Archaic Olympic Events

[3113]

Granted that I don't know how popular some of these events might really be in other countries. Popular enough, obviously, that there are atheletes specializing in them, and money from enough bake sales to have gotten said atheletes to the Olympics. But I do have to wonder why they're still around...or even Olympic events at all. Some seem really outdated and I end up wondering whose funding the teams and why they haven't been laid to rest. Like...

Biathlon: Cross country skiing combined with shooting. WTF? How is this sport even judged?

And what about that Ice Dancing? I know that isn't the ONLY thing those couples have to do, but why make them do it at all? Every couple has to waltz the same pattern over and over and over again? The guys have to wear tuxes?

I won't touch curling as I know there are fans of it here....but how big a sport is this?

Not trying to dis anyone's favorite sport, but I'm a bit mystified. Anyone else mystified by some of these obscure sports?

 

[JamesSD]

For me part of the charm of the olympics is we actually pay attention to obscure sports like curling and biathalon. Skeleton and bobsled. Really, besides ice skating and hockey, are any of the winter olympic sports "popular"?

 

[Vincent E]

Ice hockey, speed skating, and downhill skiing are all you really need. I know that figure skating is wildly popular every four years, but I just don't consider an event where winning is determined by a half-dozen judges to be genuine competition - just a beauty pageant.

Biathlon is a combination of speed in nordic skiing and shooting accuracy. The truth is that the elevated heart rate and muscle fatigue from skiing has a dramatic impact on a shooter's ability to hold the rifle steady. What kills me is that here in the United States where firearms ownership is a protected right we always wind up playing second fiddle to Europeans in this event.

Some of the contrived events - snowboardcross, halfpipe, ice dancing - just make me wonder what standard is being used to determine what will be an Olympic event. Then again considering some of the summer events - rythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming and diving, table tennis - it is no wonder the winter committee had to include some dopey stuff as well.

Note: I left curling out of criticism so as to not undermine my post on the curling thread, and generate some business for the local economy come April.

 

[entitled]

Is it bad that i don't know what curling is?

 

[Guest]

.....

 

[Guest]

The sport is judged as a cross-country ski race, with the lowest elapsed time for the course determining the winner. The competitors ski the first section of the course, carrying a 12 lb riflle the entire way, then stop to fire on a bank of steel plate targets. For every target they miss, time is added to their overall E.T. They ski another section and fire on another bank of targets. It's a long course with about thirty opportunities to add time to your run.

Now try this: Go outside in the freezing cold and jog down to the corner of your street, then hold out your hand and point at a small target and see just how steady you can hold your hand. Now, imagine trying to hold a rifle staeady enough to hit a 5" target that's 50 meters away without a magnifying scope.

I find that sport fascinating. Talk about being an overall athlete.

They practice lowering their heart rates so they can aim properly and shoot as quickly as possible before cross-country skiing to the next target.

Amazing.

 

[Guest]

.....

 

[Guest]

Takes a hell of a lot of physical and mental dicepline to be any good at all at it. Hell I'm usually breathing hard after a plate match and I don't have to even run to the corner.

How about after bringing a couple of laundry baskets up from the basement??

 

[R. Richard]

I find that sport fascinating. Talk about being an overall athlete.

They practice lowering their heart rates so they can aim properly and shoot as quickly as possible before cross-country skiing to the next target.

Amazing.

Not only do they lower their heart rates, they shoot between heart beats to lessen the effect on their aim.

 

[Guest]

Not only do they lower their heart rates, they shoot between heart beats to lessen the effect on their aim.

Isn't that amazing?

 

[Guest]

You have to respect the amount of time and training and discipline -

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

Plus, who is going to tell a bunch of superbly trained athletes armed with rifles, "Sorry, lads and lasses, your sport has been cancelled."

Snick-snick, click, aim . . .

"Oh, never mind - you can compete after all!"

