Apparently we're having the Olympics in about two weeks. Who knew?
We should boycott them.
I knew because I love Olympics.
I don't watch olympics, but I knew because there was some talk of boycott or some such.
Does the NHL "boycott" the Winter Olympics by not allowing the players to go for the ice hockey tournament?
At least nothing should happen in Ukraine during the Winter Olympics, that's the only exciting part about them.
:lol:
I always like the Winter Olympics but it's a very different vibe. With the Summer Olympics I'm always just amazed and in awe of what the athletes are doing physically, with the Winter Olympics there's more terror - I find things like luge and skeleton and ski jumping vicariously very stressful.
Plus they're sports - unlike, say, swimming, athletics, gymnastics - where I just don't really understand how they talent spot. I don't get how you discover you're a really good tobogganist.
And I've already checked out the curling schedule :ph34r:
This year's main event is making Uyghurs disappear.
Side events are Hong Kong squashing and Quarantine Meisterschaft.
Returning is sabrerattling
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2022, 10:13:11 AM
We should boycott them.
Only pariah states want to host them any more.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 17, 2022, 07:23:10 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2022, 10:13:11 AM
We should boycott them.
Only pariah states want to host them any more.
The next Olympics are in France, Italy and the USA.
No thank you.
Don't care about Olympics, even if I prefer the Winter one.
Quote from: Grey Fox on January 17, 2022, 09:14:36 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 17, 2022, 07:23:10 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2022, 10:13:11 AM
We should boycott them.
Only pariah states want to host them any more.
The next Olympics are in France, Italy and the USA.
From what I've read they do seem to be taking a positive turn with Tokyo and the coming winter Olympics potentially being the last of the dark age of peak capitalism.
Paris plans to use a lot of existing facilities with a minimum of new construction.
Quote from: Tyr on January 18, 2022, 01:06:18 AM
From what I've read they do seem to be taking a positive turn with Tokyo and the coming winter Olympics potentially being the last of the dark age of peak capitalism.
Paris plans to use a lot of existing facilities with a minimum of new construction.
What does this mean? :unsure:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 18, 2022, 02:07:20 AM
Quote from: Tyr on January 18, 2022, 01:06:18 AM
From what I've read they do seem to be taking a positive turn with Tokyo and the coming winter Olympics potentially being the last of the dark age of peak capitalism.
Paris plans to use a lot of existing facilities with a minimum of new construction.
What does this mean? :unsure:
Unprecedented health and prosperity.
Quote from: Tyr on January 18, 2022, 01:06:18 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on January 17, 2022, 09:14:36 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 17, 2022, 07:23:10 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2022, 10:13:11 AM
We should boycott them.
Only pariah states want to host them any more.
The next Olympics are in France, Italy and the USA.
From what I've read they do seem to be taking a positive turn with Tokyo and the coming winter Olympics potentially being the last of the dark age of peak capitalism.
Paris plans to use a lot of existing facilities with a minimum of new construction.
Well, the "Paris" Olympics will have football tournament games played in Marseille for instance. Might be due to PSG not wanting its precious grass to be spoiled for non-FIFA competitions or SdF charging too much. :P
Quote from: Duque de Bragança on January 18, 2022, 09:18:33 AM
Quote from: Tyr on January 18, 2022, 01:06:18 AM
Quote from: Grey Fox on January 17, 2022, 09:14:36 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 17, 2022, 07:23:10 PM
Quote from: Razgovory on January 17, 2022, 10:13:11 AM
We should boycott them.
Only pariah states want to host them any more.
The next Olympics are in France, Italy and the USA.
From what I've read they do seem to be taking a positive turn with Tokyo and the coming winter Olympics potentially being the last of the dark age of peak capitalism.
Paris plans to use a lot of existing facilities with a minimum of new construction.
Well, the "Paris" Olympics will have football tournament games played in Marseille for instance. Might be due to PSG not wanting its precious grass to be spoiled for non-FIFA competitions or SdF charging too much. :P
The soccer tournament seems to be an issue often. LA 2028 plans to also have it in San Francisco & San Diego.
Football tournaments need a lot of stadia for the group phase, that's why.
2 or 3 are not enough i.e Parc des Princes, Stade de France in Saint-Denis and Charléty for Paris/Île-de-France. Colombes, for those of you who watched Escape to Victory is outdated if not crumbling (only a small section is still open) and has not been in consideration since the '70s. Good enough for field hockey though. :P
Just checked and the Colombes stadium will be actually used, but for field hockey.
French Polynesia (!) will have the surf contest (makes more sense than Paris truth be said).
