Madam - Since Olympic beach volleyball has been given little media attention in Ireland I was delighted to see an article on the event in your edition of August 20th.
However, to my disgust I found that the article, written by Tom Humphries, did not cover the event as a true sporting occasion and served only to discredit the participants and the reputation of the game. The writer failed to highlight any positive aspects of the women participating and portrayed the sport of professional beach volleyball with a cynical overtone. The crude remarks about "asses" and "lapdancing" are worthy of a tabloid rather than the country's paper of record.
Articles such as this serve to perpetuate the lack of support and encouragement needed to make this sport grow in Ireland. Volleyball offers women an enjoyable form of outdoor activity and competition and is an intensive exercise with a multitude of health benefits. It is also extremely popular with recent migrants from Eastern Europe and the US.
It is easy to focus on the obvious attractiveness of the athletic, energetic and positive women participating in this sport and to ignore the hard work and sacrifice they have had to put into getting on the Olympic stage. We all enjoy a good laugh sometimes, but multi-million dollar female athletes and a promising sport do not deserve to be patronised by The Irish Times. - Yours, etc,
MEGAN BURGDORF,
Head Coach,
UCD Men's Volleyball,
Linden,
Merrion Road,
Dublin 4.