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"Time measurement in sports not reliable"

According to Erik van den Boogert, the time measurements specialist of the KNSB (dutch skating association), the present basics for time measurement in sports (like iceskating, atletics and swimming) are very indecisive. The IAAF and the FINA also agree that time measurement in thousandths of seconds increases the chance of errors. Since the differences in time are small these inaccurate measurements can make the difference between Gold and Silver.

Phelps (L) and Cavic; Phelps won with 10-thousandth of a second (frame-by-frame)

The time measurement problem exists because the current equipment is not sophisticated enough. It is possible to upgrade the equipment, but that will be very expensive. As a consequence, Tron Espeli said that the ISU would watch whether the rules should require a certain adjustment, but for the time being transparancy is important (see video).

When hearing about the time measurement problem, there are a few questions coming up in our mind, namely:

• Is Usain Bolt maybe slower, or even faster than we think?
• Did Jenny Wolf really defeated Sang-Wha Lee during the Worldcup game in Astana?

and maybe the most important question: 

What consequences does this have for the Olympic Games in London this year? 

Source: NOS.nl

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Support the Olympic Games 2028 in the Netherlands

Yesterday it was beautiful weather in the Netherlands and with this lovely weather a new season with outdoor sports is coming up. Therefore, say goodbye to the indoor sports like ice skating (22 till 25 March Heerenveen) and alpine skiing (is now in Schladming ) because it’s getting warm so say hello to cycling, athletics, field hockey, soccer et cetra.

With Spring knocking on the door the Olympic Games are coming close fast. In the Netherlands athletes, coaches and medical staff  are preparing themselves for the Games. There are a lot of meetings to prepare for London.

In 2028 the Netherlands like to host the Olympic Games. Like we mentioned before (in the blog of Tuesday) there is a whole plan (Olympisch Plan 2028) to set up the candidate procedure. However, the Mulier Instituut investigated how much support there is among the Dutch population to host the Olympic Games in 2028. The figures they came up with are worrying since support has decreased. Last year 41 percent of the  Dutch population supported the Games but this year it’s only 30 percent.

Therefore, we must hope that the Dutch athletes do a good job in London because if the do the support among the Dutch population will increase. We think it’s unique for such a little country as the Netherlands to host the Olympics in 2028. Therefore, we must be proud of the bidding and support this unique phenomenon.

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