Forget what I said earlier the following cities will share the football tournament games, including Paris (Parc des Princes).
Quote
Bordeaux Existant Football
Parc Olympique lyonnaisS Décines-Charpieu Existant Football
Stade Vélodrome Marseille Existant Football
Stade de la Beaujoire Nantes Existant Football
Stade Riviera Nice Existant Football
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard Saint-Étienne
One day Eastern Canada will have the winter olympics. Quebec city, Toronto, Ottawa, somewhere & the Alpine Ski events will be in the USA at Lake Placid.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on January 18, 2022, 02:07:20 AM
Quote from: Tyr on January 18, 2022, 01:06:18 AM
From what I've read they do seem to be taking a positive turn with Tokyo and the coming winter Olympics potentially being the last of the dark age of peak capitalism.
Paris plans to use a lot of existing facilities with a minimum of new construction.
What does this mean? :unsure:
I can only assume he is referring to the glorious return of the baseball tournament to the Summer Olympics last year.
From the Washington Post:
QuoteChina warns foreign Olympic athletes against speaking out on politics at Winter Games
A member of China's Olympics organizing committee warned that foreign athletes may face punishment for speech that violates Chinese law at the 2022 Winter Games, spotlighting concerns about the country's restrictions on political expression.
"Any expression that is in line with the Olympic spirit I'm sure will be protected," Yang Shu, deputy director general of international relations for the Beijing Organizing Committee, said in a news conference Tuesday. "Any behavior or speech that is against the Olympic spirit, especially against the Chinese laws and regulations, are also subject to certain punishment."
In broad strokes, China's stance falls in line with the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) established rule against political protest at the Games. The IOC also announced before last year's Summer Games in Tokyo that athletes who staged protests there would be punished, ignoring U.S. calls to allow respectful protest for human rights issues.
But China's formulation of its rule appeared to be a shade stricter than the IOC's, raising questions about how Beijing plans to interpret and enforce it. Rule 50 of the IOC charter forbids "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" at Olympic venues. Yang said Tuesday that "speech" could be subject to punishment and cited Chinese law, which is far more restrictive than many countries'.
Beijing's warning came amid discussion in the West over expected political restrictions and surveillance at the Games, which will take place next month. Speakers at a seminar hosted by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday said they were advising athletes against criticizing China's human rights record while in Beijing for their own safety, according to Reuters.
In China, critics of the government have routinely been sentenced to prison for staging political protests, or for comments they made on social media. While it's unlikely Beijing would risk international ire to severely punish an athlete at the Olympics for speech, Yang declined to answer on Tuesday what the maximum punishment could be for political demonstration at the Games.
China's human rights record has come under heavy scrutiny ahead of the Olympics, with the United States and several other countries announcing a diplomatic boycott of the event as a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang."
Athletes' freedom of speech in China has also become a flash point, after Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai made explosive allegations against China's former vice premier Zhang Gaoli in November, saying he coerced her into sex. Peng disappeared from public view, prompting international expressions of concern for her safety.
The Canadian cybersecurity research group Citizen Lab reported Tuesday that the health-tracking smartphone app that Olympics attendees are required to download has security flaws that made users' personal data vulnerable. The app's code included a list of political keywords and a feature that allows users to report "politically sensitive" content, Citizen Lab's report said.
A representative of the Beijing Organizing Committee said at Tuesday's news conference they were not aware of the political keyword list and would look into the matter. The official said they were working to patch any security vulnerabilities in the app.
China's Foreign Ministry also fielded questions on Tuesday about reports that the United States and other countries have advised athletes to take "burner phones" to Beijing to avoid surveillance. Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian dismissed the concerns, saying those countries "who are guilty of the charge themselves are accusing the innocent party without any evidence."
Beijing announced on Monday it was canceling public ticket sales to the Games, as the city recorded its first case of the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus. Jing Quan, an official at the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said at Tuesday's news conference that only a few direct flights will remain between the United States and China next week, with others canceled because of coronavirus cases among passengers.
Yang said "dedicated departments" will evaluate punishment for athletes who violate the IOC political protest ban.
"I think for the athletes to participate in the Olympic Games, they should follow the spirit and requirements provided by the Olympic Charter," he said. "The politicization of sports is one of the things opposed by the Olympic Charter."
Already shaping up to be the greatest Olympics since 1936. :)
"Flaws".
Almost like we should stay out of China...
Quote from: garbon on January 19, 2022, 04:07:33 PM
Almost like we should stay out of China...
