Welcome Back, Baumann

I never quite understood how Alex Baumann was allowed to leave Canada. Whenever you are lucky enough to have world class athletes at your disposal - especially where few exist - you just may want to consider holding on to them.

Not Canada. Alex Baumann along with the late Victor Davis were this country's most accomplished international swimmers. They kept Canada on the swimming map while the two superpowers Australia and the USA dominated. It was like watching fish versus dog paddlers whenever Canada went up against the big two. Under the Baumann-Davis leadership, Canada held its head up high with a quarter of the support and resources. They were winners. More importantly, they hated to lose. Alas, this was Baumann's undoing.

You see, Canada was not interested in a zero-sum winner take all game. They wanted to develop more integrated athletes. Philosopher-kings if you will. That's fine as long as it doesn't come at the expense of winning. Athletism is indeed about character building but it is also about performance and excellence. We were not giving our athletes all the necessary tools to compete with the world's best.

I suspect that it was this philosophical discrepancy that allowed Baumann to leave for Australia. Swim Canada was in dire straits and their performance at the 2004 Olympic games in Sydney was an abysmal humiliation*. A failure in the philosopher-king project. It was the final straw for even the most mild-mannered Canadian. By extension, the same thing happened with the Men's ski team. How can a winter country like Canada allow itself to present the world with a 2nd rate ski program?

Baumann represents everything that Canadians resent. We tend to dismiss if not demonize excellence. We're uncomfortable with success. In a society that has become a tad exaggerated in its socialist ideology, anyone running ahead of the egalitarian curve is to be held back. No wonder athletes leave Canada for more mature nations with serious intentions. Baumann is everything Canadians strive to be but are afraid to aim for. Heck, in some journalist circles even Wayne Gretzky is attacked.

Now Baumann is back after a stint in Australia. He should never have been allowed to leave to begin with. Thanks to probable parochialism and ineptness, he did. With his return expect a culture shock. He will bring back a sense of pride back not just for swimming but for sports in general.

I hope we never have to watch our athletes go off on their own without their coaches because of lack of funding ever again. This is not how a supposed proud nation should behave.

With Alex Baumann, 2nd rate will hopeful become a forgotten term.

Now if we can just do something with the Canadian Soccer Association.

*To its credit, Swim Canada got its act together and performed well at the 2006 World Aquatic Championships. Baumann can only improve on this positive result.