Question about the Winter Olympics

I suppose curling is indeed very difficult, but the question is, since you add curling then why not add a myriad of other games like petanque or les boules or paintball ?
 
Ryokan said:
To me it looks like there's a lot of skills and tactics involved, not just who runs faster with wooden planks on their legs.

And I think curling belongs more in the winter olympics than bridge does in the summer olympics ;)
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Well, in some ways, bridge and curling do share quite a bit of requirement for not-that-obvious strategy.

There's a great lot of tactics in Curling, believe it.

In bridge, well, it depends, do you allow Blue Team and Precision or not? :) :) :) :)
 
El Greco said:
I suppose curling is indeed very difficult, but the question is, since you add curling then why not add a myriad of other games like petanque or les boules or paintball ?
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Naked paintball might be fun in the winter Olympics.

Trouble is that there would be two blue teams.

I think that grape tossing would be great in the summer Olympics.
 
Mephisto said:
Can anyone explain to me the training and appeal behind Olympic Curling?

Not caring much about the Winter Olympics, I can't understand why Curling is even considered a sport, much less an Olympic event. From my untrained (and unappreciative) eye it seems to be at least as strenous a sport as shuffleboard and requiring about as much skill.

I certainly don't want to anger any professional or amateur (are there amateurs?) Curlers, but this sport seems (to me) about as exciting as tic-tac-toe or tiddly-winks, yet the television audiences go wild when Curlers put their "rocks" on target. What is the deal behind the guys with the brooms and all the screaming they do while sweeping? Is it a prerequisite that you become a school custodian before you become an Olympic Curling Sweeper? What ARE the requirements and WHERE do you get the training?

Also, who determines what sports will be included in the Olympics and will bowling, miniature golf or whack-a-mole ever have a chance at being included? ;)
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I can honestly say that I find curling to be more interesting than baseball. But then, I find watching paint dry to be more interesting than baseball.
 
Freakshow said:
I can honestly say that I find curling to be more interesting than baseball. But then, I find watching paint dry to be more interesting than baseball.
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I've figured out how to enjoy baseball. You have to listen to it on AM radio near the low end of the band. Because the bandwidth is about right.
 
WildCat said:
I'm really enjoying the curling, watching it right now (womens US vs. Sweden). There's a lot of strategy involved in it, and it is absolutely amazing how accurate they are sliding 42 lb. granite stones down the ice.

eta: there's a cute set of sisters on the US team, and the Swedes ain't bad either. ;)
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Agreed. All of it, actually; I also watched that match. I like the combination of strategy, skill, and the element of chance. I like that you can "steal" points even when the opposition has the last stone (as opposed to, say, baseball, where the defense can never score). I like that there is essentially no judging involved (unlike figure skating or even halfpipe snowboard).

I prefered watching it when they used the old brooms. These new scrub-brushes are nowhere near as cool as the old floppy brooms.

Much more exciting than baseball, golf, or bowling, IMO; just unfamiliar to most of us.
 
El Greco said:
I suppose curling is indeed very difficult, but the question is, since you add curling then why not add a myriad of other games like petanque or les boules or paintball ?
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For what it's worth, there are three criteria the IOC uses before they will consider a sport for inclusion in the games.

1. There has to be a world recognized "governing body".
2. That body has to be represented on three continents.
3. They have to hold a world championship. It doesn't have to be a single event. It can be points earned across multiple events.

After that, the decisions are based on a combination of tradition and finances. If it has been around a long time, that means it's a lot more likely to stay. If it requires a separate, additional facility, then it's more likely to not make it into the games. Higher tv ratings definitely play a role.

One sport under consideration that I would like to see natural track luge. It's just sledding on a fast, natural, track. Because the curves aren't engineered with high banks, you have to steer with a rope attached to the curved part of the runners, and by using your arms and legs on the ice itself. It's less well known, because it isn't an olympic event, but it's a much better spectator sport. However, it was rejected by the committee at Turin because it would have required a separate venue. I think it's still in the running for consideration at Vancouver.
 
I always wondered where biathlon came from. It turns out, according to a blog entry I read, that it started when some Finnish ski soldiers challenged their Russian counterparts to a competition, sometime in the 20s or thereabouts. It became an annual thing, and some other countries sent their soldiers, too.

I understand that the Finns did extremely well in a competition held in 1940 or thereabouts, but that they were overmatched by a less technically skilled but larger and better equipped Russian team.
 
