this edited text. We were principally interested in combining some academic work with practitioners on the ground who often see and experience things which the public or academics would not understand and who have also never had the opportunity to put their stories down on paper. This text is therefore a combination of methods and individuals who have come together much like the multicultural nature of the Paralympics themselves to provide an awareness of their talents and to bring new insights to the academic and practical field. More importantly we have asked athletes to become involved in this process and what follows is another example of the quality of person that we are dealing with in this text. The following scenario was written by Louise Savage who in her own right was one of Australia’s greatest ever athletes. Louise gave us another perspective which is highlighted by her own snapshot of life with a disability and as a Paralympian.
LIFE REFLECTIONS
I was born with my disability and really don’t know any different. I was introduced to sport at the age of 3 through swimming and have never really looked back. Initially the swimming was a form of rehabilitation, a way to build up my upper body strength and a lot of fun. It was not till I was 8 that I was introduced to wheelchair sports and I suppose that was an enormous window of opportunity that opened for me. I competed in every sport they had on offer and loved it. As I child I never dreamt of representing Australia or going overseas to compete. It just never really occurred to me.
My first international competition in 1990 was the turning point in my career as a wheelchair track and road racer. At those World Championships I really got a taste for what my sport was about. I had the chance to witness the best in the world which inspired me to want to be the best. From those games I decided I wanted to be a professional athlete.
2000 would have to be one of the biggest highlights of my career, not only on the sporting field but off. It was the first time I had competed in my home country at such a level and had my friends and family to witness my ultimate, winning gold. It was not only about the winning, but the way in which the games were held. It was such a celebration of life and celebration for people with disabilities. The people of Australia supported and enjoyed the games like no other. I was so proud to be Australian and to have such a magnificent sporting event in my own backyard. The Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games will be one of my most treasured memories forever.
I have now retired after winning two silver medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. I left behind an amazing career record which saw me compete at four Paralympics (1992, l996, 2000 and 2004) and win a total of nine gold and four silver medals. I also competed at three Olympic Games in the 800m wheelchair demonstration race in Atlanta, Sydney and Athens winning two gold and one bronze medal. At the IPC World Championships in 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2002 I won a total of 12 gold and 2 silver medals and at the IAAF World Championships I represented Australia in 1993, 1995, 1997, 2001 and 2003 winning the 800m wheelchair exhibition event on each occasion. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games I won silver in the 800m. Along the way I have broken at one stage or another every world record on the track from the 100m to the 5000m. Although now do not hold any individual world records.
For me it has been the most unbelievable experience to be involved in sport and compete at such a high level, to see the change in the recognition, understanding and acceptance of people and athletes with a disability all over the world. I would not have wanted life any other way. I now want to still be involved in my chosen sport so I am coaching and hope to bring through future champions and help create some golden dreams for them too.
Louise then was also an inspiration to us as her words were humbling and her achievements in elite sport have been simply amazing. The two athletes then were the inspiration behind this book for us. This book is seminal in that it introduces and opens up new and important information regarding aspects of the Paralympic Movement and in particular provides information about athletes, coaches and managers which has not previously been researched or written about. The main idea of the book is to provide a mix of theory and practice consequently chapters have been written from academics and practitioners alike. This blend and weaving of theory and practice into the text provides an informed look at the intricacies of the development of the Paralympic Movement, of some of its idiosyncrasies and shortcomings and some interesting ideas which should be explored and researched further in order to provide researchers and the public with insights into the world of the Paralympics.
With the thoughts of Louse Savage wringing in our ears we argue that the book rests on the assumption that an examination of the relationships between the personal, social and theoretical experiences of the Paralympic movement are influenced by many factors which are as yet un-researched and which may have important implications for the ways in which we conceptualize the disability sport and the nature of the direction and development that we construct for the Paralympic movement, Paralympians, coaches and managers in the 21st century.
This collection of chapters contributes to scholarship by providing an informed research based discussion of topics that are at the core of the Paralympic movement. Basically, its development and the ways in which we regard the Paralympic movement have changed minimally over the last two decades and it will be contended (as previously mentioned) in this book that a reconceptualizing of its development is required in the 21st century. Also, the book complements the basic discourses by extending the discussion in a critical way so that it is not just a description of what we can do to make the Paralympic movement more relevant but also an examination of some of the fundamental issues and discussions raised by the authors and the disability phenomenon that is often suppressed in the university environment. The bigger picture issues around globalization, the notion of empire building and social justice and equity issues which must be considered when thinking about the Paralympic movement and its role in society are all tackled in some manner. In short as supporters of disability sport we believe that this text provides answers to some important questions and develops further questions to be researched.
