Are You In The Olympic Spirit?

Phil Smith, Snoworks Director reports on how London 2012 is having a positive effect on people striving for individual development.

There’s no doubt that everyone has got into the Olympic spirit. London 2012 has been a huge success. According to the Telegraph there’s been a surge of interest in active holidays.

From the Daily Telegraph, Travel
The results of Bradley Wiggins, Chris Hoy, Jessica Ennis and all the other GB athletes are having a very positive effect on the strive for individual development. Mark Warner the British tour operator that specialises in active holidays have reported a 20% increase in bookings for active holidays this summer. There’s no doubt that many people are swapping their traditional holiday for a more active one. In a survey commissioned last year by website iExplore, 75% of people said that keeping active on holiday helps them to forget the stresses of daily life at home. This phenomenon is being coined “thrillax” to describe the trend of relaxing and doing something thrilling and exciting at the same time.

Reservations for Snoworks Ski Courses for this coming winter are currently up by over 60% for the same time last year, showing the Olympic spirit from London 2012 is really having an effect.

Emma Carrick-Anderson, Snoworks 4 time Olympic skier, summed the term Olympics up quite nicely.

“The term Olympics is not reserved for only the best in the world. Any individual can be involved in their own private Olympic Games. Whether it’s cycling up to the top of a particular hill, swimming a number of lengths without stopping, skiing a particular run for the first time or taking the first steps to off-piste skiing. Olympics is about the pursuit of personal goals and improvement. The passion and enjoyment involved in the quest for personal excellence is great to see. Just look at the release of emotions when a medal winner stands on the podium at the Olympics. We see the same emotions of happiness when our own children achieve something for the first time. Even now after competing in four Olympic Games I still get the same feelings when I arrive at the top of a col on my bike or make a great off-piste run for the first time. The feelings of success is what I love about teaching – seeing the joy in my students when they have a breakthrough on skis or I take them down a run that they never dreamed would be possible. Even now 10 years after competing at the official Olympic Games it still feels the same for me every day as I strive to develop performance in myself and others”.

The man considered to be the father of the modern Olympic Games Pierre de Coubertin summed up the concept of the Olympics with three core values:

Excellence: Giving one’s best, both on the field of play or in the professional arena. It is not only about winning, but also about participating, making progress against personal goals, striving to be and to do our best in our daily lives and benefiting from the healthy combination of a strong body, mind and will.

Friendship: Sport is a tool for mutual understanding among individuals and people from all over the world. The Olympic Games inspire humanity to overcome political, economic, gender, racial or religious differences and forge friendships in spite of those differences.

Respect: For oneself, one’s body, for others, for the rules and regulations, for sport and the environment.

From sportingpulse.com
When Pierre de Coubertin set out to revive the Olympic Games in 1894, his goal was to do more than establish a modern sporting competition. His ambition was to create an international movement that would promote an integrated culture of athleticism and education, position sport as a model for peace and harmony, and safeguard a set of values that extend well beyond the playing field.

Coubertin’s foresight has paid off. Today, the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect are the heart and soul of the Olympic Movement. They permeate every action and decision. The sustainability of these actions over time has not only elevated the discipline of sport on a world stage, but has also played a major role in the Olympic Movement’s long-term success.

Pierre de Coubertin regarded himself, first and foremost, as an educational reformer. He had seen, first hand, how introducing students to core values could change lives. He believed sport should play an important role in every child’s learning and enjoy the same degree of educational influence as science, literature and art. Coubertin’s argument rested on the notion that sport can stimulate thinking and improve one’s ability to concentrate.

Also important to Coubertin’s philosophy of education was the role played by sport in setting a foundation for ethics. The personal code of conduct arising from one’s sporting pursuits supported the development of morals and achievement of broader educational goals. Self-knowledge, self-control, generosity, observance of rules, respect for others and an appreciation for effort were equally valuable in guiding one’s actions on the fields, in the classroom and throughout life.

At Snoworks we have long taken the core values of the Olympics into the way we teach, the courses we run and the places we visit. Establishing core values that run right throughout the whole of our philosophy.

• The pursuit of individual goals and excellence.
• The adherence to local rules and regulations.
• The creation of partnerships and relationships with people from all over the world.

The Olympic morals and values are core to Snoworks heart as with all Snoworks guests that return year after year in the pursuit of their own Olympic Games.

Have you joined the Olympic Movement yet in the pursuit of personal excellence?