From flooded football grounds to barren Alpine ski slopes, the link between climate change and sport is becoming ever more visible.
It is partly why organisers of the Paris Olympics are keen to stress their green credentials by fitting solar panels, repurposing old venues and cleaning up the Seine river.
But one ecologist and author who has spent years discussing the climate threat with athletes and those around them believes sport needs a more radical rethink for an eco-conscious age.
Madeleine Orr said her wishlist of changes – such as live-hologrammed fixtures, a smaller Olympics and a more flexible attitude from fans – was too much for some sports executives, who said it asked for things beyond their control.
But she says athletes and fans can encourage their clubs to make sport “more fun, less pressured”, more health-conscious and better suited to its environment.
Sport is a “nice to have” but “if our contributions in this area can’t be minimised then we might have to make bigger sacrifices elsewhere,” she told The National. “I don’t think we want to do that. So let’s find ways.”
Climate change affecting sport – in pictures
Dr Orr’s new book, Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sports, shows how floods, droughts, heatwaves, air pollution, wildfires, typhoons and melting glaciers are all taking their toll.
The Canadian academic was on a gap year job at a French ski resort when she realised a lack of snow was causing accidents and injuries (including to herself) and hurting the local economy.
Having also witnessed waste, pollution and illness while working at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she has since set about researching how sport is dealing with climate threats.
She found sailing clubs disappearing into the sea and Alpine ski clubs reliant on artificial snow. Drought in India left cricket pitches at the back of the queue for water. Australian Open tennis was postponed due to wildfires. Baseball grounds have been flooded and beach volleyball courts lost. The Tokyo 2020 Olympics (actually in 2021) were the “hottest ever”.
Roads were emptied in Delhi to spare runners from pollution. Cyclists were accompanied by a rider with an air quality monitor. Surfing bosses have planted 360,000 trees to improve the sport's coastal habitat. A Donald Trump-owned golf course applied for a sea wall in Ireland. (‘Building the wall’ was no easier there.)
In an extreme case, American football player Jordan McNair died of heatstroke during training in 2018. His father Marty is quoted in the book saying that “nobody ever told us” about the risks.
There are threats even in mild climates. Grassroots cricket officials in England say it is becoming ever harder to maintain pitches in hot and dry conditions.
And insurer Zurich warned last year that 39 of the 92 grounds in England’s top four men’s football leagues could face multiple climate hazards by 2050, such as extreme rainfall and flooding.
Dr Orr’s conclusion is that sport needs to show a bit more flexibility when it comes to rules and timings across the board. The pragmatism that accommodated the 2022 men’s World Cup in Qatar during the winter, for example, could become the norm not an exception.
Having helped design air quality training for coaches in Canada, she would also like to see more awareness from parents, trainers and athletes on “how we take care of people in harsh conditions”.
“I’m not saying every game needs to be shut and cancelled – I’m saying have a heat policy, have some extra sports drink on the side of the pitch, be ready to add a heat break in,” she said.
“The parents aren’t going to like it, but your kid, your 15-year-old, doesn’t actually need to play a perfect 45-minute-45-minute football game. It can be split up with a couple of extra breaks and it’s not going to hurt anybody but it will potentially save lives.”
These are examples of how sport can adapt to global warming. Then there is the question of how it reduces its contribution to it (“mitigation” in climate jargon).
Australia’s Test captain Pat Cummins, founder of the Cricket for Climate Foundation, is among the pros who have banged the drum for sport to show more leadership – leading to him winning Athlete of the Year in the 2023 BBC Green Sport Awards, and being labelled a “woke far-left catastrophist clown” in other quarters.
Activism from athletes comes amid a “big shift in who has power in sport”, says Dr Orr, with sportsmen and women leading the way in 2020’s “take the knee” anti-racism protests.
While her experience is that owners “don’t love it” when athletes speak out, she believes they can be persuaded to cut ties with airlines and fossil fuel giants like they once did with tobacco sponsorship.
At local level, she would like to see more car pooling, electric team buses and second-hand sports shops, and a mentality that a sports ground is part of a common environment to be protected.
Venues should also be used as shelters or clinics when needed, like when New Orleans' Superdome became a refuge after Hurricane Katrina.
In elite sport, Dr Orr believes fans may have to accept travelling less frequently to follow their team, particularly avoiding flights, and turning to their TVs and novel ways of broadcasting.
“We are minutes away from the broadcasters developing the technology to have holograms on the pitch, and people watching at their home field a live-hologrammed game from another pitch in another country,” she said.
“There is so much room for us to create fan zones in local communities for the local teams, and for the fans to congregate and have that party without necessarily having to fly around the world to have the party.
“I’m not trying to say we’re going to give up all fandom. I’m just saying it’s going to look a little different.”
Her vision of the Olympics is one with, say, 8,000 fans in the stadium instead of 60,000, where athletes can have their friends and families in the crowd but most tickets go to locals.
Allowing smaller venues would mean “smaller towns and cities are on the map”, she says, at a time when climate change is shrinking the pool of Winter Olympic venues and perhaps summer ones, too.
“It’ll be fun, and the rest of us can watch from home – and most of the world does. No one’s ever blinked at the fact that poor people can’t travel to the Olympics,” she said.
“It’s been a global event on TV for most of the world. It’s only a select few that actually are able to make that travel and all I’m saying is let’s just reduce that a little bit further.”
'Warming Up: How Climate Change is Changing Sport', by Madeleine Orr, is available now in hardback (Bloomsbury Sigma, £20), audio and eBook.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES
Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)
Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)
Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
MATCH INFO
Norwich City 0 Southampton 3 (Ings 49', Armstrong 54', Redmond 79')
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Aya Iskandarani
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Reputation
Taylor Swift
(Big Machine Records)
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