The following chapters take into consideration the perspectives of different Paralympic actors: athletes, coaches, managers, volunteers and journalists and spectators. The dissimilar approaches, writing techniques and styles emphasize and illustrate the diverse point of views: narrative texts and journalistic articles are willingly mixed with scientific papers and theoretical comments. We make no apology for this as each individual author chose their own method of developing their own voice and telling their own stories.
The first section ‘Public and Media Perceptions’ deals with the interaction between the Paralympics and the media and the way in which the event is perceived by spectators and others. There are several chapters which highlight the interactions and offer ideas for further research in the area. The chapter by Karin Richards on the Paralympic Games ceremonies provides some excellent examples of further research projects in line with those that have been previously completed in the Olympic context. The notion of the ‘supercrip’ is paramount in the work of the Hardins and of significance to the relationship between spectators and the Paralympics per se. This is added to significantly by the chapter of Reichart et al. who develop the theme of spectatorism at the 2004 Paralympic Games and raise the question whether sometimes these Games resemble a side show. They further enhance the themes developed by Hardin & Hardin by providing further research topics to be conducted at future Games. A highly interesting chapter is the one by Margie Macdonald who insisted on writing it in the style of a journalist so that we could understand the nature of the tasks which she undertakes at the Paralympic Games. It is a remarkable perspective and highlights the differences which we have attempted to incorporate into the development of this book by allowing individuals other than academics to put forward their viewpoints and argue in the development of new and innovative research ideas within the Paralympic arena as we believe that the informed laypersons voice is equally as strong as the academic voice. Schantz and Gilbert have a chapter in this section which deals with the way the print media construe and misconstrue Paralympic Games and ideals. They compare French and German media coverage of the Paralympic Games. The final chapter of the section by Barbara Emener argues the case for strong marketing perspectives to be taken when developing a marketing profile for the Games. It provides sound support for those who are thinking of the marketing aspect of disability sport in the future.
Section two ‘Inside the Paralympics’ takes a close look at some important aspects of the Games as they relate to individuals who have worked in several Paralympics. It is in fact an insider’s viewpoint of the Games from the perspectives of coaches, managers, researchers, Otto Bock employees, classification experts and a solid look into the equestrian discipline which has rarely been written about or researched. Jane Buckley who is an expert in classification provides us with some valuable insights in to the processes and practices of classification within the context of disabled and more importantly Paralympic sports. Chris Nunn offers a critical chapter which is highly relevant and to the point, in that, he discusses in depth the relationship between administrators and coaches in the Paralympic movement. We endorse this chapter because it offers many new avenues for the possibility of further research and development in the area. Brendan Burkett, himself an ex-Paralympian, and champion swimmer provides a thorough understanding of some of the aspects of sports science which impact on the Paralympians and offers ideas for further research in specific sport science disciplines. The chapter by Peter Corr is perhaps one of the most authentic in the book as it is truly a piece of art where he brings an understanding of the intellectual disability area to the book and provides us with a deep understanding of the limitations and enjoyment of coaching such athletes. It is a heartfelt addition to the book, poignantly written and offers an interesting yet critical perspective to the Games and Paralympic sport. Katrin Koenen has spent a number of years working at different Paralympic Games for Otto Bock which is the well respected company that works during the Paralympic Games period to keep the athletes running, cycling and racing in their chairs by repairing equipment. She gives a distinct insight into the Games from an outsider’s perspective and provides some important insights into the work of the Otto Bock organization in keeping the Games alive. It makes for interesting reading and delivers ideas for future research directions in all sport science disciplines including sports management as Otto Bock is a classic example of a company developing a strong corporate responsibility to the Paralympic community. The final chapter of section two is written by Donna deHaan, a PhD student from the University of the West of England who is interested in developing novel research in the area of Paralympic equestrian sport. This chapter is the first of its genre and should be viewed as an invitation to social scientists to research in this area as there is little work done. Also the chapter provides some interesting insights into the integrating potential of equestrian sport.
