Canadian Rugby Forums » General Discussion

Nudeness to Support Canadian Athletes

(16 posts)

  1. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  2. admin
    Key Master

    I think its terrible that women need to bare their bodies to fund their sporting goals and ambitions. Its not just the Women's Rugby team but also the Canadian Women's Cross Country Team and Biathlon Team. Sure, one can admire this effort, not to mention the bodies, and entrepreneurship, but the fact of the matter is why do they have to do this. They are representing our country as our ambassadors, surely a rich country like Canada we can find the corporate or individual support so that nude calendars are not the primary meets of support.

    Despite my protest, I will buy a calendar(s) to support the Canadian Women's Rugby Teams /Biathlon and Cross Country Teams, but I don't think this should be necessary.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  3. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  4. Toothlesstiger
    Moderator

    No it is not necessary and while Nick at Richmond Hill is inviting us to lobby our Federal Government and Sport Canada in order for our elite rugby players get a fair shake in terms of funding for our entry into the Olympics.

    It would be best to embarrass the likes of Harper and his little squirt of a Cabinet Minister for sport by including Admins article.

    The way things are this and previous Federal governments have had no qualms abandoning the women's side of sports and leaving them to peddle sex to the masses.

    Surely the Minister for Women's Affairs in Harpers Cabinet and those of the Liberals last Cabinets cannot just have as this one appears to be doing and allowing the elite womens athletes of Canada to be so humiliated and reduced despite their abilities to mere sex objects.

    Admin, many thanks for posting this subject.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  5. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  6. shack
    Member

    What a load of crap. A fund raiser is a fund raiser. I'm sure the firefighters don't have to bare their chests in their calenders to raise money for charity. But tthey see it as a viable means of getting the job done and having some fun doing it. I'm pretty sure if the members of the womens rugby squad felt they were selling their bodies for the cause they wouldn't be doing it.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  7. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  8. teamaccess
    Member

    I think you're missing the point Shack; the funding levels shouldn't be so askew between the men and the women. If they were funded equally, and didn't have to pay thousands of dollars to attend training camps, let alone thte cost of touring, then I be there would be no calendar.

    But you are right, they wouldn't do it if they didn't want to. They just shouldn't have to resort to it to raise funds.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  9. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  10. Faust
    Moderator

    But what should be cut for it?
    Government is government and it is hard to pay up for so many require funds for sports. My issue is networks like TSN having Poker as a sport instead having real sports on its channel. With exposure, comes marketing dollars and funding. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for poker on TV, but it should not be on a sports channel. It is a game, not a sport.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  11. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  12. 2rdubyaz
    Member

    People want to see that female athletes still have their feminine qualities, just like when you see a woman athlete with her baby and a gold medal. This will never change cause men are from mars and woman are from venus.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  13. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  14. Faust
    Moderator

    I watch Women's Rugby so I can see women stop on each other with their cleats in a feminine way.
    If you talk about "feminine sports" like beach volleyball, gymnastics, or figure skating.
    Box, MMA, Hockey, Rugby, Lacrosse, and wrestling ( the non jello, oil, and mud ones)then no.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  15. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  16. shack
    Member

    I don't think I was missing the point. What I dissagreed with was the statement "women need to bare their bodies to fund their sporting goals and ambitions." This makes it sound like the women were left with no alternative. I'll bet if you polled the ones who are in the calendar they would say, sure they would like to see better funding arrangements but they were also verry happy to participate in this venture and no they didn't feel like they were forced into it. I think it was probably fun for all involved so why take away from it with crap staements like the above!

    Posted 2 years ago #

  17. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  18. Fan
    Member

    This subject, is one of personal morals. It is hard for me to demand that my sense of what is moral should be someone elses. That being said, this calender offends "MY" sense of morals. Further I am deeply troubled that when members of our Senior Women's team are held out as role models to young women of high school age and parents of the same, that we are sending out the wrong message here. While some parts of our society condone this activity and rationalize its need (how else can we get money), others, such as myself are repulsed by it. All it would take is a few letters by some upset parents to the Federal Dep't of Sport to put our Women's team under scruteny thereby putting at risk the women's carding and all for what? A couple of extra thousand dollars? These calanders might be okay for the local firehall, but they have no business being part of a national program that will soon represent our country at the Olympics.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  19. Ad Bot

    Posted 2 years ago

  20. Toothlesstiger
    Moderator

    I will not take a position as black & white as the Fan's.

