MARK BARNES: Dropping standards to achieve universal participation does not work
We cannot teach people to swim by lowering the water level until they do not have to
23 May 2024 - 05:00
Imagine hosting an alternative Olympic Games, where the objective of the 100m dash is for all athletes to cross the finish line at exactly the same time. An equal finish, instead of an equal start.
To achieve this, either the faster athletes would need to be handicapped (carrying weights, for instance) or the slower athletes would have to be given a start. I doubt you’ll sell many tickets. It would be as flawed to have athletes start at the same place but have some with imposed burdens that affect their ability to compete on an equal footing. This is our conundrum...
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