Section three ‘Olympism and the Paralympics’ is quite controversial. The first three chapters argue for the Paralympic athletes to be recognized as Olympians. On the other hand Lisa O’Keefe provides a good example of an introspective look at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics and Olympics. In this chapter she develops the notions of elite sport, doping and other problematic during Games time. These arguments are strong and further developed intellectually by Kell et al. and Wolff et al. who make some wide ranging assertions regarding the relationship between the Olympics and Paralympics on the local and world scenes. The final two chapters in section three concern the notion of volunteerism (Kellett & Ross) and prospect of terrorism (Horton & Toohey) within the Paralympic sphere of influence. Both chapters highlight aspects of the Paralympic Games which have not previously been researched and open up innovative ideas for the future of research in the areas. Although we ourselves argue that this section is controversial in its delivery we acknowledge that without controversy there is little interest and without controversy there cannot be progress in the field of social sciences. We hope that these chapters will engender impartial research groups or individuals to further study the phenomena in question.
Section four as the title suggests reviews some of the cultural and political diversity within the Paralympic movement and analyses different systems which have been put into place by some sporting nations in order to develop as fully fledged National Paralympic Committees. The first chapter of this section Trish Bradbury offers an interesting overview of the development of disabled and Paralympic sport in New Zealand, and as a former Assistant Chef de Mission responsible for Games Operations at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics she provides us personal interpretations and experiences to supplement her description of events. Of particular interest in this section is the chapter written by Barbara Petri Uy where she presents the geo-political situation of postwar Kosovo and argues for a Paralympic Committee in the new state of Kosovo. Mojca Doupona describes and analyses the steps made towards the organization and recognition of disability sport in Slovenia. The other chapters highlight and analyze developments of Paralympic movements in different non-Western cultures. Roger Noutcha studies the constitution process of the Black Africa Paralympic movement from a postcolonial perspective. In the same manner, Abdul Hafidz Omar and Norazman Abdul Majid describe and discuss the place and the structure of sport for people with disabilities in the Malaysian society.
This book then is the first of its genre incorporating both [practice and theory] and we are pleased that those authors who wrote for us did so understanding that there would be the poignant mix of theory and practice within the contents of the text. We trust that the reader will understand the nature of the task and assist us into providing actions which will shake the very foundations of Paralympic sports and reshape the approaches and structures of future research projects which are of both a practical and theoretical significance to the athletes and the movement.
REFERENCES
Guttmann, L. (1949). The second national Stoke Mandeville Games of the Paralysed. The Cord, 3, 24.
Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma – Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Schantz, O. J. (2005). Leistungsentwicklung bei den Paralympischen Spielen (pp. 74–89). In Burger, R., D. Augustin, D. Müller, N. & W. Steinmann (Eds.). Trainingswissenschaft. Facetten in Lehre und Forschung. Mainzer Studien zur Sportwissenschaft Band 23. Niedernhausen: Schors.
SECTION 1
PUBLIC AND MEDIA PERCEPTIONS
This section highlights some of the important aspects of the Paralympic Games and Paralympic Movement as viewed by the public and the media. It is concerned with providing some insights into the multipart and controversial issues which surround the Paralympic athletes, the Paralympic Games and the Paralympic Movement itself. It raises concerns regarding the staging of the opening and closing ceremonies, how Paralympic athletes relate to the media, what happens during a Paralympics Games from the medias and spectators perspective and what its like to market the phenomenon called the Paralympics.
2 THE FIRE WITHIN: THE SYDNEY 2000 PARALYMPIC GAMES OPENING CEREMONY
INTRODUCTION
Over twelve years ago in 1995 I was involved in the initial planning stages of the Sydney Olympic Games ‘Opening and Closing’ Ceremonies. Throughout this time period it seemed as if everyone wanted to be part of the planning of the Olympic Ceremonies and I felt honoured to be a part of the process. The first task of the Olympic Ceremonies team was to produce the Handover Ceremony for Atlanta. However, it was little known in Sydney at the time that there was the need to produce a handover ceremony for the Paralympic Games. Indeed, while planning was well on the way for the Sydney Olympic Handover Ceremony it suddenly become obvious that someone was needed to produce the handover for the Paralympic Ceremonies. As there were so many people wanting to work on the Olympics it was possible for me to add a more creative space onto the footprint of the Paralympic Ceremonies. However, at this time my commitment to the Paralympic Games was only perceived as short term as I intended to produce the ‘Handover Ceremony’ then return to the Olympic Ceremonies team.