 

[Guest]

Plus, who is going to tell a bunch of superbly trained athletes armed with rifles, "Sorry, lads and lasses, your sport has been cancelled."

Snick-snick, click, aim . . .

"Oh, never mind - you can compete after all!"

 

[3113]

Now try this: Go outside in the freezing cold and jog down to the corner of your street, then hold out your hand and point at a small target and see just how steady you can hold your hand. Now, imagine trying to hold a rifle staeady enough to hit a 5" target that's 50 meters away without a magnifying scope.

Hey, I'm not saying it's not tough. We could have a sport where guys run for 10 miles through the snow with bowling balls chained around their necks. Really tough. But does that make it worthy of being an Olympic sport? And there are really fascinating things that people do with their bodies and heartbeats and breathing--circus folk, Yogis, deep sea pearl divers...but I don't see what they do being made into an Olympic sport.

Once again, not trying to dis anyone's favorites here, I'm just sayin'....a lot of these seem a tad obsolete.

 

[Guest]

Hey, I'm not saying it's not tough. We could have a sport where guys run for 10 miles through the snow with bowling balls chained around their necks. Really tough. But does that make it worthy of being an Olympic sport?

That's a good question.

I suppose the answer would be - what does qualify something to be an Olympic sport?

 

[elsol]

Biathlon: Cross country skiing combined with shooting. WTF? How is this sport even judged?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biathlon

They have stamps for biathletes in some countries... I watched the competition with my girlfriend. She was on the edge of her seat during the shooting portions.

Biathlon is easy... no judging.

cross-country ski section
1 round of shooting from the prone position hitting five targets the size of a silver dollar..
cross-country ski section
1 round of shooting from the prone
cross-country ski section
1 round of shooting form the standing position hitting five targets the size of a coffee saucer
cross-country ski section
1 round of shooting form the standing position hitting five targets the size of a coffee saucer
cross country section.

If you miss a target, you have to ski a lap around a 150 meter track pretty much meaning a 8-20 second penalty

It's some sweet bit of shooting to hit a silver dollar target after doing 2.5-3 km cross country ski, dude.

And what about that Ice Dancing? I know that isn't the ONLY thing those couples have to do, but why make them do it at all? Every couple has to waltz the same pattern over and over and over again? The guys have to wear tuxes?

It's ballroom dancing with skates on.

All-in-all not a bad thing especially cause the females tend to have very hot bodies and are legal unlike the invidual female skaters.

It is a little over the top, but then again so is a ballroom dancing competition.

---

Yeah... SKI JUMPING!!!

How bad are winters in those countries that someone said "Hey, let's take a skiing start down the side of a mountain, spring in to the air from a rock outcropping, and who ever lands the farthest win."

"Heimlich! You are a genius!!!"


Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[Belegon]

Most of the rest of the world considers NFL Football to be as silly as some of us might the Biathlon or Ski Jumping...

The Olympics are not a local competition.

 

[entitled]

Most of the rest of the world considers NFL Football to be as silly as some of us might the Biathlon or Ski Jumping...

The Olympics are not a local competition.

*molest*

 

[3113]

Most of the rest of the world considers NFL Football to be as silly as some of us might the Biathlon or Ski Jumping....

So, maybe if NFL football was played on ice, it would become an Olympic sport?

 

[3113]

How bad are winters in those countries that someone said "Hey, let's take a skiing start down the side of a mountain, spring in to the air from a rock outcropping, and who ever lands the farthest win."

"Heimlich! You are a genius!!!"

LOL! I kinda thought they started because in every snowbound village there was at least one guy no one could stand. So, when things got really boring, the villages met and killed two birds with one stone by dragging their respective annoyances up the top of the mountain and shoved them down it.

