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Are there not sailing classes where it is not about competition?
Classes, as in training? Absolutely, it's one of those activities where people need to do things right before they try to do them fast. Otherwise, people get hurt. But there has been a narrow focus, particularly in youth programs, on making competitive sailing the end-all and be-all. It hurts the retention of people in the sport - lots of perfectly competent young people are just not staying around. Some even quit before they've realized their potential, and that's just a waste.
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You are right not everything needs to be a competition. Sometimes we just do things to enjoy them.
I try to think that way with Golf but I get so competitive with myself it sometimes makes it less fun.
There was something at the back of my mind, and it appears to have been golf. Golf has handicaps, and that is a huge part of its success. The guy who plays 3 times a week is expected to do better than the casual player if he wants to be considered the winner, and while that may not be the ultimate athletic ideal, it gets people on the golf course. Which is a good thing.
In reality you don't need a medal or trophy to remind yourself you trained, ran, and completed a marathon.
Of course not. In reality, you can run a marathon all by yourself on a random Saturday. But humans are social and we like to be among like-minded people. And the effort involved in training and completing a marathon is pretty substantial. Not that anyone is going to mistake the completion medal for a winner's trophy, anyway.
That's 'French' for, "read some Liberal gobbledygook to find out what the prevailing Liberal view is and refrain from offering a different viewpoint." In other words independent thought is not tolerated, especially if it's from a conservative.
If everyone get's a trophy, and there are no winners, there is no incentive to excel. Why put forth the effort if there is no reward?
No, that's English for stop being lazy and go find some data and/or analysis and educate yourself before opening your mouth. There's no liberal agenda in sports and when you talk to the people who coach kids, they're more concerned about skill development than winning or losing.
I get it, your emotions tell you political correctness is bad, but that's not excuse for blindly relying on only one part of your brain.
I remember when I played baseball. I was the best on my team and I got a MVP and batting title trophy. The rest of the team got a regular one. Nowadays you can even single out the better players. That blows.
My son's baseball team 2 years ago won the championship. His team received a trophy.... Of course so did the other teams that participated. My question is why? I understand maybe a certificate to the other players on other teams saying "thank you for participating" but every team getting a trophy? They didn't win.
Apparently some people don't seem to realize that receiving a trophy that says 'participant' isn't the same thing as receiving a trophy that says 'first place'-- a concept so simple that even 8 year olds understand it.
Next thing you know, 43% of Americans will want to get rid of the silver and bronze medals at the Olympics.
Myself being a career sports guy although I have very little experience at coaching kids under the HS age, I do not have a problem with all kids at the age of 4, 5 or 6 playing T-ball or soccer getting a trophy. All the kids get a kick out of it. But older then that, yes winners should be rewarded. At the age of around 8 I support super (select) teams for kids that have talent to someday play at a high level. High level meaning college or pro.
Myself being a career sports guy although I have very little experience at coaching kids under the HS age, I do not have a problem with all kids at the age of 4, 5 or 6 playing T-ball or soccer getting a trophy. All the kids get a kick out of it. But older then that, yes winners should be rewarded. At the age of around 8 I support super (select) teams for kids that have talent to someday play at a high level. High level meaning college or pro.
It's a balance, isn't it? Sure, you want to groom talent. But you also want the kids to go out and do sports - even those without talent - both because it's good for them, but also because it's worthwhile for them to see that hard work can lead to achievements even in fields where you don't feel naturally gifted.
I effin' hated sports at school, because I am not very athletic (neither by attitude nor aptitude) and so was written off as filler, while attention was of course given to those who could excel.
In the army, the mindset was entirely different - everybody had to be brought up to their best possible standard and so the focus was shifted from performance to improvement.
Those who started out running a 5K in under 20 minutes were considered - well, done in that respect, really. Nothing further needed. Go hone some other skills that will benefit the unit. Focus shifted to those who had the potential to move their 5K from, say, 24 to 21 minutes, and that was a very refreshing change. I thank my high school gym teacher for nothing. Sgt. Thorsen, on the other hand, made me realize I will never be an Olympian, I can still hold my own on longer distances if I put in the work, and that's worthwhile.
I think the army way leads to healthier young men.
Everybody should get a trophy, yes. The winner's trophy will say 'champion' or 'winner' on it. Everybody else gets a trophy that says 'loser' or 'thanks for playing'.
In a country where childhood obesity is at near-crisis levels, I would think we want to do everything in our power to get kids to participate in movement related activities.
That having been said, people need to use their brains. So far I haven't seen few, if any, people (like this liberal) saying "everyone should get a trophy." It's another falsehood that the RWNJ's love to scream about, but has little to do with reality. For little kids, where skill development is the main aim, rewards for participation are appropriate? In competitive sports for teenagers? Winners are rewarded. This is what happens 99% of the time. Rewards for runners up are appropriate as well.
I will also note that creating competitions out of areas that are non-competitive is absurd. Computer science and theater competitions? Unnecessary.
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