gueman Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Why in other international competitions (World Cup and Rugby World Cup) does the UK compete as separate England, Scotland, and Wales but in the Olympics it is the united UK? I know the US,Puerto Rico, and USVI are always separate. Are there any others that are like that? Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. P. J. O'Rourke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC97 Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Why in other international competitions (World Cup and Rugby World Cup) does the UK compete as separate England, Scotland, and Wales but in the Olympics it is the united UK? I know the US,Puerto Rico, and USVI are always separate. Are there any others that are like that?I was curious as to why the UK was competing as Great Britain in the Olympics... do they not send any athletes from Northern Ireland? --- Chris Creamer Founder/Editor, SportsLogos.Net "The Mothership" • News • Facebook • X/Twitter • Instagram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gueman Posted August 23, 2008 Author Share Posted August 23, 2008 Why in other international competitions (World Cup and Rugby World Cup) does the UK compete as separate England, Scotland, and Wales but in the Olympics it is the united UK? I know the US,Puerto Rico, and USVI are always separate. Are there any others that are like that?I was curious as to why the UK was competing as Great Britain in the Olympics... do they not send any athletes from Northern Ireland?The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, kinda wordy for a uniform. IIRC they usually always have GB on the Oly unis. and Northern Irelanders are on the team. I do think that in Rugby folks in Northern Ireland can be on the Ireland team. But you do bring up a good point as to why it is GB and not UK. However on the IOC's official web site they are Great Britain, and they are the British Olympic Association in the UK. So really what is in a name. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. P. J. O'Rourke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred T. Jane Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Quick answer: The constituent nations of the UK compete independently pretty much only in cricket, rugby, and soccer (I think there's constituent teams for floor ball for some reason, but that doesn't count.). Why you ask? Tradition. The IRB was started by Rugby Union organizations from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland (England joined later), the ICC was started by England as the Imperial Cricket Council, and as a result allowed participation of councils from constituent areas within the British Empire, and FIFA was started by the French, who were boycotted by the Home Nations, who had their own organization, the International Football Association Board (IFAB). FIFA was leaving the Home Nations all by their lonesome with new nations joining FIFA and not playing the Home Nations, so they joined FIFA on the condition that they join as the constituent nations and they could keep control of the Laws of the Game. The arrangement has been in place ever since. [Croatia National Team Manager Slavan] Bilic then went on to explain how Croatia's success can partially be put down to his progressive man-management techniques. "Sometimes I lie in the bed with my players. I go to the room of Vedran Corluka and Luka Modric when I see they have a problem and I lie in bed with them and we talk for 10 minutes." Maybe Capello could try getting through to his players this way too? Although how far he'd get with Joe Cole jumping up and down on the mattress and Rooney demanding to be read his favourite page from The Very Hungry Caterpillar is open to question. --The Guardian's Fiver, 08 September 2008 Attention: In order to obtain maximum enjoyment from your stay at the CCSLC, the reader is advised that the above post may contain large amounts of sarcasm, dry humour, or statements which should not be taken in any true sort of seriousness. As a result, the above poster absolves himself of any and all blame in the event that a forum user responds to the aforementioned post without taking the previous notice into account. Thank you for your cooperation, and enjoy your stay at the CCSLC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEAD! Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 England, Scotland, Wales, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man also participate as separate entities at the Commonwealth games. I know Martinique can participate a separate entity in CONCACAF competitions even though it is technically part of France, and Hong Kong sends a separate team to the Olympics. I saw, I came, I left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH1991 Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I do think that in Rugby folks in Northern Ireland can be on the Ireland team.Not can: MUST. Rugby is pretty much the only thing the entire island unites over, they alternate home games in both Dublin and Belfast, and a neutral anthem is used. Oakland Raiders: 0-0-0 (09/08 vs. Denver)New York Rangers: 0-0-0, 0 PTS (11/01 @ Toronto)Chicago Bulls: 0-0 (10/28 vs. Milwaukee)New York Mets: 78-61 (09/05 vs. Philadelphia)Newcastle United: 1-1-1, 4 PTS (09/13 vs. Hull City) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twi Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I also noticed that Russia was always refrenced as the "Russian Federation". Any info