The 1952 Olympics
At the annual dinner of the British Olympic Association this week the Duke of Edinburgh expressed his confidence that Great Britain Would make a good showing in next year's Games at Helsinki. He could hardly have done otherwise ; but in actual fact the outlook at the moment is not particularly hopeful. For this country to be represented at all requires funds which the British Olympic Association does not as yet possess ; and to ensure that we are worthily represented will need, in the case of most classes of athlete, longer and more intensive training than has been regarded as necessary in the past or can be easily arranged in the circumstances of the present. These difficulties will, and indeed . must, be overcome. The British cult of the amateur is an honourable as well as an engaging one, but there is a difference between being an amateur and appearing. amateurish. We cannot do better than our best at Helsinki, and our -best is perhaps not likely to win us a position of supremacy. But we must ensure that our representatives have everything they need in the way of training facilities, and that the conditions under which they represent us in Finland neither involve them in financial sacrifices nor oblige them to assume the role of poor relations.
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