Calacus Monthly Hit & Miss – IPC & FIA
Every month we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the last few weeks.
HIT - THE INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE & STOKE MANDEVILLE HOSPITAL
The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has always recognised the importance of its foundations, at a then-modest hospital in Buckinghamshire.
With World War Two coming to a conclusion, it was a German neurosurgeon, Ludwig Guttmann, who came up with the origins that are the Paralympic Movement today.
Guttmann, who had escaped from Nazi Germany when their anti-Semitic policies became clear, worked at Oxford University and then joined the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville which had been opened to look after military personnel and civilians who had suffered spinal cord injuries during the war.
Guttmann had seen in his student days that individuals with spinal injuries were written off and essentially left to die.
He believed that they could be rehabilitated through sporting activity, which could build their physical and mental strength after the dramatic impact of their injuries.
One of the first sports Guttmann organised was wheelchair polo, with players using walking sticks to hit the ball, which he later replaced with wheelchair basketball.
The games were competitive and it was clear that taking part in sport started to change the lives of the patients.
Guttmann encouraged patients to learn archery, which allowed them to use their upper body as well as giving them an opportunity to compete on level terms with fully able-bodied athletes.
Inspired by the London 1948 Olympic Games, Guttmann arranged an archery contest on the day of the opening ceremony.
Sixteen disabled wheelchair-bound men and women, representing Stoke Mandeville and The Star and Garter Home in Richmond, Surrey, competed in what he called the ‘Paraplegic Games.’
Bob Paterson, who knew Guttmann when he was a child and later became a senior member of the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports federation (IWAS), said: “After injury Guttmann focused an individual’s mind on what they can do rather than regretting what they can no longer do. Through sport Guttmann gave that person back the will to live a full life with pride and self-respect.”
The event at Stoke Mandeville was held every year, growing to over 100 international competitors
In 1956 Sir Arthur Porritt, a member of the IOC attended the Games and said: “The spirit of these Games goes beyond the Olympic Games spirit. You compete not only with skill and endurance but with courage and bravery too”.
That same year, the IOC presented Guttmann with the Fearnley Cup, a special award for outstanding merit in the spirit of the Olympics. Guttmann said: “I hope this is only the beginning of a closer connection between the Stoke Mandeville Games and the Olympic Games.”
A year later, the event attracted an audience of 3,000 to watch 200 athletes from eight nations and had extended to include netball, snooker table tennis, javelin, shot put and swimming as well as archery.
The growth of the event underlined the importance of sport as a tool to help society.
Even in modern times, there are communities who have ostracised those with disabilities. Calacus supported Laureus at the Indiability Games a few years ago, which were created to build bonds and bring physically disabled children together.
The first Paralympic Games specifically held parallel to the Olympic Games took place in Rome in 1960 with 400 athletes from 28 countries, while the first Winter Games took place in 1976 in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden.
By the Toronto 1976 Paralympics, specialised racing wheelchairs were introduced and events for amputees and visually impaired athletes were held for the first time. Just four years later at the Arnhem 1980 Paralympics there were events for athletes with cerebral palsy.
Dr Guttmann founded the British Sports Association for the Disabled (English Federation of Disability Sport) in 1961 and in the 1970s, he led conversations with the IOC about the use of the term ‘Olympic’ and the name of the various organisations – conversations that directly led the way to the close relationship with the IOC and the later establishment of the IPC.
So it was fitting that the IPC announced earlier in October that Stoke Mandeville will forever have a role to play in future Paralympic Games.
Starting with Paris 2024, a new ceremony will take place at the hospital to mark the start of the Paralympic Torch Relay, handing the flame to the torch-bearer before it makes its journey to the start of the competition.
Since the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, the Paralympic Movement’s birthplace has hosted a Heritage Flame Lighting event each Paralympic Games edition which contributes towards the Paralympic Flame.
Back then, the Flame was lit with an "Armillary Sphere" – a model of stars and planets in the sky – with the spark of the Flame rising from the chair of London 2012 Paralympic athletics gold medallist Hannah Cockcroft as she was suspended inside the sphere.
This moment was followed by the lighting of the Torch and Cauldron by Paralympic veteran Caz Walton, whose career spanned eight Games stretching back to Tokyo 1964 and included 10 gold medals across three different sports.
In the same way the Olympic Flame is kindled in Olympia, Greece, the plan now is for the Paralympic Flame to be created in Stoke Mandeville, marking the start of the Paralympic Torch Relay.
IPC President Andrew Parsons said, “It is fitting that 75 years on from those historic first Stoke Mandeville Games and on the eve of ticket sales for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games we are announcing that Stoke Mandeville will play an even greater role in all future editions of the Paralympic Games.
