Well, I’ve had a busy old Olympic time of it since the last issue. Then I wrote about the Opening Ceremony rehearsal, but since then I’ve done lots of writing and sampled the atmosphere at a live event…
Yesterday I went to the beach volleyball. I had originally applied for tickets in the main ballot, but (seemingly like most people) I didn’t get anything. That meant that when the first load of tickets were released on first come first served basis, we had first pickings.
Nothing available in the athletics sessions I wanted to see, so then I had to choose what to go for. Beach volleyball seemed the answer, because I had enjoyed watching it at previous Olympics, I was keen to see the venue slap bang in the heart of London, and it was good value for money.
£20 for the ticket, for 2 mens and 2 womens games, which is a 4 hour session.
I loved it!
I was expecting the security and queues after the Opening Ceremony rehearsal, and to be honest it wasn’t worse than you would reasonably expect.
I also got to see the GB men play, and that brought a complete change in the atmosphere, just a touch louder to say the least!
Beach volleyball tends to polarise opinion – some people say it is too frivolous to be in The Olympics, others say it adds fun and viewer figures to The Games.
Having watched it on TV for many years, and now in person, there is no doubt it’s as athletic as indoors volleyball, so why shouldn’t it be in?
What did strike me was the sheer scale of the whole thing. I noticed that at the Olympic Park, and again at the Horse Guards Parade venue. Massive number of people, all the facilities, even the volleyball stadium itself, it’s just *big*!
You can see why it costs so much to stage an Olympics, and why it’s such a challenge.
I’m so pleased I got to go, as I continue watching it in the years ahead, I can add the memory of actually going to an event when it came to London.
As for my articles? Well, they have been Olympic orientated –
– Goal Achievement – Would You Start The 100 Metres Standing Up? which is about trying new things to make progress.
– Paul McCartney Is An Olympic Sized Numpty! which is about non expert offering their advice.
– Arrow Towards Goal Achievement Like Alison Williamson! which is about classic goal achievement imagery.
– Goal Achievement – Olympic Show And Tell! which is about commitment and effort towards your goal.
– Goal Achievement – Successful Cycling Systems! which is about putting systems in place.
As for my $101,000 Challenge, well I put on a special pricing offer for my article writing. That lasts for the period of the Olympics, and you can see it here:
Olympic pricing on my article writing!I decided a long time ago that I would watch as much Olympics as possible, and in fact with the multi channel options, I am spoilt for choice!
That means that although I am still blogging away, the list building may be less active until it’s over. I did some tweaking on the update Make Money From Sport guide, if that interests you, then the Olympics is a great time to put it to use, you can start today!
Ok, that’s it for today – do let me know what you think! (you can see the rest of the pictures from my day at the beach volleyball on my facebook page, link to the right hand side of page)
‘Til Next Time,
Health & Happiness,
Gordon
P.S. Don’t forget my motivational book ‘Transform Your Life in 21 Days!’, just $2.99!
I agree, beach volleyball is a hard sport, and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be in the Olympics. In fact, a lot of the training they do is the sort of thing I have to do in the gym, and after watching a documentary about our women’s team, I’ve been more motivated to do those exercises! I’ve been talking a lot with my 16 year old son about why skateboarding ought to be in as well. Two very good reasons to start with: 1) encourage kids to be interested in the Games and 2) show everyone else that when our youngsters are skating they’re not causing trouble, they’re practising a very demanding sport! It’s also fantastic to watch, a bit like gymnastics, and of course very like snowboarding which is in the Winter Olympics. I can feel a blog post coming on – so thanks for making me think of all this!
I like your 2 reasons for skateboarding. I’ll be honest, some of the stuff I see in the Winter Games don’t press my buttons, things like moguls, or halfpipe stuff. Having said that, there is no denying the skill and athleticism, so why not! With BMX firmly in the games now, and of course beach volleyball, it’s good that the IOC is not *too* stuck in the mud when it comes to choosing their sports!
Cheers, Gordon
Hi Gordon,
Wow – so incredible that you got to see an Olympic event sport, live and in action! What an experience!
Will head over and check out your photos.
Thanks for sharing!
~Christine
Thanks Christine -as a long time (very long time in fact!) Olympic fan, it’s real thrill to have been able to go – almost tempts me to hit the website on the offchance of a good ticket in these newly released batches!
So glad you got the opportunity to make it to a live event! Even as someone not particularly interested in the Olympic hubbub (or sports in general, really), I would hope to make it to at least one session if they were ever in my home area (not that they would be!).
And, as for the scale and all, my husband has made that comment almost every night as we’ve been watching–just how huge the venues are and the cost that had to have gone into putting everything together. It’s just about incomprehensible.
The scale and atmposphere seen up close and personal is even more staggering! I often hear an argument thatthe Olympic committee should just pay to set up one Olympic venue somewhere were everything can be, so the cost is less of an issue.
I guess the 3 points against that would be –
1. Where to put it. Greece would work as an ideal, but is that realistic?
2. Travelling around and taking it to different countries is part of the Olympic ethos.
3. The cost is huge, but it’s largely paid for by sponsors (although having said that, the cost to the UK taxpayer is horrendous!
Cheers, Gordon