Why Team GB (Great Britain) ?

Question sent via email:
 
Your website is terrific, and I really enjoyed refreshing my knowledge about Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and the Union Jack. A topical question has been bothering me, and no-one I have asked has come up with an answer. Do you know why our team at the Olympics is referred to as “Great Britain”? There is not a separate team from Northern Ireland, is there? And anyway, they all wave the Union flag. Shouldn’t they be call Team UK? Any idea?
Kind regards
Brian

Team GB is the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic Team. The British Olympic Association (BOA) is the National Olympic Committee for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Why they shorten the name could be because it is too long, but it is not fair on Northern Ireland.
http://www.olympics.org.uk/beijing2008/aboutteamgb.aspx

Find out more about the names of the different parts of the United Kingdom
The difference between England, Britain and the UK