iGeo 2017, Писмен тест — Задача 1. Section A: Geography of Sport

1. Answer (point marking – 0.5 marks for each correct way):

• Private parking banned at Olympic venues and spectators receive free travel on trains and Olympic buses, encouragement of bicycle transport system.
• Providing drinkable tap water instead of bottled water.
• Sorting and recycling or composting garbage at sporting mega-event sites.
• Using recycled products, e.g. recycled paper in its administration and advertising.
• Rainwater can be collected and used for flushing toilets.
• Expand green areas in and around sporting mega-event venues (forestation) in order to improve air quality.
• Native trees and shrubs planted around venues to reduce water and mulching needs and encourage wildlife.
• The roofs of Olympic venues and Athletes Village can be equipped with solar panels constituting the equivalent of a small power station.
• If the area where the sporting mega-event venue is located is predominantly windy, wind can also be used as an energy source.
• The energy recycled from the ice rinks air conditioning unit can heat the showers and the bathrooms at the venue (when this system uses ammonia, it does not destroy the ozone layer).
• Using eco-friendly and energy-saving building materials at the sporting mega-event venues (bamboo; reclaimed lumber; recycled metal – iron, aluminium, copper; recycled plastic).
• Develop present (built-up) sites instead of new venues
• Venues with pleasant climate – no need for air-condition
• Recycled building materials
• Commercials during broadcasting can advertise sustainability (techniques, materials)
• Sponsorships of eco products (solar panels etc.)
• Selective waste collection
• Using local materials for construction
• Protected areas should not be touched by investors (forests, water)
• Reduce transport (CO2 emission) by reducing distances between sites
• Side events promoting environmental protection
• Famous sportsmen can promote sustainability
• Use daylight instead of light bulbs

2. Answer (point marking – 1 mark for each correct challenge, half marks were accepted):

• Three (Barra, Copacabana and Maracanã) out of four Olympic zones were planned in favela areas, so these had to be cleared by relocating their inhabitants whose income is very low. Evicting people even on fair compensation always causes resistance as abandoning home is always challenging. The raised level of awareness around the world for precariat can also initiate boycotts as favelas are often hidden from view by embarrassed government.
• Favela areas witness high violence and crime rate causing extra costly safety measures for protecting the international athletes and audience. Furthermore the image or perceived lack of security may hindrance attendance or causing traffic jams to avoid night time walking, increasing the chance to be assaulted in vehicle scams.
• High development costs of insufficient and/or poor existing infrastructure as for example the airport is located on a separate island connected with two roads to the mainland. Olympic zones of Deodoro and Barra are lacking local roads also due to hilly and forested terrain making it also difficult using underground solutions (metro, tunnel). Large distances between Olympic zones require better, diverse and faster traffic infrastructure.
• Possible development nature protection and heritage restrictions due to hilly terrain preventing building and infrastructure activities and underground solutions (metro, tunnel). Forested and green areas might also be protected, which is a challenge to building an extensive road network or Olympic infrastructure. Copacabana Olympic zone was already famous tourist site before with its balneario (resort town) beach, which is one of the most famous in the world, including iconic Botafogo Bay with Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar), the Christ Redeemer Statue, famous Ipanema bairro (neighbourhood) beach and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas) with ongoing decontamination process to accommodate new developments.
• Relocation of slums - loss of informal economy – incomes and services
• Big distances between the sites – need for massive infrastructural investment
• Relief (terrain topography) – cost of infrastructure
• Space conflict
• Sea, humidity, climate – difficulties in construction
• Clean up polluted area (favelas; seashore)
• Congestions: densely built up + new development
• Water, waterfront locations – environmental concerns

