Given the vast amount of money that will be spent on the London Olympics in 2012, attempts will no doubt be made to involve as many people in the UK as possible in activities that are directly and tangentally to do with sport. Whilst angling isn’t an Olympic sport, it is supported by the Sports Council, and in my view we’d be foolish not to use this as a PR opportunity. But how? And what should we do? Anyone got any ideas?

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cumbriafishingfestival.co.uk

I feel that The straightjacket That Sport Scotland/England are placing on our 'Pastime' is nearly crippling us already.So what hoops would they ask us to jump through for Olympic cash.

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

The bigger the space between Angling and The Olympics the better ....although Sir Jim 3lbgrayling has a certain ring about it :-)

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Previously known as molley
and
Don't call me "mate" .

Whilst I love football, olympic sports bore me rigid. But I think there is room for some creative thinking on this one, and its just started....................

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cumbriafishingfestival.co.uk

I'm with Jim on this one, there's too many 'restricted' sports already. The likes of competition angling (no offense intended) already takes the fun out of the sport.

Flyfishing is a sport, the Olympics by contrast, are only games.

They don't belong together and trying to pimp angling with a spin-doctored media campaign would be guaranteed to produce the wrong result for angling. Especially of concern would be the media's anal fixation with trying to find a competitive aspect to angling. This would show angling at it's absolute worst and the whole thing would turn into a giant cluster fuxk.

Enjoy the Olympics for what they are and don't try to use them as a media platform.

Grouse

From my point of view the recognition that angling counts as a 'sport' in the eyes of the Sports Council is a very valuable thing for angling as a whole, and that - long-term - the more folk who know it, the better. Personally I consider the nature of angling being far closer to hunting than it is to footie, tennis and other so-called sporting activities.

I fully get the point about 'hunting' sports in general being the only true 'sports', with everything else counting as 'games'. But the reality is that the meaning has been appropriated from field sports, by people who like athletics and footie. Can't really blame them, I suppose.

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cumbriafishingfestival.co.uk

I look forward to the Olympics and the World Cup Final as I can drive my midlife crisis sports car on deserted roads and have my pick of the rivers best beats.I would rather have my toe nails removed than have to watch either event.

I am going to be controversial here, this has hit a real nerve. But this is symptomatic of football. There are many many sports fans who truly love football as a game and there also seems to be many many football fans who dislike sport.

The idea of sport is to create a competitive environment which challenges the individual and brings people together ........... I know of no other sport, except football, where grown people have to be segregated because they will misbehave if brought together.

In terms of spectating and playing sport I was lucky enough to be in a large family who were mad on everything:
Horse Racing (P2P, Jumps and flat)
Cricket
Snooker
Darts (Lakeside what a laugh)
Tennis
Shooting
Rugby L&U
Eventing
Athletics
Bowls

all of which I loved and have never stopped feeling lucky about being involved in. However the one event that separates all these events was going to watch my cousin play for Spurs against Arsenal back in the eighties ........ what a nasty, intimidating and generally low life experience that was. It was pathetic and it made me think twice about ever being involved in such a low life activity again. Now luckily friends of mine have worked on me hard and I have been to matches at Charlton, Crystal Palace and Newcastle since and had a really good time, but that experience is still there.

It stands out, football attracts people who have no idea or wish to understand sport. 'olympic sports bore me rigid' is in that camp. The Olympics is sports fans dream, all those sports which are not mainstream get great air time and the competitive nature is fantastic.

Right I'll get off the hobby horse now.

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Carl

http://www.wandlepiscators.net/
http://teiseangling.co.uk/index.htm

TOMORROW THE TRENT COULD BE YOUR FISHERY! When are YOU going to JOIN THE ANGLING TRUST?

It might be controversial, but it's also right.

Just to add to your point, I'm going to barf if I hear one more know-nothing trash talk the olympics because they include baseball, shooting sports, fencing, etc, but don't include football (it's the biggest sport in the world, blah, blah, blah).

I agree, there's about a 90% chance that those that find this or that OlympicOlympics sport "boring" probably don't understand anything about it. Fencing, for example, is one of my favorite Olympic sports, but I can see where it would be difficult to understand unless you bother to spend 15 minutes aquainting yourself with the rules and the scoring. It gets a lot more interesting once you know a little bit about it.

Grouse