Monday, July 19, 2010

Champion Giveaway – Let’s Bring Back Sportsmanship!

With the recent public displays of poor sportsmanship (think red/yellow cards at the World Cup, temper tantrums on the tennis courts, or even parents, refs and coaches fighting at your son’s Little League Game), Champion is on the move to bring back sportsmanship. Champion and the National Alliance for Youth Sports administered a survey of 1,500+ athletes. The results?

  • 81% say that athletes today would rather win the game than play completely fairly
  • Most people (73%) believe it’s cheating only if you get caught
  • 79% say that showing good sportsmanship is not what it used to be - most athletes don’t make it a priority but just want to win
  • 86% of young athletes indicate that “trash talk” during games  has gotten worse as they’ve gotten older
  • Many believe that coaches have had a role in decreasing sportsmanship. 45% of respondents have thought about quitting sports due to a coach’s behavior
  • 41% think their coach is more concerned about winning than being sportsmanlike

Holy cow! What are we teaching our kids about how to act on and off the field?

Since running can very much be a team sport and does embody principles of competition and camaraderie, poor sportsmanship very much affects us too. My principle?

“Run your own race. Play your own game. Only compare yourself to others to make yourself stronger and more driven. Congratulate your opponents and learn from them.”

Champion has taken action by starting a campaign on Facebook called The Athlete’s Creed. They want to put FUN and FAIR back in PLAY. You can help by entering the principles you live by on/off the field, track or race route. If your principle is chosen you'll WIN some cool prizes from Champion!

Also if you play along you’ll be entered into my giveaway right here. I will choose one male and one female winner.

The female winner gets  a Women’s Double Dry V-Neck T-Shirt. Your choice of color/size (depending on availability). A $22 value!

championshirtfemale

The male winner gets a Men’s Double Dry T-Shirt. Your choice of color/size (depending on availability). A $22 value.

menschampionshirt

Ways to enter:

  1. Go to Champion’s Facebook Page by clicking HERE. Enter your principle and leaving me a comment telling me what it is = +1 entry (mandated entry, all the others are optional).
  2. At the same place vote on your favorite principle = +1 entry and leave a comment letting me know
  3. Become a fan of Champion on FB and leave a comment = +1 entry
  4. Write about this giveaway/Campaign on your blog an leave a comment = +1 entry
  5. In a comment tell about a time when you were a victim of poor sportsmanship and how you reacted =+1 entry
  6. In a comment tell about a time when you promoted fine sportsmanship = +1 entry

Some people wonder why a comment for each one? That way when I pick a winner at Random.org your odds are better the more comments you have.

Contest will end on July 26th. Good luck!

Fine Print: Champion is sponsoring this giveaway. I paid nothing for the items listed.

107 comments:

  1. Those are some sad stats!

    I submitted: "Biggest smile at the finish line wins!"

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  2. I voted for: "Success is failure turned inside out. In order to be a winner, you must first experience what it feels like to lose."

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  3. Became a fan of Champion on FB.

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  4. Cool giveaway!
    #6. Yesterday for Vineman, I said 'good job' to people who passed me on the bike/run, and I high fived the crowd and kids coming in to the finish line.

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  5. Isn't it poor Sportsmanship by Champion to only use one medium (Facebook) for half the potential entries?

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  6. My principal is play hard, play fair

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  7. When I was younger, I played volleyball. The others (on the other team) would try to say the ball never touched the ground when it obviously did.

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  8. My principle: As long as you play hard and true, you are a winner!

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  9. voted for this: "Success is failure turned inside out. In order to be a winner, you must first experience what it feels like to lose." I tell my kids this all the time!

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  10. I watched my son this past season in baseball. I was so saddened by all the parents that are promoting the win above all philosophy. My son was a victim of poor sportsmanship from both the kids and the parents...very sad indeed.

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  11. When we are out there supporting our children and their teams, we always make sure that we clap and cheer when the other team makes a good play. How can you deny a good play by a child no matter what team they are on?

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  12. my principle: Respect for others, no matter where they are in their journey!

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  13. I voted for a different principle, but I like mine :)

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  14. I became a fan (liked) Champion!

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  15. last week at my tri, crowd support was nil. so i high-fived everyone that went by me on the run and said WAY TO GO!

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  16. i don't know that i've been a victim of poor sportsmanship, except when people try to drown me in the pool at a tri. but i think that's allowed.