Amazingly one event changed my mind. I had a meeting with a photographer who was waiting for me in the middle of the Olympic Stadium in Atlanta. I couldn’t get to him because a race was in progress and consequently I was short of time and found this race to be a major inconvenience to my daily planning. The race was the 800 metres wheelchair race. Louise Savage (an athlete who writes of her experience elsewhere in the beginning of the text) was battling it out with the American contenders. As they sped past me I saw the raw emotion on their faces and I instantly became hypnotised. I suddenly had a burst of patriotic pride overcame me and I found myself cheering for Louise. It was a really close race and the Australian won. I was elated. I suddenly realised that these athletes and this race had moved me in a way that the “normal” Olympians didn’t. It was quite literally at that moment that I decided to focus on getting the job as the Paralympic Games Director of Ceremonies and to forget about the Sydney Olympic Games.
Whether Paralympic athletes are considered elite athletes or not there is little doubt that being selected as part of the Paralympic team is a major milestone in their lives. Once appointed as the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games Director of Ceremonies I was determined that we would produce a memorable opening ceremony for the once in a lifetime Games.
THE TASK
In the modern era the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is the first event sold out when tickets for the Games go on sale. When planning for the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony began one of the first questions which I was asked was “how would we attract people to the Paralympic Games?” Part of the brief for the opening was that there must be a draw card as people were unlikely to come just for the event in its own right. The success of the Opening Ceremony would determine the success of the overall Games. We had to attract publicity through the planning and through the use of “big name” performers.
Unquestionably, it’s an enormous task for a city to put on two such large international events in the space of just over a month. The Sydney Olympic Opening Ceremony was on the 15th September 2000, the Sydney Paralympic Opening Ceremony on the 18th October 2000. The budget for the Olympic Opening: in excess of $50m, the budget for the Paralympic Opening Ceremony: $5m. Yet both ceremonies really had the same goals – to launch their respective Games towards a successful outcome.
SOCOG AND SPOC
Lessons learnt from the organization of the two events in Atlanta and in previous cities meant that the SOCOG (Sydney Organising Committee of the Olympic Games) and SPOC (Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee) ceremonies teams formed some strong relationships. However, this was not always amicable. In a country the size of Australia there are only a few true international stars. Both ceremonies wanted the same names and this could have an adverse affect to ticket sales for the Paralympic Games. The Olympic Ceremonies didn’t need names to sell tickets. Many artists eventually performed in both the Sydney Olympic Closing Ceremony and the Sydney Paralympic Opening Ceremony. Fortunately this didn’t affect the Paralympic ticket sales.
In actuality it appeared that after the Olympics the people of Sydney wanted more entertainment and the Paralympic Games kept the Olympic euphoria going. The opening ceremony was a sell out – as was the closing ceremony. Numerous people commented that the Paralympic Games were friendly. Families who came to the Games could access the athletes and readily have their photos taken with medal winning athletes. As the athletes entered the stadium in the opening ceremony many were obviously overwhelmed by the reaction from the crowd. Many people also commented that during the athletes parade in the Olympic Games huge numbers of people left the stadium for refreshments. During the Paralympic’s athlete parade most people stayed in their seats and enjoyed the reactions and interaction of the athletes.
Having approximately one tenth of the Olympic Ceremony budget yet having to produce an event suitable for the same size performance space meant the team had to be extremely creative and resourceful. Companies such as the lighting and audio suppliers for the Olympic Games agreed to leave most of the equipment in the stadium without hire fees for the time between the ceremonies. This saved large amounts of money, which would have been charged to set up the equipment. However, there were also problems with being so closely associated with the Olympic Games. Before the Olympic Games begun many SOCOG staff would only focus on their jobs for the Olympic Games. The fact that there was very little time between the two Games did not factor into their decisions to postpone work on the Paralympic Games until the Olympics concluded. Then when the Olympics were over, many of the necessary functional staff were exhausted and took sick leave. This lead to the Paralympic Production team having to work extremely long hours in the lead up to the Games completing planning that could have been finished months in advance. Both ceremonies teams were required to report to a Ceremonies Control group frequently before the ceremonies. This was to ensure all safety measures were under control and to ensure that planning was on track. It was amusing to see the Olympic presentations. They had models and drawings, which probably cost them the total amount of the Paralympic Ceremonies budget. We would go to these meetings which the essential diagrams and would frequently end up scribbling diagrams to explain certain concepts.