I don't understand people that go to places like Russia or China these days. You know that you're going to be under heavy surveillance while there, and more likely than not you're going to leak enough information about yourself while there that you're probably never going to be informationally secure anywhere for the rest of your life. Sure, maybe you're not that interesting to their secrete services, but you never truly know what they do and don't find interesting about people and how many years later they find it interesting, and why leave yourself exposed to hostile unaccountable governments in any case?
I don't know. Just to see it. My parents visited St. Petersburg and said it was weird having a Russian handler following them around the whole time but, you know, lots of cool things to see in St. Petersburg.
The Hungarian athlete who won Hungary's first Winter Olympics gold medal ever in 2019 (in short track speed skating I believe) has been left out of this year's delegation. Which would be puzzling, until you realise he made a China-deriding Instagram post two years ago (some airport picture while in China and commenting "F*ck China"), and the coach of the Hungarian team is Chinese.
The coach protested to the national olympic authority and also publicly, pointing out that he has been managing the team since 2012 in order to "enhance the friendship of China and Hungary" and it is unacceptable to have China criticised this way and he offered to resign and demanded an apology from the Hungarian speed skating association as well. He has been made to stay and received his apology and the athlete has been dropped from the team.
That's the safer route for the athlete too. Probably wouldn't enjoy Chinese gulag.
Apparently athletes are recommended not to take their mobile phones to China as there it will be mandatory for them to install an app specific for the Olympics but probably will be used to spy on and censor them.
They could always bring a non-smartphone mobile phone. :P
Quote from: DGuller on January 19, 2022, 05:20:38 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 19, 2022, 04:07:33 PM
Almost like we should stay out of China...
I don't understand people that go to places like Russia or China these days. You know that you're going to be under heavy surveillance while there, and more likely than not you're going to leak enough information about yourself while there that you're probably never going to be informationally secure anywhere for the rest of your life. Sure, maybe you're not that interesting to their secrete services, but you never truly know what they do and don't find interesting about people and how many years later they find it interesting, and why leave yourself exposed to hostile unaccountable governments in any case?
Sometimes you need to visit police states for school.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on January 20, 2022, 10:22:09 AM
Quote from: DGuller on January 19, 2022, 05:20:38 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 19, 2022, 04:07:33 PM
Almost like we should stay out of China...
I don't understand people that go to places like Russia or China these days. You know that you're going to be under heavy surveillance while there, and more likely than not you're going to leak enough information about yourself while there that you're probably never going to be informationally secure anywhere for the rest of your life. Sure, maybe you're not that interesting to their secrete services, but you never truly know what they do and don't find interesting about people and how many years later they find it interesting, and why leave yourself exposed to hostile unaccountable governments in any case?
Sometimes you need to visit police states for school.
Surely there must be some more local options with better commute times? :unsure:
Quote from: Tamas on January 20, 2022, 10:08:59 AM
Apparently athletes are recommended not to take their mobile phones to China as there it will be mandatory for them to install an app specific for the Olympics but probably will be used to spy on and censor them.
This is all so ridiculous.
Quote from: garbon on January 20, 2022, 11:53:02 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 20, 2022, 10:08:59 AM
Apparently athletes are recommended not to take their mobile phones to China as there it will be mandatory for them to install an app specific for the Olympics but probably will be used to spy on and censor them.
This is all so ridiculous.
It has to be just the Chinese throwing their weight around and making a point about their relative power. get people used to them being in charge.
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on January 20, 2022, 12:13:13 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 20, 2022, 11:53:02 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 20, 2022, 10:08:59 AM
Apparently athletes are recommended not to take their mobile phones to China as there it will be mandatory for them to install an app specific for the Olympics but probably will be used to spy on and censor them.
This is all so ridiculous.
It has to be just the Chinese throwing their weight around and making a point about their relative power. get people used to them being in charge.
We should be adults and say thanks but no thanks.
Quote from: garbon on January 20, 2022, 12:18:59 PM
Quote from: Darth Wagtaros on January 20, 2022, 12:13:13 PM
Quote from: garbon on January 20, 2022, 11:53:02 AM
Quote from: Tamas on January 20, 2022, 10:08:59 AM
Apparently athletes are recommended not to take their mobile phones to China as there it will be mandatory for them to install an app specific for the Olympics but probably will be used to spy on and censor them.
This is all so ridiculous.
It has to be just the Chinese throwing their weight around and making a point about their relative power. get people used to them being in charge.
We should be adults and say thanks but no thanks.
Indeed.
Just give everyone new phones when they come back.
Quote from: Jacob on January 20, 2022, 02:43:56 PM
Just give everyone new phones when they come back.
Nah that's still very dangerous. CBC has the right strategy. Give everyone clean phones for the Games & then have them analyzed. Hopefully we can find something about what the Chinese are doing.
