SUSAN Egelstaff rightly questions the wisdom of spending £6.5 million to provide the most technologically advanced skin suit for our Skeleton contestant ("Are the millions spent on Team GB's skinsuits really worth it?", Herald Sport, February 16).
It should be noted that our closest skeleton track is in Germany. It is time that we invested money in sports where mass participation is at least possible. It is shameful that, given the reduction in funding for basketball, badminton and many other mass appeal and accessible sports we continue this hubristic quest for gold medals at Olympic or Commonwealth Games and over-fund elitist sports.
Those in charge of sport funding are missing the point. The medals aren’t important. What is important is engagement of our citizens of all ages in sport that will keep them healthy, help them live longer lives of quality and reduce the strain on our overstretched health services.
Much as I do not want to diminish the achievements of our Olympians, the medal count at these and other games is not worth a hill of beans if it does not result in greater mass participation in sport, the product being a healthier, fitter, slimmer nation.
William Thomson,
25 Lithgow Place, Denny.
WHY is “massive” the adjective of choice by BBC commentators at the Winter Olympics?
The word is being massively overused.
Gordon Casely,
Westerton Cottage, Crathes, Kincardineshire
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