Working with the SOCOG ceremonies team also meant that we were privy to their most secret planning. Ric Birch shared with me, well in advance, his plans for lighting the cauldron. I remember him telling me all the details. The cost of this effect was literally more than our entire budget. There would be lots of water pumped up to create a waterfall effect down the grandstand and a ring of fire would be lit as the cauldron was revealed from within the stage. The cauldron would then rise up, tracking through the stands to come to rest high above the Stadium. I asked the question “so how does it come down again so we can reach it to reignite it”. He replied, “It doesn’t – all the equipment would be removed after the opening to allow maximum seating for the rest of the Games”. There was no possible way we could have had someone personally light the Cauldron short of dropping them in by helicopter – and that wasn’t possible because the helicopter would not have been allowed to fly that close to an audience. It was nice of Ric to share this though! Hence we had to develop a special effect way of lighting the cauldron. We spend many hours trying to come up with a spectacular means of lighting the cauldron.
Ironically both the Olympics team and our team had exactly the same idea of a way to extinguish the flame. We approached the Australian airforce first with our suggestion. We found out shortly after that the Olympic’s team had approached them with the same idea. The air force was happy to do the effect for both ceremonies. However, once it had been done for the Olympics we felt it was necessary to come up with another idea for the Paralympics. The effect involved an air force plane flying over the cauldron, then starting the back burn effect. Simultaneous the gas would be turned off the Cauldron extinguishing the flame.
There were hundreds of people in the Olympic Ceremonies team. They occupied a huge amount of space in the stadium. We had a small office and a very dedicated, very small staff. We had to work extremely long hours and I often wanted to apologise to the team for making them have to work so hard. However they were all dedicated to the Paralympic Games and took on the task of creating a big show on a small budget.
THE MOST DISAPPOINTING MOMENTS
As part of the Ceremony we had erected a huge projection screen across one end of the stadium. Wonderful projection images had been developed for this screen. The weather had been extremely hot and many of the production crew working on the field were getting exhausted from working in the heat. A southerly change came through and relief was felt. However, as suddenly as the change had hit, the screen started to rip. I stood in the control room watching this expensive, important part of the ceremony self-destructing. The production director was near the screen and ran, towards it trying desperately to stop it ripping. This screen was approximately 50 metres long and once it started ripping there was no stopping it. This screen had taken several weeks to manufacture and we were now only days from the opening. However, once again the determination of the team to make this ceremony work came through and somehow another screen was made and in position in time for the ceremony. It wasn’t as glamorous nor was it’s quality as good as the original but we had another screen and were able to project the images.
Another problem we experienced was the weather. The Olympic preparations had experienced constant clear weather. Every time we had a rehearsal planned it seemed to rain. Our wonderful friends at the Olympics kindly offered us their wet weather ponchos. They hadn’t needed them. We had a wet weather show plan however it wasn’t as good as the fine weather plan and I felt we hadn’t worked this hard and this long to put on a second rate show. On the morning of the opening I had returned home at about 6am. I was returning to the stadium at 9.00am when my mobile rang. It was the designer asking whether he should organise the pre-set for the fine weather or wet weather show. After agonising for a minute I boldly announced that we were going for the fine weather show. He pointed out all the clouds in the sky, and the forecast, which was for rain increasing during the day. I chose to ignore these comments. We were going to put on the best possible opening regardless of weather. The rain held off until about 5.00 p.m. The ceremony was to begin at 7.00 p.m. At 5.00 p.m. the rain became quite heavy. I felt extremely sick. A large part of the production involved children painting on “pixels” (essentially large tables) creating pictures. Half an hour before the show was to begin, the production director casually commented to me that the paint wouldn’t work if it were painted onto water. In last minute desperation I asked everyone on our radio communication who was free, to find towels, rags or anything they could to get onto the field and try to dry the pixels. The rain had slightly eased and I hoped that it may be possible to salvage the show. Much to my surprise dozens of people entered the field, from the star performer’s roadies to the special effect team, firework team, sound and lighting crew, police, stage managers. Everyone wanted to make the show work.
We cleared the field, started the show and as Jeff St. John sang the national anthem the rain started again. I stood in the control room feeling doomed. The production director again reminding me that paint wouldn’t work on water. By this stage all I could do was hope. Amazing as the national anthem concluded with an air force flypast, the rain disappeared. However the pixels were still wet. As the children started painting their first image we realised that somehow the paint was working on the water and the image looked great. Ironically we had spent a lot of time trying to work out a way of getting a reflective surface on the pixels for the firework finale. The rain had created this effect.
THE CREATIVE CONCEPT