It's not fair

How do you define fair? This question has been behind numerous headlines recently from sport through to politics. I have found myself digging deeper to understand exactly how I feel over the proposed changes to disability benefit, the incoming sugar tax and in sport the continuous debate over equal prize money. The aforementioned issues do not affect me directly and initially I was certain as to which side of the fence I sat, that is until hearing the convincing counter arguments.

The introduction of the sugar tax has been the only debate that has not once caused me to question my initial instinct. It has infuriated me listening to the soft drink companies complaining about the injustice of a tax increase, fighting the Government’s decision to the bitter end. I find it sad that they do not care for the health of our young people and am baffled that they ignore the worrying statistics of obesity due to sugary soft drinks. The sugar tax is only a small step but it is at least one in the right direction.

The prize money in sport debate has been revisited as a result of some strong opinions from within the sport of tennis; Indian Wells (now former) CEO inferred that the women’s game would be nowhere today without the male stars such as Federer and Nadal. World number one Novak Djokovic added spice to the topic by questioning the fairness of equal prize money. There are so many pieces to this jigsaw which sadly I do not have space to address. The women’s game is continually growing in participation numbers and popularity, however the elephant in the room remains – in a grand slam they only play three sets compared to the men’s five. I will leave you to ponder that one. I am just glad that my sport of Modern Pentathlon appears, on the surface at least, to be equal.