After the first one hit the rock and went flying, they started taking bets on how far the guys would fly. Pretty soon, they tossed in a pair of skis so they could get him down faster and flying farther and so win the bets....unfortunately, this sometimes meant that the guy survived, but hey, that also meant they could drag him up the mountain again and again

 

[elsol]

LOL! I kinda thought they started because in every snowbound village there was at least one guy no one could stand. So, when things got really boring, the villages met and killed two birds with one stone by dragging their respective annoyances up the top of the mountain and shoved them down it.

After the first one hit the rock and went flying, they started taking bets on how far the guys would fly. Pretty soon, they tossed in a pair of skis so they could get him down faster and flying farther and so win the bets....unfortunately, this sometimes meant that the guy survived, but hey, that also meant they could drag him up the mountain again and again

I was sort of thinking...maybe it's like the Norweigan Female Divorce Lottery.

Sincerely,
ElSol

 

[Colleen Thomas]

Some events were designed and placed on the Olympic roster specifically so women could compete. these events are retained, even though they aren't in popular practice around the world for the sake of tradition. Some events are retained, simply because they corresond to events in the original games, ie. boxing, long jump etc. You must remember, the olympics used to bne held only once every four years. Now you have winter and summer games and that means you have to have a full schedule in both seasons. theoretically, it would be possible now to go back to just once every four years and pare down the events. But no one is pushing for that.

 

[oggbashan]

Amateur v professional

Many of the limited appeal sports are still run by amateurs for amateurs, which is what the Modern Olympics were supposed to be about.

A skeleton luge costs a minimum of about 7,000 dollars. A two man bob? 10,000 dollars upwards.

Skis for downhill events are not cheap, nor is the clothing. Sponsorship is necessary. Snowboarders are probably the closest to amateurs in the Winter Olympics but even they need sponsorship for time to practice and their equipment.

It is no surprise that many countries' competitors are in the military because they get paid to train and are counted as Phys Ed. Instructors.

The Biatholon is really training for mountain troops.

Even figure skaters and ice dancers have to have serious muscles to perform at Olympic level.

Some of the weird sports have significant followings in a range of countries. My home town hosts international meetings in Roller Hockey, Beach and Boat Angling and some versions of speed boat racing. Each draws a crowd even if the boat angling has to be watched from a boat.

Og

 

[3113]

theoretically, it would be possible now to go back to just once every four years and pare down the events. But no one is pushing for that.

Well, I certainly understand wanting to statisfy the northern climates who take great pride in their particular sports by having a Winter Olympics. It seems only fair to honor such sports. Although I suspect it was originally a bit bias (racist even?). Any nation could send a runner to the Summer Olympics, but piror to international travel and indoor skating rinks it used to be pretty unthinkable for some place like Egypt to send a skier to the Winter Olympics.

I guess what I'm really wondering is this: a lot of these sports seem obsolete. Any Ski Lodge will offer skiing and sledding (and, nowadays, snowboarding), with a lot of jumps and runs. Obviously, skiing is very popular. So it makes sense that there would be a ski event--even several different types of ski events. But then I look at something like Skeleton...and maybe it's just because I don't live anywhere near snow but I wonder, "How many people enjoy this sport? Where are other contests held for it? Who sponsors it? How popular is it? Who offers lessons in it?"

Skeleton is certainly exciting and dangerous and, I'm sure, requires a huge amount of demanding skill to master. But how does someone decide: "I want to win olympic gold in skeleton!"? And why did the Winter Olympics pick that sport to be a staple of the games? Did they pick it because it used to be popular, or just to fill up the schedule? And now that they've got a pretty full schedule, do they keep it because it still IS popular...or because it's just traditional and they don't want to upset the apple cart?

What sports are still in the Olympics because the Olympics are loathe to challenge tradition...and which are in it because they're actually pretty popular in more snow bound nations?

 

[matriarch]

So, maybe if NFL football was played on ice, it would become an Olympic sport?

It couldn't be much more of a waste of a time than it already is. Why doesn't someone try it. Without all the padding, and take out the time-outs, make the game only last the 1 hour its supposed to last.