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  17. I want to know the stat on "most" and "many".
    ;)

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  18. "One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it."

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  19. Here is my principle when it comes to running:

    "Run for the love of it, and remember that you are only competing against yourself. Everyone else is out there to help cheer you on!"

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  20. I'm not entering to win, but geez those statistics are horrifying!

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  21. Holy CRAP! I can't believe those stats! really??? Horrifying..

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  22. I entered: It's about never giving up; it's about doing more than you think you can; it's about living.

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  23. voted "Your post-game attitude should never reveal whether you won or lost."
    -Pysha Simmons, Marketing Coordinator, National Alliance for Youth Sports

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  24. well poor sportsmanship was more from the parents when I was younger, seems like as players we were pretty good. I remember one coach that told me I was fat...yup, this was because she wanted her daughter to play instead of me.

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  25. my favorite good sportsmanship memory was being able to walk up to someone who beat me in a race and sincerely say you just did amazing. They did and they inspired me.

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  26. I love champion gear!! I absolutely love their sports bras!! PICK ME PICK ME!! :)

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  27. champion gear is my flava flave!

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  28. example of bad sportsmanship.... 8th grade championship basketball game... picture this- we lost by 1... little 8th grader nicole throws her shoe as we enter locker room... shoe bounces off bench and smashes mirror.... whoopsie! loss for the school... and loss for our team because every girl peed their pants while dieing of laughter!

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  29. I ran a race once that had walkers in it also. They re-routed the walkers so that they only completed half of the race, and then counted their times...and they took the awards! I very politely mentioned it to the race director and it was corrected this year.

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  30. After correcting the mistake, they contacted me after the race this year to see that everything was run smoothly.

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  31. When you are in the moment, live the moment, but don't forget what it took to get there.

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  32. I am a fan of champion on fb.

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  33. I played basketball in high school and college, and I never understood people who yelled at their team-mates when mistakes were made. Like they never make mistakes. My head IS in the game, now i really feel like crap, thank you very much! I am sure to play better now!

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  34. Something I will always look back at in fondness is my time with Team in Training. They teach good sportsmanship with everything they do. Usually the last person through is the one who gets the most encouragement and support, not just the bad-asses.

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  35. I entered "The handshake after should reflect the behavior during. Winners aren't only reflected on the scoreboard."

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  36. Linked to your giveway in my blog sidebar.

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  37. Worst display of poor sportsmanship I witnessed was two parents throwing chairs at each other and getting into a fistfight at a soccer game when I was 9 years old. Still vividly remember it, much more vividly than the years and years of great games and big wins. Never underestimate the impact of parents and their behavior at sporting events on the kids who are playing.

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  38. When we were young, my sister and I always competed. She beat me at something and was being really unsportsman-like about it... I was like 10, so I retaliated the best way I knew how... Backhanded her in the mouth and knocked out a tooth... ooops. She learned her lesson though!

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  39. I always tried to promote good sportsmanship in cheerleading in high school... those girls can be really mean, and were frequently to me, but I just tried to stay upbeat and compliment them whenever they did something good...

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  40. My principle: Play fair and clean and get everyone involved.

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  41. My principle is to do your best and have a good time

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  42. I voted for this one
    "The joy of competing can be just as satisfying as the joy of winning."
    -Skip Bayless, ESPN's "1st and Ten" Host

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  43. Poor sportsmanship... In high school basketball we played a team that was notorious for having refs make bad calls in their favor. Our coach would ask for reconsideration of calls a few times and after that he would tell us to play that much cleaner and harder because beating them would be that much sweeter.

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  44. Promoting good sportsmanship... 2 of my 4 kids play sports.

    I tell them each time to look for ways to encourage kids on the other team and kids on their own team who may be struggling - whether it's a simple 'good job' or a pat on the back.

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  45. sad stats :( i posted: always be willing to help others. you never know when you may need help yourself.

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  46. i voted for:

    "Learn how to win and lose graciously when you're young and the stakes aren't nearly as high - it will be significantly easier to do so in the real world, which is full of wins and losses."

    -Claire Powell, Director, Champion Brand Marketing

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  47. poor sportsmanship: one time i got elbowed - HARD - during a HS track meet when i was trying to pass a girl in a distance race. i'm not sure how i reacted, except being upset. that school was notorious for behavior like that though... :(

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  48. good sportsmanship: i love to cheer for random people i see when i'm running...even if its just a training run. encouragement is great!

