For the good of our youth: an urgent reorientation of competitive sport is necessary

19.07.2023

A passionate appeal for the protection of our youth from the harmful effects of today's competitive sports

It is time for us to unite as a human race and act with reason and compassion to protect our children and young people from the devastating consequences of competitive sport that goes against human nature. It is time that we raise the voice of reason and ask ourselves what values and messages we want to convey to our growing generation.

Let's protect our youth from the devastating consequences of performance-orientated sport by exercising common sense and compassion.

In a world that is already characterised by enough violence and conflict, we are confronted with a relentless competition that is all about winning at all costs. But where is the true respect for the losers? Where is the recognition of each individual's performance, regardless of the result? We have forgotten that sport is not just a battle against others, but above all an inner battle, a challenge to surpass oneself.

Partnership and team spirit are sacrificed in favour of rivalry and selfishness. Even in the business world, the value of cooperation is recognised, while in competitive sport the focus is exclusively on individual success. But what about the values of fair play, solidarity and togetherness? It's time we turned our attention away from the destruction of partnership and towards healthy, co-operative competition.

Competition at all costs: true respect for losers and the recognition of individual performance are being forgotten.

We see how the former pursuit of personal bests has turned into an envious rivalry. Young athletes are pressurised into gaining dubious recognition in order to live up to the expectations of others. But these expectations are often driven by greed and cause them to lose their soul and conscience. The systematic exploitation of public health to maximise personal profits is a sad testament to the aberrations of our society.

The media also bear responsibility because they fuel this double standard. They celebrate the successes of athletes while ignoring the darker side of competitive sport. Under the hypocritical pretext of emphasising the positive aspects of sport, they ignore the health and ethical consequences. Yet there are numerous opportunities outside of competitive sport to enable young people to develop a holistic personality.

Partnership and team spirit are being sacrificed in favour of the selfish pursuit of individual success. It is time to focus on fair play, solidarity and togetherness.

It is time for us to ask ourselves the question: Are these the role models we want to set for our young people? Should they learn that success at any cost counts, even if it is at the expense of their own health and future? We must act urgently before it is too late. Emergency services need to be set up now to protect underage athletes from sexual, psychological and physical violence. Is this really the reality we want to accept?

We must put a stop to the supposed heroes of competitive sport and no longer promote their machinations through financial support. Instead, the money should be channelled into grassroots sport to give as many young people as possible the opportunity to take part in sport and learn healthy values such as team spirit, respect and fair play. Let's work together to ensure that only coaches and carers with moral integrity have access to our children and young people, because we can't fight the sophisticated strategies of the perpetrators on our own.

The dark sides of competitive sport are ignored by the media, while holistic personal development is possible outside of it.

Let us therefore by all means Act togetherbefore the damage escalates further. Let's redefine competitive sport and put the needs and well-being of our youth at the centre. Let's use the money and resources wisely to give them a positive and healthy future. Our youth deserve to have role models who exemplify values such as fairness, respect and personal development. Together, we can bring about change and make competitive sport what it should be: a source of joy, togetherness and individual fulfilment.

Sincerely
Your Dipl.-Ing. Dieter Karl Artur Paul
- Managing Director storemaster GmbH & Co. KG -