“The Paralympic Movement owes Stoke Mandeville and Sir Ludwig Guttmann a huge debt of gratitude. What started out as a small-scale sport event in 1948 at the back of a rehabilitation hospital for 16 injured war veterans has now become the world’s third biggest sport event. At the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games 4,350 exceptional athletes from 180 countries will compete in 22 sports, while a cumulative audience of 4.1 billion will watch on TV.
“Through his pioneering techniques, Sir Ludwig changed the world with sport, something that is central to the IPC today. With this new concept for the flame lighting, we want to honour the history of the Paralympic Movement but also highlight the evolution of the Paralympic Games since the first edition in Rome, Italy, in 1960, which featured 319 athletes from 21 countries.
“Today, the Paralympic Games is a spectacular sport event and the only global event of impact that puts persons with disabilities front and centre. The transformational legacies the Games also leave in the host country and globally are also truly impressive and act as a catalyst to a more inclusive world for all.”
Dave Clarke OBE, CEO of ParalympicsGB, said: “Great Britain is immensely proud to be the birthplace of Paralympic sport and starting the flame’s journey at Stoke Mandeville is fitting recognition of its role as the catalyst for what has grown to be such a powerful global sporting movement.
“At ParalympicsGB we work tirelessly to continue to be at the forefront of the evolution of disability sport as we know that the performances of Paralympic athletes and the positive role models such performances create is one of the best ways of challenging perceptions and breaking down barriers faced by all disabled people.
“ParalympicsGB remains relentlessly focused on ensuring that participation in sport is open to everyone. We believe there is still far more we and wider society can do to improve access to inclusive sporting opportunities so more disabled people can experience the physical, mental, and social benefits of taking part to build on the visionary work Ludwig Guttman began at Stoke Mandeville Hospital 75 years ago.”
Caz Walton, patient of Dr Guttmann and subsequent GB athlete at five Paralympic Games, said: “I think Sir Ludwig just changed the world for us; it was a complete step change… He came in, he had a vision… As far as disability and disabled sport was concerned he did change the world.”
Dr Guttmann was later knighted by Queen Elizabeth II and Mandeville was chosen as the name for one of the mascots for London 2012.
His drive and determination for disabled sportsmen and women to be included in the Olympics established the Paralympic Games as we know them today and with the IPC’s announcement this month, his legacy is now firmly established as one of the founders of disability sport.
MISS – FÉDÉRATION INTERNATIONALE DE L’AUTOMOBILE AND THE MAXIMUM FINE INCREASE
It is perhaps a bleak reflection of the 2023 Formula One season that, as we enter it’s final month, headlines are not being dominated by a thrilling title fight, nor any particularly memorable moments on track, but instead by the dysfunctional communication of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
Amid a campaign of utter dominance from Max Verstappen and the Red Bull Racing team, the governing body might have been hoping that the United States Grand Prix over the weekend of October 21-22 would break the cycle of ”boring” races and bring about some much needed excitement for F1 fans worldwide.
Instead, through their own misjudged messaging, they have only served to further dampen the mood.
Following a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council in Geneva, the FIA announced on October 19 that, having remained static at €250,000 for the past 12 years, the maximum fine for drivers would be quadrupled to a staggering €1m.
The FIA statement read: “This amount has not been reviewed or amended for at least 12 years and does not reflect the current needs of motor sport.”
It has not been clarified what actions could be sanctioned with such a fine.
Unsurprisingly, the decision has been met with substantial criticism.
When confronted with the news ahead of the Grand Prix in Austin, the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton responded: “It’s the first time I’ve heard of it, I’m not really sure what it’s referring to exactly.
"When it comes to things like this,. I really do think we need to be thinking about the message that this sends out to those that are watching. If they are going to be fining people a million, let’s make sure one hundred per cent of that goes to a cause.
"There’s a lot of money in this whole industry and a lot more that we need to do in terms of creating better accessibility, better diversity, more opportunities for people who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to get into a sport like this. So many causes around the world. That’s the only way they’ll get that million from me."
Hamilton’s irritation was matched by his fellow British driver and Mercedes teammate, George Russell, who is the current director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association – the trade union of Formula One drivers.
Russell said: "I'd say there's probably 40% of the grid that are making less than this maximum fine.
“And that's the income,” he added. “That's not taking into consideration the outgoings, the traveling around the world, the people you need as part of your team. It's pretty obscene.
"We've requested before from the FIA to hear where those fines are going towards, what causes they're going to. It needs to be reinvested into grass roots, but so far, we've had no response on where that's going.
“We'd love to get some clarity and transparency, and if they truly believe a million euro fine is worthwhile, and it's going to reinvest into the sport, then maybe one of the drivers who is being paid a lot is happy to pay that fine. But it seems obscene."
Despite being rivals on-track, Russell and Hamilton’s bemusement was shared by three-time champion Verstappen.
"I would like to know what that offence can be for one million,” remarked the Dutch driver. “What is it? If touching a rear wing is 50k, then I would like to know what one mil is.”
