Gold Medal: A golden shine that dulls the light of silver and bronze.

By: Jhued Nichole B. Jumapao

Gold First Method, is a medal tally system with the number of gold
medals acquired as its basis of ranking. In simple words, the more gold
medals you win, the more chances that you would be ranked first in the total
medal tally at the end,. It is one of the two most commonly used medal tally
system by the Olympics and all professional sports competitions, thus it would
not be a surprise for the state universities here in the Philippines to follow
such example in the case of conducting their Intramurals. However, because
of the Gold First Method’s nature to prioritize the gold medals, the credibility of
this medal tally system is always being questioned. This medal tally system
became an insult to athletes that are in the silver and bronze positions, as this
signifies that their achievement does not count as one.
Central Mindanao University is one such university that adheres to this
medal tally system. They have utilized the Gold First Method in their
CMUPalaro2022 and 2023, for that reason the students have grown
accustomed to the system implemented thus viewing it as a tradition. It is
believed that the purpose of choosing the gold first method tally system is for
the university to avoid equating the value of gold, silver, and bronze. Which is
a problem that is evident in the other of the two most commonly used medal
tally system, the Total Medal Method.
In doing so, the Central Mindanao University created another
controversy. They have neglected the voice of those people whose effort was
not given recognition and now is experiencing the pain of defeat. A great
example of this is the CMUPalaro2023 total medal tally results issue, where a
lot of people raised questions that challenged the reliability of the system
used. The people wondered why despite the total medals won by the Striking
Sphinx, the sports team still failed to land 2 nd place in the overall rankings.
Was it really because the athletes are simply lacking in skills and talent? Or
was it because the system is flawed and problematic? It seems that the
administration refuses to answer that question.
This confusion in the medal tally results can be compared to what
occurred in the 2008 Summer Olympics, where China topped the gold medal
tally, while United States topped the total medal tally. Both countries refused
to yield and claimed that they both got first place in the total rankings, they
both adapted different versions of medal tally systems in order to maintain
their dignity as the winning countries. Another situation similarly occurred
during the 2010 Winter Olympics in which Canada won the gold medal tally,
and United States won the total medal tally. The cycle repeated itself and both
of the countries portrayed themselves as the ultimate winner. This discontent
shown by various countries in the medal tally of the Olympic system led to
Jacques Rogge, the International Olympic Committee President, releasing a
statement that says that the IOC maintains a neutral stance when it comes to
the topic of what medal tally system should be used. Mr. Rogge added that
the decision on what medal tally to adhere to, is upon the discretion of the
hosting country
It is a clear indication that even the IOC President himself admits that
both of the two most commonly used tally systems; Gold First Method, and
Total Medal Method, is unreliable and biased in their own ways. The former
having the problem of neglecting the value of silver and bronze medals,
deeming them as useless, while the latter having the problem of counting the
value of gold, silver, and bronze in the same standard which is to be fair does
not do justice on the athletes part. Hence, we should look for alternatives
point system to follow.
The alternatives in question is specifically the Weighted Point Method.
It is a method that assign differing amounts of points to each of the gold,
silver, and bronze medals. There are a variety of Weighted Point Method
system that has been established already An example of such would be
Luchies Olympic Formula(LOF) point system, LOF assigns 5 points for gold
medal, 3 for silver, and 2 for bronze. However, it is unfortunate to add that this
medal tally system is not being adapted in Olympic Sports events or other
major events thus leading it to gain less popularity than the other two.
According to Robert Wood, the author of Topend Website 2010, counting the
number of medals won at a sports competition may not be the fairest system
to determine the success of the athletes thus the introduction of Weighted
Point Method is an innovation to the medal tally system that people com
monly used.
Innovation is the process of creating, or discovering something new. In
the context of the CMUPalaro2023, innovation takes place when there is a
change in the policies, rules, and facilities given. The medal tally system is
one area in sports industry that is in desperate need of innovation. Therefore,
now that the idea for innovation has arrived, the only thing needed is
immediate action to constantly innovate the rules, policies, and facilities.
Another thing to be noted, is that innovation begin in small scales, thus it is
imperative for the institution to act with the goal of innovating something that
has been blindly following the tradition.
Another topic to ponder about is the medal ranking itself, it has always
been a question for the Rotax Metals why gold is deemed to be the best out of
the three medals presented. According to Joy Baude, an author at Rotax
Metals, gold may be first in the Olympics but Bronze has a myriad of award
winning properties. She added that if we base the medal rankings on its
physical properties, bronze will be the winner’s medal. Gold is too soft to
stand alone, and gold lacks the abundance for it to be effectively utilized. This
indicates that the value of bronze depends on the angle you see it, getting
bronze does not specifically mean you are the lowest of the bunch but rather
says a lot about your room to improve. Bronze medal’s value in the aspect of
physical properties can be compared to an athletes resiliency, and
perseverance in the field he chooses.
To conclude, the medals whether gold, silver, or bronze is only a
material thing. It does not measure the success, the greatness, and the talent
of an athlete. The rankings of CMUPalaro2023 is but a result of a conduct of a
human who is vulnerable to imperfections. The moral lesson here is to always
improve despite the adversaries, as humans have the innate ability to
constantly improve. However, the hope for change and innovation in the area
of sports, and CMUPalaro will always remain in the hearts of the student and
athletes alike. This hope will guide the future generations of students who are
excited to take part in the CMUPalaro2024 once again.