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  50. Oh, I guess I needed to say what mine was:

    Sometimes the race is more important than the destination. Enjoy the journey and live to race another day.

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  51. Fine sportsmanship: In a 5K, which is actually my current PR, I DIDN"T sprint past the little 14 year old girl at the finish. Didn't have the heart. Instead, I eased up on the gas and let her finish just before me. The extra 3 seconds wasn't going to make or break my year and I don't want to be THAT guy that totally smokes a little girl in front of large crowds.

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  52. On the flip side, I've been smoked by other people at the end of a very small 5K. *shrugs*

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  53. I voted: "The joy of competing can be just as satisfying as the joy of winning"

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  54. Poor sportsmanship: I was once farted on by a chick in a cheetah skirt. Smelled like apple cinnamon

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  55. good sportsmanship: I once didn't fart on my wife while running. But that was only because she was in front of me!

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  56. my principle is no blood, no foul :)

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  57. i promote sportsmanship by shaking hands and, when i played bball, helping players on the other team up when they fell down or were knocked down etc. something small and silly but it make a world of difference

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  58. poor sportsmanship? during a vball match a girl stomped on my foot by reaching under the net. ouch

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  59. Just went by their page. I voted for this one:

    "Your game face and your best behavior face should be the same face."

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  60. My principle: No matter how fast, how good, or how far, you're still a person. Act like a human to your competitors.

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  61. Hmm, poor sportsmanship. Growing up I was one of the few girls on the ice hockey team. It wasn't uncommon for other teams (all boys) to target me and the other girls on the team with cheap-shots in the corners and aggressive checks. Too bad it just made us tougher.

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  62. My principle: I'm not here to judge, I'm here to run.

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  63. my principle: Be your own competition

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  64. i voted for: "If you're too busy being afraid to fail, then you'll be too busy to have fun."

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  65. posted on my Thumbs Up! Thursday post @ www.myreasontorun.blogspot.com

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  66. running my first half marathon with my BFF. we agreed beforehand that we were not going to "race" it, we were going to do it together. i had a really bad running day and lagged way behind while she was having a really good running day and she left me behind struggling through the whole thing instead of sticking with me to help me through. had we not agreed to do it together i would have been fine with it but because this something we wanted to do "together" it made me really frustrated and sad. i cant help but think it was because she wanted to one up me. it was a horrible experience for me. and my poor running partner who did the race with us was caught in the middle not knowing what to do. it was not fair for either one of us.

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  67. my principle: success means doing your best, and doing it the right way

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  68. voted for: "Be humble. You are not more important than the game."

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  69. I liked (became a fan of) Champion

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  70. wrote about the give-away in my blog http://c2boston.blogspot.com/2010/07/thursday-tempo-champion-shirt-give-away.html

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  71. My principle: I might finish last, but I finish with pride in what I accomplish.

    (I recently moved to an area with a small (and speedy) running community and cried when I realized I would actually be finishing in last place. Since then, I'm no longer upset when I finish last, I'm proud of myself for getting out there.)

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  72. I voted for "If you're too busy being afraid to fail, then you'll be too busy to have fun."

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  73. Can I post about my son's good sportsmanship? He's 9-years-old and we did a 10k last weekend. He took 1st place in his age group and when they called him up for his award the announcer talked about how so many runners did a double take when they saw a 9-year-old out on the 10k course, and while they were double taking he was cheering them on, "way to go, good job, you look great!"
    I, of course, cried. I'm proud that I raised a kid who not only loves running, but it so supportive of his fellow runners.

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  74. Just a related comment - my daughter tried out for softball this year. She made the "training team". Which was cool because she trained all season and learned much more than she would have sitting on a bench, and I only had to go to 2 games. One was against the teachers!
    So another girl on the training team apparently grabbed her gear in the dark garage that morning. And grabbed 2 left cleats. Hers and her sisters, which was too big. And wore 2 left cleats the whole game so she could help her team kick the teachers butts.
    She ended the game in tears. Her feet were killing her. But they won, and she got the Vice Principal in the face with a ball. All in all, a good day, with questionable sport-woman-ship.

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  75. I became a fan of Champion on FB

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  76. and I blogged about the giveaway and campaign on my latest blog entry, http://runyetirun.blogspot.com/2010/07/one-down-fifteen-to-go.html

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  77. The stretch is perfect Champion Clothing
    , the stomach waist band makes your stomach look flat, and it definitely flatters my butt!

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