on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gothamite Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I also noticed that Russia was always refrenced as the "Russian Federation". Any info on this?That's the name of the country. The Green Bay Packers Uniform Database! Now in a handy blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twi Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I also noticed that Russia was always refrenced as the "Russian Federation". Any info on this?That's the name of the country.Ok. Wasn't sure if perhaps there were some smaller regions that competed under the Russian flag for the Olympics. You'll have to forgive me, I am most familiar with FIFA and they just use "Russia" in the same contexts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WelshSteeler Posted August 25, 2008 Share Posted August 25, 2008 I do think that in Rugby folks in Northern Ireland can be on the Ireland team.Not can: MUST. Rugby is pretty much the only thing the entire island unites over, they alternate home games in both Dublin and Belfast, and a neutral anthem is used.Being in a country that suffers from rugby union, I don't remember Ireland playing home 6 Nations matches in Belfast or hearing any other anthem than "The Soldiers Song". The Right will always be wrong,Conservatives-Dragging the world kicking and screaming into the 19th century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRH1991 Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 I do think that in Rugby folks in Northern Ireland can be on the Ireland team.Not can: MUST. Rugby is pretty much the only thing the entire island unites over, they alternate home games in both Dublin and Belfast, and a neutral anthem is used.Being in a country that suffers from rugby union, I don't remember Ireland playing home 6 Nations matches in Belfast or hearing any other anthem than "The Soldiers Song". If I can find more on the Northern Irish participation I will.And dude: it's called Amhrán na bhFiann. Oakland Raiders: 0-0-0 (09/08 vs. Denver)New York Rangers: 0-0-0, 0 PTS (11/01 @ Toronto)Chicago Bulls: 0-0 (10/28 vs. Milwaukee)New York Mets: 78-61 (09/05 vs. Philadelphia)Newcastle United: 1-1-1, 4 PTS (09/13 vs. Hull City) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heernumurr Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Irish Rugby off the top of my head, as I seem to remember the wikipedia article was a bit rubbish:The Irish rugby governing body remained intact despite the partition of Ireland, so it's essentially the same organisation that has existed for over 100 years. It runs the four provinces (Ulster, Leinster, Munster, Connacht) and their respective representative teams. As for national participation, there is only the one team: Ireland. This isn't really as controversial an issue in Northern Ireland as one might think. Firstly, it's been that way for a very long time and tradition counts for a lot in rugby. Secondly, rugby tends to be a more middle class sport in NI, when compared to football. The top rugby playing schools are traditionally grammar schools (it was the ONLY male team sport at my school), and in my experience it's fans and players seem to be less concerned with sectarian prejudice. Not that all football fans are sectarian, and there are exceptions in rugby. A guy I knew from school refused to support the Irish team despite being a big rugby fan. I remember him saying it was ok to support the Northern Irish football team, but he followed England's rugby team.The most notable recent Northern Irishman playing for Ireland that I can think of is David Humphreys. He played for Ireland at fly-half and is one of their most capped players. He's a bit of a hero in Ulster as he led them to the '99 Heineken Cup win. However, I'll always remember him as the only guy in the Ireland team not singing the Soldiers Song..Ireland home games are played at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, and are not rotated with Belfast. Any recent games played at Ravenhill in Belfast (or Croke Park, Dublin) have only been because the Lansdowne Road stadium is being redeveloped. As for the anthems, both Ireland's Call and the Soldier's Song are sung at home games; for away games it's just Ireland's Call. Ireland's Call is a relatively recent addition, and it was composed specifically for the Irish rugby team. Wikipedia shows a flag used to represent the team, however I can't say I've ever seen it used. You're more likely to see a white flag with a green shamrock, or white with the rugby ball/shamrock logo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gueman Posted August 26, 2008 Author Share Posted August 26, 2008 I do think that in Rugby folks in Northern Ireland can be on the Ireland team.Not can: MUST. Rugby is pretty much the only thing the entire island unites over, they alternate home games in both Dublin and Belfast, and a neutral anthem is used.Well that is what I thought but I wasn't 100%, and on this board if you make a declarative statement like that you better be 100%. Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. P. J. O'Rourke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alphabet Man Posted August 27, 2008 Share Posted August 27, 2008 Dead mentioned the Commonwealth Games. If all those countries competed as Great Britain, there'd only be half as many countries at the event.And let's face it, England alone wouldn't have been that high on the medal tally. twitter.com/thebrainofMatt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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