Meadmaker said:
I always wondered where biathlon came from. It turns out, according to a blog entry I read, that it started when some Finnish ski soldiers challenged their Russian counterparts to a competition, sometime in the 20s or thereabouts. It became an annual thing, and some other countries sent their soldiers, too.

I understand that the Finns did extremely well in a competition held in 1940 or thereabouts, but that they were overmatched by a less technically skilled but larger and better equipped Russian team.
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OK, since you're the olympic sports expert .... :)

What drug crazed episode resulted in synchronised swimming?
 
As someone who has done a fair bit of curling in his time, I can attest to the fact that it does indeed require a lot of skill, and the game itself is very strategic.
If you really understand the rules, it can be very compelling to watch.

But, that's typical of any sport. I'm sure some people find cricket very compelling to watch. Personally, I just can't.
But, I don't think less of the person who loves cricket.
 
I had no idea how stupidly difficult curling was until I tried it.

The balance on ice is no big deal for me, but throwing 40 pound rocks down a sheet of ice, and having them stop within an inch of where you intended, 130 feet away, sweet zombie jesus.

As for the sweeping, it makes the rocks go faster and straighter.
 
Next up, the Desert Olympics, for the rest of us in the world.

regatta.jpg


The Henly-on-Todd Regatta.

It's dry.


The Darwin beer can regatta

http://www.travelnt.com/common/spotlights/experiences/spot_darwin_l_beer_can_regatta.htm
 
Meadmaker said:
I always wondered where biathlon came from. It turns out, according to a blog entry I read, that it started when some Finnish ski soldiers challenged their Russian counterparts to a competition, sometime in the 20s or thereabouts. It became an annual thing, and some other countries sent their soldiers, too.
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Well, the blog entry got it incorrect. Biathlon evolved from military patrol skiing races. The modern rules are quite recent being drafted in 1955. Military patrol races that were held with various rules have long history in the Nordic countries, the first recorded competitions were held in Norway in 1776.

[Since we are in the politics forum, I might add that in the 20s there were quite big political tensions between Finland and Soviet Union so any form of peaceful competition between soldiers of the respective armies would have been extremely unlikely.]

I understand that the Finns did extremely well in a competition held in 1940 or thereabouts, but that they were overmatched by a less technically skilled but larger and better equipped Russian team.
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Well, the end result could be called a draw in the sense that neither side achieved its objectives.
 
sesmo_k said:
There are no curling rinks (?) in the UK, so its probably why the Great Britain team are all scottish.
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Has Scotland seceded from the UK when I wasn't looking? I must remember to take my passport next time I go there.
 
Curling is huge in Canada (I think it is second in viewing audience behind hockey) and if the Olympics were to drop it Canada would probably boycott the Games - and who could want a Winter Olympics without Canadians! :D
 
Don't underestimate the physical work involved in sweeping either - a good pair of sweepers make a huge difference to a game. They can turn bad shots into good ones and therefore create a much wider margin of error in the actual delivery.

However it is more a "skill" sport than a stamina one. And it is clearly more tactical than any number of other Olympic "skill" sports like shooting, archery etc.

And of course it is an excuse to spend the winter months in a building with a bar!
 
I feel the need to defend synchronised swimming - while more an 'art' than a sport (in the same way as the ice dancing, halfpipe and even the ski-jumping, which is judged) i recon you'd have to be incredibly fit to be underwater for up to three minutes while exerting yourself pretty heavily - next time you go swimming, try being upright in the water with one arm and one leg out of it - not easy at all.
 
Dr Adequate said:
Flonking the dwile

Two teams are formed and a sugar beet tossed to decide who is going to 'flonk' first.

A "dull witted person" is chosen as the referee or 'jobanowl'. The game begins when he shouts "Here y'go t'gither!"

The team which is not flonking holds hands and dances around in a circle - known as "girting". A member of the opposing team stands in the middle of the circle holding a "driveller" (a pole 2-3 ft long and made from hazel or yew), on the end of which is a beer-soaked dwile.

The flonker then turns in an anti-clockwise direction and flonks his dwile at the opposing circling team.

If the dwile misses completely it is known as a "swadger". When this happens the team forms a line and the flonker takes hold of a pot filled with ale.

He then has to drink the contents of the pot before the wet dwile has passed from hand to hand along the line, chanting to the ancient ceremonial mantra of "pot pot pot".

The team with the highest number of points wins, after deducting one point for every player still sober.
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Is it true that the senior female is known as the mother-flonker? ;)
 
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