Olympic Starter Can’t Use His Starter Pistol at UK School Race
Alan Bell, the “Chief Starter” for track events at the 2012 London Olympics, has been called one of the “world’s top race starters“. Over the past 36 years, using his trusty blank-firing starter pistols, Alan has started over 25,000 events, including Olympic and World Championship races. Bell, the current Chairman of the IAAF International Starters Panel, is widely recognized as one of the most capable (and knowledgeable) race starters on the planet.
However, the regional Council in West Dunbartonshire (Scotland) recently decided that Bell should not be allowed to start a running race at a local elementary school. Bell had originally been invited as an Olympic VIP for the benefit of the student athletes in this small community near Glasgow. Bell was even planning to start the school race by firing the same starter pistol which will be used to start the 100m Finals in the 2012 summer Olympic Games.
Why did the West Dunbartonshire Council send Bell home? It’s all about gun-phobia. Council members feared “that the sound of a pistol discharge would frighten the children and, perhaps, psychologically scar them forever”. (Source: Outdoor Life Blog).
As might be expected, some locals lambasted the Council’s action. One parent told The Scottish Sun: “It was ridiculous. We were told that the children would be distressed by Mr Bell firing his starting pistol. Anyone who believes they would be frightened by a starting pistol has never experienced the noise at a typical three-year-old’s birthday party.” So worried was the Council over the firing of a starter pistol (which shoots blanks with no projectile), that it tried to find a “politically correct” alternative. One proposed solution was to use an iPod to play a recording of a starting pistol. The school’s administrators eventually decided to start the race with a Klaxon horn noise instead of the crack of a starter’s pistol.
Score one more victory for the gunphobic Nanny State. One wonders if the West Dunbartonshire Council’s next move will be to ban local broadcasts of the actual Olympic Games, so the sound of a starter’s gun on television will not traumatize young viewers.
Related News Stories about Starter Pistol Controversy: Daily Mail Online | The Telegraph.
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Tags: Alan Bell, London Olympics, Olympics, Scotland, Starter Pistol
I love the common history and customs we have with the UK. But my god when did they become a nation populated by a large percentage of pantywaist twits! I respect the Brits and their heritage. How could this apparently prevalent attitude of today gotten them through the BLITZ, WW-2, WW-1! Oh I wish for the GREAT Britan of old!!!
What good serfs they are!
Plenty of years of liberal leftwing tree huggers. Don’t worry, give it time, US will follow eventually
The same sound from an ipod is okay, from a pistol it’s not. WTF?!
One political group is currently trying to gain Independence from Westminster / England and has decided to jump on the firearms are evil band waggon. Recently we saw them saying that the UK gun laws were too liberal and that they needed the power to make their own tighter laws. I think they wanted to limit ownership to 2 firearms per certificate. The person is certificated in the UK not the gun. With Dunblane still fresh in the minds of many, it is a easy subject to get people emotive over, unfortunately many people do not actually know what it is they are getting emotive over. Current laws have seen a rise in the criminal use of unlicensed firearms all over the UK, but these groups paint all shooters with the same brush. As previously warned, shooters in the USA need to keep an eye on what happens in the UK and keep learning from it.
Dave
I’m afraid this just about sums up , our (British) utterly stupid attitude towards any form of firearm. Even though in this case it was just a blank firing starter pistol the powers that be at terrified that children might actually learn something. What a privilege it would have been for those kids to have race started by the very man and pistol that will start some of the greatest names in sport.
Sorry but no one cares that some jolly old fart started their race.
It’s done better by other equipment as is shown in dozens of other sports started with a sound.