Quote from: Jacob on January 20, 2022, 02:43:56 PM
Just give everyone new phones when they come back.
Tapping someone's smart phone does not limit the snooping to just what's on the smart phone. :unsure: Everything connected to by that smartphone is potentially compromised.
It is similar to the advice we give to Canadians traveling to the US if they have confidential information on their phones - take a spare that does not contain any confidential data.
The thing I enjoy most about Winter Games is the beautiful venues in charming winter landscapes. :)
(https://i.redd.it/bzr26xgafjg81.jpg)
Did Homer make an appearance?
:D
Apparently it's a disused industrial plant that's been turned into a museum.
I am kind of having my stomach turn of the thought of an Olympics being done in the shadow of the Uighur concentration camps, Hong Kong, and the general dystopian nightmare of China, but I do enjoy the many reports of irregularities and horrible behaviour by the hosts.
There was the case of the Dutch reported manhandled by Chinese security on the street live on their evening news, plus the various reports of inexplicably wrong covid quarantines for some athletes (I think one Finnish ice hockey player was (might still is) locked up 18 days after his positive test), the bad conditions at the quarantine hotels (like no reliable Internet which is a big deal when they can just without explanation switch you to another facility like it happened to one of the female athletes around the start).
Sport-wise in the 1000m short track speed skating, there is a mini-scandal in Hungary since we thought we won our very first individual winter gold (the previous one(s) were in relay short track speed skating). However, our guy was disqualified because of a tussle with the Chinese athlete just before the finish line, so it became a Chinese gold by committee decision. Having watched the incident, I think it was a reasonably fair decision though, although the Chinese guy was far from innocent himself: the Hungarian guy showed mildly, the Chinese counter-attacked forcefully making the Hungarian guy fall, who then as part of his fall made sure to kick the legs of the Chinese guy.
However, I have just read, the semi finals of this race are a scandal in South Korea, since oddly enough the first two places there went to South Korean athletes until they were both disqualified and their spots given to Chinese ones, one of whom won the gold medal above.
South Korean speed skating team is always great, so they're really invested in those results here.
They hated Apolo Ohno
Shaolin Liu deserved to be disqualified. He was losing on the sprint & decided to go for obstruction on the last straight.
Zhangjiakou zone has alien climate. A place where it is -20C but gets no snow.
It's day 4 (or 5?) of the Olympics, and it just dawned on me that I haven't watched a minute of it, and I'm not itching to start now. That never happened to me before. Anyone feeling the same way about the games?
Same. I usually prefer the Winter Olympics but I have no desire to watch.
Haven't seen a second of highlights.
It's crazy. I mean, it's not like they couldn't find somewhere scenic in China I'm sure. Somewhere with snow even.
But no. They have to shoehorn in Beijing.
Also we just had the summer Olympics last year...and late last year at that.
Quote from: DGuller on February 08, 2022, 02:44:47 PM
It's day 4 (or 5?) of the Olympics, and it just dawned on me that I haven't watched a minute of it, and I'm not itching to start now. That never happened to me before. Anyone feeling the same way about the games?
I'm not watching anything, no. I've read a few headlines, but that's about as much attention I'm willing to give it.
I'd like to think that I'm not watching out of protest but I know I'll watch the World Cup so...
I wouldn't normally watch but I've watched a little because social life.
Canada eliminated from mixed doubles curling by Italy! :o
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 08, 2022, 06:37:44 PM
Canada eliminated from mixed doubles curling by Italy! :o
I am glad BB is not here to see this :(
I've watched some of the skating races.
Quote from: Valmy on February 08, 2022, 09:55:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 08, 2022, 06:37:44 PM
Canada eliminated from mixed doubles curling by Italy! :o
I am glad BB is not here to see this :(
The duo also lost to Australia. A national disgrace really.
Italia dominated the competition thru and thru. Went undefeated and unchallenged winning 8-1 and 8-5 in the medal round.
Grey Fox, big curling fan.
Quote from: Grey Fox on February 08, 2022, 10:30:40 PM
Quote from: Valmy on February 08, 2022, 09:55:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 08, 2022, 06:37:44 PM
Canada eliminated from mixed doubles curling by Italy! :o
I am glad BB is not here to see this :(
The duo also lost to Australia. A national disgrace really.
Italia dominated the competition thru and thru. Went undefeated and unchallenged winning 8-1 and 8-5 in the medal round.
Grey Fox, big curling fan.
...and she is nice and has a beautiful smile :wub:
L.
