Canada Being Roshamboed In Beijing But Who's To Blame?

Every guy knows what it's like to punched, kicked, clobbered, struck or walloped right in the boys. 

I was eight years old when it first happened to me.  I was standing on top of a fire-hydrant when I lost my footing and dropped straight down, the top of the hydrant rushing up at what seemed an unnatural speed and tagging me right in the testicles.

It hurt like hell.  The pain radiated throughout in sickening waves of wretchedness and agony but, fortunately, there was no permanent damage although, to this day, I couldn't tell you why I thought standing on a fire hydrant was a good idea.

A female friend once told me it's no picnic to get "kicked in the box" either but I have no base of reference on that so I'll have to take her word for it.

It was the agony of defeat that Canadian Fencer Sherraine Schalm - ranked fifth in the world and one of Canada's best hopes for a medal - had to deal with as she participated in the demise of her Olympic dream with a 15-13 loss to her Hungarian opponent.

Schalm summed up her Olympic Games - and perhaps that of Canada's as well -  in a single, precise quote that just about every one can relate to.

"It's like I imagine being a man, it's like being kicked in the nuts repeatedly, that's how bad it feels, you feel like you want to curl up and die,"

Truer words have never been spoken.

Schalm was just outperformed by her opponent but some Canadian Olympians point to a much bigger issue, one that cuts to the core of Canada's lacklustre performances in Beijing.

Money. Or, rather, a lack of it.

Despite increased funding over the years from both the federal government and the private sector, Canada's funding for its Olympic Atheletes pales in comparison to those of its neighbours to the south, China and Russia, all of whom are in the top ten in the medal standings.  In fact, of the G8 nations, Canada is the only one not to have a medal.

Even Tajikistan is outperforming Canada and I doubt many Canadians would even be able to point to Tajikistan on a map.

The finger-pointing has already began among Canada's athletes, including boxer Adam Trupish who, after taking a shellacking, pointed out Sports Canada gave him absolutely no training to prepare for the Olympics, no prep to recover from an injury and hadn't even fought since October.  He also noted, funding has dropped for the National Boxing Federation from $800,00 to $450,000. 

Canada's kayakers and badminton players are also complaining about a serious lack of funding which, unfortunately, does make it difficult to compete even if people snicker at the fact we have a national badminton team.

Regardless, the numbers don't lie.  It's estimated the host nation is spending upwards of 40-billion on Olympic-related initiatives whereas Canada plunks down a measly 40-million, for the both the Summer and Winter Games.

Perhaps what the Canadian government needs to do is throw a little extra cash in to the coffers of Sport Canada. 

I would suggest the first thing to do with the extra money would be to promote the various sports our athletes are involved in, from synchro-diving to fencing to badminton.  In advertising, you gotta' spend money to make money and promoting our athletes in every province and territory would go a long way in securing corporate sponsorship. 

If you want big business to chip in, prove to them they will receive a sizable return on their investment.  Disneyland made billions by getting sports superstars to exclaim, to a worldwide audience, "I'm going to Disneyland!" after winning the big game.  

I'm sure if you had Sherraine Schalm tell all Canadians that she got the boost she needed by snacking on a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, it wouldn't just be the pot-heads heading out to buy a bag.

Otherwise, Canadians can expect to see our Summer Games medal count dwindle further as other countries invest billions in to training programs for its Olympians.  It's only a matter of time before it hits us where it really hurts, the Winter Olympics.

And wouldn't that be a kick to the nuts.