Sir, – Ian O’Riordan (April 26th) claimed that “there is simply no counter argument” to making “PE a core examinable subject in the Leaving Certificate”. I disagree, partly because I am one of those who at school was picked last, if at all, for teams . The prospect of having to pass a PE exam would have filled me with dread.
Mr O’Riordan began with a quote from Mark Twain. Here is another: “Golf is a good walk spoiled.“ Exercise is undeniably beneficial, but is sport the best way to obtain it? Many sports, such as rugby, involve the risk of serious injury to participants. Others have been tainted by doping scandals. Soccer may entertain vast numbers. but did that justify spending vast sums on the World Cup in South Africa, where millions don’t have clean drinking water?
Roger Bannister’s achievements were indeed amazing. But please spare a thought for those of us whose memories of sport at school were of being forced to stand on the sidelines of a muddy pitch in the rain. Yours, etc,
MICHAEL DURKAN,
St James’s Walk,
Dublin 8