3. Answer (level marking – 2 marks for each well elaborated change and 1 mark for poorly elaborated change):

• The practice of sport is a human right. Recent games have emphasized that these games are about ability and not disability. Therefore witnessing paralympic athletes (especially in totalitarian regimes) is really a transformation tool for changing societal attitudes towards people with disability reducing discrimination. Acknowledging Paralympians’ achievements on the same level as Olympians on state level and selecting the year’s athlete competition supports it. Still broadcasting of the event is not very commonplace, thus scandalous participants like Oscar Pistorius who was able to compete both in London 2012 Olympic Games and several Paralympic Games and is a convicted murderer is attracting attention and raising awareness of how do we distinguish disability. Employers’ willingness to hire people with disabilities has increased.
• Paralympic venues have been recently the same as Olympic Games stressing the importance of accessibility to buildings, sidewalks and public spaces for people with disability. The venues may be equipped with many devices intended to increase accessibility but are not actually designed with disabled people’s needs in mind: ramps might be too steep, entrances wide enough for wheelchair but lacking correctly positioned handrails in showers and toilets. Connectivity throughout the urban fabric to the venues may be lacking, for example the public transport may be even customized to wheelchair lifts (wide entrance) but these can be out of order or drivers might stop away from the curb while there are buses designed that can be lowered to ground level; crosswalks lack any audible signals for the visually impaired. Usually the legislations are up to date with United Nations and Paralympics and Olympics have been catalyst in enforcing small changes in urban landscape like smoothly paved roads, wide entrances, ramps and elevators for people limited in their mobility.

4. Answer (point marking – 1 mark for each correct trend):

• The cost of organizing the Olympics has increased both for Summer and Winter Games.
• The Winter Games have been cheaper than Summer Games (except for all times most expensive games in Sochi 2014).

  • The expense of the Summer Olympics has varied more than Winter Olympics.
  • The cost of organizing the Winter Olympics has increased more significantly, especially after 2002 (except for Vancouver in 2010).
  • There are remarkable outliers exceeding vastly the average expenditure: Barcelona 1992, London in 2012 (both Summer Games) and Sochi 2014 (Winter Games).

5. Answer (level marking – 4 marks for excellently elaborated justification naming but refuting oppositions convincingly depending on agreement position, 3 marks for fully, 2 marks for satisfactorily and 1 mark for poorly elaborated justification depending on agreement position):

Strongly agree (sporting mega-events have more positive impact):

• Such projects can regenerate the whole economy and mostly bring a large number of short-term and long-term economic benefits to the hosting countries/cities. With the economic impetus many of the other issues can be solved.
• Urban regeneration of many city areas (landscape) – new facilities/infrastructure develop(s) on the site of old “shabby” ones that are in poor condition through long use or lack of care; increase of quality of life.
• Infrastructure of the country/city automatically cuts the costs for hosting another sporting mega-event in the future, even if next event's organization cost may exceed the previous one.
• Sporting mega-events are likely to provide new additional workplaces during the pre-event phase of the competition; due to the infrastructure development unemployment can be reduced to some extent.
• Sporting mega-events promote the hosting country/city and attract more tourists thus bring more money.
• Tourism boosts consumer expenditure and promotes an increase in retail trade, which is very beneficial for the hosting economy.
• Tourism promotes job creation, because a lot of hotels, markets, entertainment facilities like night clubs etc. are most likely to be created for the foreign visitors.
• Encourage people to take up sport which is good for their health, and the country’s health expenditure.

Strongly disagree (sporting mega-events have more negative impact):

• Such projects can cause to the hosting countries/cities many financial problems before and after the event is finished degrading many relevant spheres of local life.
• Such events have the potential to have negative publicity due to corruption, cost overruns and causing irreversible damage to natural environments.
• New infrastructure (sport arenas etc.) and security of the participants can become a financial burden for the hosting country/city (such events require large amounts of money).
• Many newly developed facilities for the sporting mega-event can never be fully used again, and very soon they are abandoned and decay.
• Such projects could exacerbate socio-spatial segregation, inequality and social conflicts, sometimes affecting indigenous nations.
• Organizing such events may lead to the difficulties in the life of the low-income population as the government sometimes evicts or allocates poor residents in order to build new stadiums and roads needed for the sporting mega-event.
• During the sporting mega-events prices of groceries (food, drinks etc.) and public transportation can rise and that could directly affect the population expenditure, as it will considerably decrease.
• Some businesses can experience major inconveniences for their customers and staff, during the construction phase (access, noise) and when the event is being held (traffic, security) and their turnover/output can go down.

Between Strongly agree and Strongly disagree: a mixture of positive and negative statements with balancing actions and mitigation measures.