Representing the UK rather than GB (+NI)
http://www.worldcurling.org/universiade-2017-live-scores
Posting this because this is one of the rare occasions in sport I've seen the "UK" represented instead of one of the home countries names or GB+NI.
I suppose technically it's only a name and doesn't extend the reach for competitors (ie at the Olympics a Gibraltarian represents GB), unless someone can differ?
Just wondering how many sports this has happened in, and more to the point, how many of you favour to be called UK over GB (maybe at the Olympics?)?
Posting this because this is one of the rare occasions in sport I've seen the "UK" represented instead of one of the home countries names or GB+NI.
I suppose technically it's only a name and doesn't extend the reach for competitors (ie at the Olympics a Gibraltarian represents GB), unless someone can differ?
Just wondering how many sports this has happened in, and more to the point, how many of you favour to be called UK over GB (maybe at the Olympics?)?
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Well post Brexit the break up of the union seemingly draws ever closer so they may need to re-brand at some time in the not too distant future.
You will note Ireland competes as Ireland not the Republic of Ireland when the UK competes as GB at the Olympics, Davis cup tennis, hockey, rowing etc
They are British Isles, so maybe GB is a better term, if not completely accurate.
The full name of the Olympic team is Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
"Ireland" is the official name of the Republic of Ireland under the Irish constitution, in much the same way South Korea is officially the Republic of Korea but is actually only half of it.
Hockey and Tennis I believe are organized like Rugby on an all island basis as the governing bodies pre-dated partition.
To confuse some here more.
The Irish Olympic Committee is ALL Ireland. Many Northern Irish sportspersons choose which Association to represent, Ireland OR GB and NI.
Maybe why Team GB brand is used, avoids this issue.
I suspect it's primarily for reasons of brevity, "Team GB" is quite catchy and saying Great Britain and Northern Ireland all the time is a bit of a mouthful.
Agreed, but even when competing as Ireland in those competitions, the team is still made up only of players from the Republic (notwithstanding those from the north who are also qualified to play for the Republic).
I believe (and somebody please put me right if I'm incorrect in this) that Rugby Union is the only sport at which Ireland competes as a united country, with players eligible from both the Republic and Northern Ireland.
There is no Northern Ireland or Republic of Ireland team in international Rugby Union. Only "Ireland".
A quirky piece of history here, if I might beg the group's indulgence:
Great Britain is one of only a few countries who have been represented at every Olympic Games of the modern era, and we are justifiably proud of this achievement.
However, at the St Louis Games of 1904, Great Britain didn't send a team.
Four Irish athletes traveled to St Louis and attempted to register to compete as an Irish team, but were told they couldn't do so because the IOC (at that time) did not recognise Ireland as an independent country. Ireland was still a part of the British Empire in 1904. The athletes were told they could register as Great Britain but not Ireland.
They reluctantly did so, which means that GB had representation at the Games after all.
I'm guessing that this did nothing to soothe the rather tense Anglo / Irish relations of the time.
There are several all-Ireland sporting teams and associations, including Cricket, Hockey and tennis as they were all created before partition.
In the case of Football the Dublin based FAI split from the Belfast based IFA after partition, with both associations fielding rival "Ireland" teams until after WWII. The IFA team was titled "Ireland" rather than "Northern Ireland" as late as the 70s.
Glad to read it. Thanks for the info.
Regards.