American Public University
The spirit of Olympism is based on spending effort and finding a way which balances things in life. It teaches new generations how to enjoy time together by spending energy and in peace. Although the definition of Olympism is almost thousand years old, it still holds. The wars in the world have always been the result of not being able to share things in the world such as land, natural resources, or other similar things. The spirit of Olympism teaches us that spending effort together and achieving peace is possible. Olympism means much further than merely competing.
Also, Olympism is a celebration of connecting people through spending energy together in sports every four years. Olympism does not have any discriminating aspect, and as independent of their race, abilities, and religions, people can be sportsmen and sportswomen to compete with each others. A large audience follows the games, and they celebrate any effort spent in the stadium. Winning is something important but being part of Olympics is the most important thing for all the sportsmen and sportswomen.
Nowadays, the Olympic Games have been a large event financially. The countries are competing to be the host country and recently we learned that some countries were bribing some members of the Olympic Games organization. The less developed countries and many of the developing countries do not have much opportunity to host the Olympic Games. Many believe that the less developed countries cannot develop the infrastructure necessary for the games, and these countries cannot guarantee protection for everybody. However, the last decade has shown us that even the developed countries have many security issues. The spirit of Olympism needs to reach all the countries, and the developed countries could help the less developed countries to host an organization (PWC, 2016).
Also, many famous sportsmen and sportswomen attend the game, and they receive a significant amount of promotion from their sponsors and countries. The saddest thing about Olympics is that anyone who is willing to be a part of the Olympic Games cannot do this because you need to spend money and time to get ready for qualification. Therefore, it was difficult to see miracles in the games, or seeing someone who follows his or heart can be a part of the games would be a big miracle. Subsequently, the Olympic Games are not entirely inclusive.
Consequently, financial issues have damaged the spirit of Olympism, and it seems to be it is not possible to fix this matter in a sports world in which significant amount of financial resources are invested.
Cycling is an important event in the world. Maybe, it does not include many kinds of sports; however, biking is a relatively more accessible sport for everybody because biking is not so expensive. Also, cycling competitions can easily be organized any city in any country. Also, biking is a sport that even the poor people can effort it. Therefore, cycling sport is not a discriminating sport.
The good thing about cycling is that bikers do not receive significant amounts of payments. Cycling carries a free spirit to individuals. One can bike on mountains, roads, and many other different places. Cycling creates a social interaction within bikers and between bikers and people.
One good example for showing how biking can create social interactions between people is the Iron-Curtain biking route. This route starts from Norway to Bulgaria on the borders of the old Iron-Curtain countries. This route is signed as safe for bikers. Families and individuals can travel on this route safely. Also, many people in the different countries on this trail host bikers and help bikers when they need. This route and some other similar routes prove that biking creates good connections between people. Consequently, sport is something connects us through spending effort together (Cramer, 2016).
References
Cramer, M. (2016). Iron Curtain Trail - The Iron Curtain Trail - experiencing the history of Europe's division. Iron Curtain Trail. Retrieved 17 July 2016, from http://www.ironcurtaintrail.eu/en/
PWC,. (2016). The economic impact of the Olympic Games. Drexel University. Retrieved 17 July 2016, from http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~rosenl/sports%20Folder/Economic%20Impact%20of%20Olympics%20PWC.pdf