    I would accept that the women's senior team members possibly enter into it in a positive way. However, peer pressure may well place one or more members of the program to put aside their personal views on the matter in order to be part of the team.

    What would the Government cut in order to fund the women's program? It currently funds both the genders equally as it stands. It provides an annual grant as well as carding for both the men's and women's Rugby Canada teams.

    It is really a matter of priorities on the part of Rugby Canada and it's governing body, the iRB.

    The funding that the NSMT enjoys and it is a dam slim amount compared to N.Z. , England and the remaining original 8 members is from the purse of the iRB.

    What could that august body do to make it a proportionally level playing field. Secondly, the whole of the iRB body could re-position itself with regards to women's rugby.

    They will not budge until they are threatened with a competeing telivised Women's Soccer World Cup.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  21. rusty_lock
    Member

    Everytime I've seen the girls selling their calender they have been autographing them also. Doesn't seem to me that they are embarrassed by it.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  22. Toothlesstiger
    Moderator

    rusty-lock be that is as it may, Sports Canada funds R.C. to the tune of some $426,000.00 p/a of which $80,000.00 goes on interest on the outstanding WRWC debt. That leaves some $ 346,000.00 if split 50 /50 between both senior team programs then hawking the calender would be a moot point.

    Obviously, that does not happen and it is definitely in-appropriate to suggest that the annual interest payment on R.C's. debt be charged to the women's programs, the 7s or the WNST programs.

    Again, the iRB bails out it's agenda with funding for our NSMT and HPD programs such as ARC.

    Again, I remind you that R.C. currently receives from Sports Canada 22 cards for both teams, the NSMT & WNST.

    However, we should not be surprised going into preparation for the Olympics that we find that Sports Canada will be obliged to drop the number of carded players on the basis that it is competed for in a 7 a-side format.

    That might well mean that as you only have 10 players on a 7s game sheet and that a full squad is no more than 15 that our carded players, both genders may be reduced to reflect either of these lower numbers in the future.

    The iRB are the big purse people and whether our ladies are happy to be photographed, sell and autograph their pictures does not change the reality that R.C. along with the other women playing nations, must put pressure on those bulging purse strings in the Dublin vaults in an attempt to bring gender equity to the funding of rugby around the World.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  23. rusty_lock
    Member

    Toothless,

    I agree 100% that the big purse people in dublin need to be lobbied to support the womens game to a greater extent. However, to suggest that it be equal is unrealistic. The mens game brings in the dough it ought not to surprise us when the majority is spent on the mens game. I wish there was an unlimited supply of funds that could fund every athlete that wanted it or even even every athlete that deserved it but that is not the case. Canada is a bit player on the international scene, that fact that they throw as much money at us as they do now is surprising. Only our proximety to their (IRB) perceived golden goose (USA) and their hope to one day tap that market keeps us on anyones radar.

    What sport Sports Canada does with the carding program is pure speculation. I doubt your senario of the cuts when Rugby becomes an olympic sport. A more likely scenario might be that 7's is funded seperately from 15's thus providing more athletes with the opportunity to train full time.

    Womens hockey currently gets 40 spots i believe, vastly more than whats on a game day sheet.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  24. Toothlesstiger
    Moderator

    Ha yes! But two points I would like to fire back at you.

    1) Hockey, men or women's is Canada and Cherry is a great
    ambassador for the women's program.
    2) If the men's team does earn dough then I am not
    suggesting that it would be shared with the women's
    programs, but surely after deducting the proportionate
    cost of administrating both programs from the net
    $346,000.00 the women's program should share in half of
    the remaining pot. The do not get a sniff at any iRB
    monies except in WRWC years and dam little at that.

    Thanks for you feedback.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  25. rusty_lock
    Member

    Sharing the pot is great if we controlled the pot. Doesn't the IRB designate how those funds are distributed.

    Posted 2 years ago #

  26. Toothlesstiger
    Moderator

    Rusty, that 346 that I refer to is not iRB funding but Sports Canada monies. At least R.C could participate in gender equity even if the Old boys of Dublin are still living in either the 19th or 20th centuries.

    Posted 2 years ago #

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