Losing on purpose - whose fault?

[Polar Bear]

Unfortunately life is full of loopholes.   Politicians fill their expenses boots with them, motorists pay expensive lawyers to exploit them.   Don't we all get so pissed off when politicians tell us that what they've done falls within the rules?

If you don't want loopholes then be clever enough to work out the consequences, and, listen when folk tell you that there IS a loophole.

Is there any rule in any sport that says that a competitor has to strive to win at all cost all of the time?

 

[Biggsy]

There's a motto 'win at all costs' - so is loosing a 'battle' to win the 'war' such a bad thing?

No, it's no matter when a tiny part of something is affected, but yes it is a big deal when a whole match is ruined.  A match is a significant chunk of what spectators have been looking forward to for months, and paid good money for.  Ultimately the spectators are more important than the competitors.  However, I blame the format rather than the players.  There needs to be a natural incentive to win each match for it to work properly.

[Biggsy]

Is there any rule in any sport that says that a competitor has to strive to win at all cost all of the time?

Near enough, in badminton.  The rules say that a player must employ "one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" is banned.

[mattc]

manotea, go read this thread:

As reported on http://sports.yahoo.com/news/china-set-second-world-record-team-sprint-162037283.html

But Britain's victory, for some, could be soured by the gamesmanship used by teammate Philip Hindes in the first round, which gives access to the gold medal match.

After a bad start, and faced with losing just a crucial fraction of a second, the 19-year-old German-born Briton crashed deliberately in order to be allowed a restart, in accordance with the rules.

"So I crashed, I did it on purpose just to get the restart, just to have the fastest ride. It was all planned really," said Hindes.

"When that happens you can lose so much time... my only chance was to crash and get the restart."

According to the comic he corrected himself later on. His rear wheel slipped in the frame and he went down:

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/articles/show?id=534213

EDIT: bugger, he's deleted his post! 

[mcshroom]

Is there any rule in any sport that says that a competitor has to strive to win at all cost all of the time?

Near enough, in badminton.  The rules say that a player must employ "one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" is banned.

Jockeys can be (and are) banned for not trying - link

[IanDG]

Is there any rule in any sport that says that a competitor has to strive to win at all cost all of the time?

Near enough, in badminton.  The rules say that a player must employ "one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" is banned.

In that case I will concede - the players were in the wrong and actions were against the rules. Team GB sprinters employed a legitimate tactic 

[IanDG]

Is there any rule in any sport that says that a competitor has to strive to win at all cost all of the time?

Near enough, in badminton.  The rules say that a player must employ "one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" is banned.

Jockeys can be (and are) banned for not trying - link

To guard against race fixing and betting scams, I assume?

[mcshroom]

Is there any rule in any sport that says that a competitor has to strive to win at all cost all of the time?

Near enough, in badminton.  The rules say that a player must employ "one's best efforts to win a match" and "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport" is banned.

Jockeys can be (and are) banned for not trying - link

To guard against race fixing and betting scams, I assume?

That would be my guess as well. Horse racing is far more about the betting and the spectacle than the sporting achievement in it's own right. theoretically, a perfectly handicapped race should lead to all the horses crossing the line together.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Is there betting on badminton? I would expect that there is when it's an Olympic match. Not that I think this was a betting-related case of match fixing - or even any sort of match fixing; if the teams had got together to fix it, they would have come up with something cleverer!

[Manotea]

manotea, go read this thread:

EDIT: bugger, he's deleted his post! 

Yeah, I was in denial.

what I was going to say was... the  badders were blatantly pissing in the soup and SHTBD.

 What Hindes did was more panicy reaction. He's 17 and only been riding a couple of years, with GB a few months (...dreams...). Would a more experienced rider done the same? I'd have thought the risk of injury outweighed a poor start BWDIK?

I'd be interested in a word with whoever was holding his bike at the start.

[mattc]

Well, there is STILL a long thread about that incident, so
my answer is STILL "go ask over there".

 

[Manotea]

And that was the other reason I deleted my post!