Minister Wallin: Junior sports should not be punished for gaffes by adults

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In an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, the new Minister for Culture and Sport Stefan Wallin (Swedish People's Party) has addressed two of the perennial topics associated with the sports side of his portfolio: the fight against doping and the declining physical condition of Finns.
      Wallin says he intends to make sure that the anti-doping struggle in topflight sport remains front and centre. Sports federations that are guilty of doping offences or otherwise morally reprehensible actions - for example match-fixing and the like - will feel the consequences in their budget appropriations.
     
On the other hand, Wallin is troubled at the way in which youth sports often suffer as a result of adults behaving badly.
      "It has to be looked at from a case-by-case perspective, to see whether there is any way the junior side can be separated off from the elements of a given association that receives punishment in this way. It seems quite unreasonable that we should have a situation where the stupidity of a few individuals causes hundreds of others to suffer through no fault of their own", charges Wallin.
      Recent examples still fresh in the mind are the cross-country skiing fraternity's doping scandals at the 2001 World Championships in Lahti or the match-fixing in Finnish-rules baseball that surfaced a few years ago. Grants were cut and commercial sponsors shied away from the sports affected.
     
Wallin is also keen to discuss the decline in the physical condition of the Finns. He readily brings out the depressing figures of poor Cooper Test results among conscripts in the Finnish Defence Forces or the apparently unstoppable supersizing of schoolchildren.
      A recent report on the alarming condition of Finnish men by the think-tank EVA (The Finnish Business and Policy Forum) prompted Wallin to talk about exercise in the school curriculum.
      "If the average Cooper Test* results for conscripts have declined from 2,750 metres in 1980 to around 2,400 metres today, and the average weight of the national servicemen has gone up by seven kilos over the same period, we need to start a counter-offensive and look for ways to break this trend."
      Wallin sees increased emphasis on exercise in schools as one antidote, though he stresses that quality rather than quantity is paramount: many have unpleasant memories of school sports. Soon enough, the 40-year-old Wallin will be able to see for himself what goes on today in school P.E. lessons, as his eldest daughter will be starting her school career in the autumn.
     
The minister also touched on the subject of one inseparable "odd couple" in the sporting world: the pairing of beer and spectator sports.
      Wallin has no grumbles about the current situation - he would not propose the restriction of advertising of the amber nectar or tighten up licensing regulations at sports events.
      "The truth of it is that sales and advertising have a direct link to the financial side of the sports organisations. There is nevertheless almost certainly some kind of pain threshold after which commercialism gets the upper hand and the tail starts to wag the dog. Sport and sporting matters should always be in the most important role", says Wallin.
     
*The Cooper Test is a simple and easily-arranged international benchmark test of physical fitness, in which the subject is given 12 minutes to run, and the distance covered in precisely that time is measured.


Links:
  Cooper Test (Wikipedia)

Helsingin Sanomat