Verstappen’s comment refers back to an incident in November 2021 when he was fined €50,000 by the FIA for examining and touching the rear wing of Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Similarly, that was a situation that left Verstappen laughing off the severity of the fine, but then the Dutchman is reportedly the highest-paid driver on the circuit, which explains his ability to shrug his shoulders and carry on.
As Russell alluded to, many of the other drivers on the grid, those who drive for the smaller teams, simply wouldn’t be able to afford such a huge fine.
Alex Albon, the Williams driver who is competing in his fourth season in Formula One, stated: “If they’re going to raise that [the maximum fine] to a million, then they’re in some ways targeting three or four drivers because no-one else could actually afford that.”
Kevin Magnussen of the Haas team first raced in Formula One five years before Albon, but the Dane echoed the views of his British-Thai colleague.
“I don’t know what offence it is to be €1 million,” said Magnussen. “But that sounds ridiculous. I mean Charles [Leclerc] can give his watch, but I would disappear. Never to be found again.”
As is his nature, Magnussen took a light-hearted view of the issue, but his comment does also point to the seriousness of this fine increase for the majority of the competitors.
And the general rancour was not exclusive to the drivers, as criticism of the FIA’s decision spread around the paddock.
Toto Wolff, the team principal of Mercedes-AMG Petronas, supported the drivers’ opposition and questioned whether the FIA needed a “reality check.”
Wolff said: “I think there needs to be some deterrent for grave infringements of the regulations, but none of that was on the radar of anyone that it would be coming.
“A million, we need a reality check with real life,” Wolff continued. “Whether that is an adequate fine or not, I don’t think we’ve ever fined a driver €250,000, raising the ceiling is something that one needs to understand where it comes from. I don’t think we want to portray Formula One now in a world where it’s tough enough to give drivers fines of a million.
“I think half of the grid wouldn’t be able to pay them, and I don’t think it’s adequate considering…. I don’t think we should be playing around with those numbers that seem very surreal for people that are watching us.”
Wolff’s opinion was reinforced by the Aston Martin team principal, Mike Krack, who further suggested that the FIA was losing touch with reality in it’s decision making.
“Let's keep our feet on the ground to be throwing with such numbers,” warned Krack. "We have spectators here that are buying tickets already for quite high prices and by throwing numbers around like we do currently, I think we need to come back a little bit more to reality… I don't know where it [the fine increase] came from. I was caught out as well when I read it."
Among the drivers and the teams there was a clear feeling of being blindsided by the FIA’s decision, which explains the consensus of confusion.
With the additional context of the Qatar Grand Prix only two weeks earlier, after which there was widespread condemnation of the “dangerous” and “unacceptable” heat experienced in the cockpits – with temperatures reportedly as high as 50C (122F) – it is understandable that any argument the FIA might have put forward justifying the increase of the maximum fine to ensure greater discipline and safety on the racetrack would not wash with anyone.
The lack of transparent communication and consultation prior to the maximum fine increase was clear evidence that the FIA are not prioritising the drivers’ best interests, which explains the level of communal discontent.
Troublingly for the FIA, this is not their first communications controversy of the 2023 season.
In April, Carlos Sainz took to social media to voice his frustration at the FIA’s lack of clarity and flexibility after they denied him a review despite the submission of new evidence over a collision involving Sainz and Fernando Alonso, for which the Ferrari driver was issued a “disproportionate” five second penalty that demoted him from fourth to twelfth in the final race standings.
A month later, following an anticlimactic Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku that had minimal overtaking due to the FIA’s shortening of the street circuit’s Drag Reduction System (DRS) zones, Guenther Steiner, the team principal of Haas, expressed his disappointment at the unresponsive attitude of the governing body when he highlighted that something needed to be done to address the general lack of overtaking in the 2023 season.
There has also been a longstanding feud between the FIA and Christian Horner of Red Bull over various issues – none more prevalent than the $7m fine that the governing body delivered to the Red Bull team in November 2022 for breaching the budget cap. Horner described the punishment as “enormous” and “draconian”.
Across most major sports it is not uncommon to see governing bodies come under fire.
At a time of crisis, it is how you react that will ultimately set your organisation apart and there has been no such acknowledgement from the FIA President, Mohamed Ben Sulayem, nor any of his colleagues.
The drivers’ reactions to the maximum fine hike has made it abundantly clear that there needs to be greater dialogue between the FIA and their key internal stakeholders before decisions are announced.
If the FIA want to learn something from this situation, they cannot hide from the scrutiny now.
This experience can still lead to a positive outcome if there are people within the governing body who are willing to accept their misjudgement and vow to improve moving forward. A good starting point for this would be to open the dialogue with the drivers and the team principals.
For the sake of all the Formula One fans, let’s hope that the FIA are willing to do this, so we can turn our attention back to the events on track rather than the drama off it.