Will it heat up?

02/24/2014 - 10h02

Again, there were no medals. But in its seventh participation in a Winter Olympics, Brazil finished for the first time with some top finishes, enough for leaders to praise country's campaign.

The "Sochi Mission" took 13 athletes to Russia to compete in seven events - four of them previously never played by Brazilians in the Olympics - a record for registered and played sports.

The country accumulated last place in events in which it made its debut, all among women (double bobsled, figure skating and aerial skiing, which received the worst score).

The head of the Brazilian delegation in Sochi, Stefano Arnhold, also president of CBDN (Brazilian Confederation of Snow Sports) defined Brazil's participation as "extremely positive".

And the president of CBDG (The Brazilian Federation of Ice Sports), Emilio Strapasson, stated that "those who only look at last place forget the effort." "They are competing among the top 20 or 30 in the world."

In 2014, CBDN and CBDG will each receive R$1.6 million (US$ 680,000) from the Piva Law, which allocates 2% of the premium paid to bettors of all federal lotteries to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (85%) and the Brazilian Paralympics Committee (15 %).

Olympic federations will receive R$101 million (US$ 43 million) this year. In total, the winter events will get about 3% of this amount.

According to the COB, about R$ 5 million (US$ 2.1 million) was invested in the two federations in the four-year Olympic cycle (2011 to 2014), including R$ 600.000 (US$ 255,000) that funded Brazil's stay in Sochi.

"We managed a lot in a short time. If they continue every year being last, then I agree with the criticism. But it was the first Olympiad for many of them. There will be progress," the president of the CBDG stated.

Consultant Amir Somoggi says he believes that the winter events are becoming good products in Brazil.

"Since (Brazilian broadcast networks) Record quarreled with Globo to broadcast the Games [in 2010] on open air TV, this generated space in the media that did not exist."

INVESTMENTS

All representatives of Brazil were athletes before they discovered winter sports. Less than a year ago, two of them in bobsled (Edson Martins and Fábio Silva) were just track and field and (Josi Santos, aerial skiing), an artistic gymnast.

To adapt to the snow, the bobsled team was training in Canada and bought sleds used in Switzerland and Monaco. Aerial skiing also underwent training in North America.

The federations hired about 20 foreign coaches, physical trainers and psychologists. To bankroll the spending, the ice sports received a budget from the Piva Law.

The confederation of snow already, in addition to federal money, has private sponsorship, support from the Ministry of Sport and the International Olympic Committee for a total collection of about R$ 3 million (US$1.27 million) in 2013.

According to the president of the CBDN, "the next budget will already be greater than this value and therefore will double." The CBDG also intends to increase investment for the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea. One of the first steps is to establish the first official curling rink in the country.

Despite the promises, the management and sports marketing consultant, and journalist, Erich Beting draws attention to critical points. "Performance is often just a reflection of the entrepreneurship of some athletes. I do not see the interest from the COB. Is there a goal?" he asks.

According to the COB, the focus of the next three years will be on Rio 2016 and the investment in winter sports "will follow the natural development of the events ".

Emilio Strapasson asserts that, in addition to curling, the focus of the CBDG for the next Olympics will be in figure skating and the female skeleton and male bobsled.

In winter sports, the organization's president stresses the development of disciplines such as downhill skiing and snowbording.

A bet, but only for 12 years from now, is aerial skiing. "It will have real results by 2026. You can count on it."

With FERNANDO ITOKAZU, from São Paulo

Translated by STEVE HUGHES

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