Nations and Sports Have Both Written And Unwritten Rules Of Behavior

Hi folks,

When instructed during a 2hr wait not to sit on the empty floor in the Alicante bus station by a policeman, I said, "Is it illegal?" and he replied, "No, it's not normal."

There’s an old quote that came to my mind today, whilst I was sitting, well attempting to sit, in the Bus Station in Alicante, Spain, which goes as follows:

“Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it” Henry David Thoreau

Rules are interesting and important facts of life, some of which make life work and others can make it a hell. This is certainly true of any sport, for which rules are critical and for the game to function well they must be respected by all competitors equally. However, there are both written and unwritten or unspoken rules. I found this to be true in the game of water polo as a teenager, where much of what was going on was not observable by the referee. There were definitely unspoken rules of conduct, and interestingly I found that the higher up the league our team moved the more vicious the rule breaking became, to the point that I left the game because it was not longer the sport I loved – it became all about winning the league at all costs, not about being a sportsman.

Only the people in the swim really know what is going on and who might be in trouble, so keep your eyes peeled as you might just save a life.

In triathlons there are many rules of which you must be cognizant in order to avoid being disqualified, and more importantly to make the competition fair. Such rules include being polite when jockeying for your position in the water before the start, behavior around the dismount line on the bike, the strict multiple bike-length restrictions on drafting, and keeping to the right side of road cones on the run. The unspoken rules that I like, and which are almost always observed, include politeness and encouragement towards fellow competitors, and stopping to assist those in trouble. During Ironman races the only place where the good manners rule is broken is during the swim, where egos and testosterone are running high, the water is crowded, and true swimming skill is limited resulting in avoidable collisions between large people and small people, with a tendency to just not care about anyone else. This behavior is limited to less than 5% of the competitors, but it is the most dangerous component of the race (biking on the roads is the most dangerous component of training), especially the odd zig-zagging flailing, generally large, maniac – I have no idea how to police this. My background as a water polo player is invaluable in this part of the race. I think that it behooves the more experienced swimmers to keep an eye open for the odd athlete in the throws of panic, especially early in the swim before the pack spreads out. It takes little time and effort to calm them down, then send them on their way with the race or the nearest canoe. For those inexperienced competitors who try to rudely scramble over you it’s a different story, but you can still retaliate politely.

Whether in a foreign country or your chosen sport learn the rules, both written and unwritten, then be patient and polite and you’ll get by fine.

-k @FitOldDog

Today’s workouts:

A long walk along the beach to shake out jetlag.