Quote from: Valmy on February 08, 2022, 09:55:42 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 08, 2022, 06:37:44 PM
Canada eliminated from mixed doubles curling by Italy! :o
I am glad BB is not here to see this :(
I suspect he saw it anyway.
Quote from: Maladict on February 09, 2022, 01:54:52 AM
Quote from: Valmy on February 08, 2022, 09:55:42 PM
I am glad BB is not here to see this :(
He left?
Berkut apparently stalked him into leaving. I don't know.
Quote from: Pedrito on February 09, 2022, 09:07:18 AM
...and she is nice and has a beautiful smile :wub:
L.
Is she a relative of yours or something?
I caught some half pipe snow boarding yesterday.
Fairly ridiculous event really. Such a huge facility for such a niche. Also.
1: Just me or is half of the American team Chinese American? Seems to be loads of them.
2: wow snowboarders are all young.
Oh. And I heard the news about a figure scater doing some super bar raising epic new move....
BBC News - Winter Olympics: Kamila Valieva failed drug test confirmed
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/60329120
AH.
Sad to prepare so much for a test and still fail. :(
They'll probably use this as the CB for the Ukraine invasion.
Also, Lollobrigida (yes, related) :wub:
Quote from: The Brain on February 11, 2022, 07:43:02 AM
Sad to prepare so much for a test and still fail. :(
:XD:
Quote from: Tyr on February 11, 2022, 07:08:40 AM
I caught some half pipe snow boarding yesterday.
Fairly ridiculous event really. Such a huge facility for such a niche. Also.
1: Just me or is half of the American team Chinese American? Seems to be loads of them.
2: wow snowboarders are all young.
In the US figure skating and snowboarding teams have a huge Asian representation. The New York Times (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/sports/olympics/figure-skating-chen-asian-americans.html?auth=login-google) had an article on the latter.
I'm afraid we've reached the dreaded third generation (in a large number, I mean) of Asian immigrants. To quote the greatest actor in the world (when he was on 30 Rock):
We are an immigrant nation. The first generation works their fingers to the bone making things. The next generation goes to college and innovates new ideas. The third generation... snowboards and takes improv classes.
It's not from these olympics, but it's funny as hell :D
Olympic trolling level (https://www.reddit.com/r/Quebec/comments/sq6z6j/trolling_level_olympiques/)
The athlete is reciting verbatim this monologue (https://youtu.be/AgdlTAXLjvg?t=174) from Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra.
I have yet again found myself ignoring the sports with any physical prowess and obsessing over the curling :blush:
Caught a bit on the weekend. Downhill skiing.
Quite enjoyed this guy, Benjamin Alexander.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/winter-olympics/60365580
Basically a 38 year old brit who in 2016 was DJing at a Canadian ski resort where he decided to try skiing out and found he quite enjoyed it. Figured he wouldn't qualify for the British team so applied for Jamaican citizenship and qualified against zero opposition to represent them.
In the event his sole goal was to finish thus guaranteeing he wouldn't be in last place as many trying to win ended up falling.
Quote from: Tyr on February 15, 2022, 09:31:33 AM
Caught a bit on the weekend. Downhill skiing.
Quite enjoyed this guy, Benjamin Alexander.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/winter-olympics/60365580
Basically a 38 year old brit who in 2016 was DJing at a Canadian ski resort where he decided to try skiing out and found he quite enjoyed it. Figured he wouldn't qualify for the British team so applied for Jamaican citizenship and qualified against zero opposition to represent them.
In the event his sole goal was to finish thus guaranteeing he wouldn't be in last place as many trying to win ended up falling.
Cracked just had an article on how to qualify for the Olympics (as with anything else from Cracked, take this with a grain of salt.):
Quote
Anyone Can Trick The System And Qualify For The Olympics
© Provided by Cracked
The Olympics is not, like some people think, a match-up of the absolute best athletes in the world. It's a match-up of people who have just happened to have qualified for the Olympics. Often, those are the best athletes in the world, but it's also possible to game the system, which was how Elizabeth Swaney became an Olympic skier in 2018 despite not being a very good skier at all.
The first trick that helped Swaney was that the Olympics does not admit, say, the top 300 skiers in the world. If they did, maybe they'd end up with 100 from the US, 100 from Canada, 100 from Switzerland, and that's it, which wouldn't be very fun for anyone. Instead, they allocate each country slots, so dozens of countries compete. In 2018, the US would end up with 30 slots total and 4 for Swaney's sport of women's halfpipe, the max possible. Swaney stood no chance of being one of those four women. But she could compete for Hungary (she had a grandparent from Hungary) since they were otherwise sending no skiers at all.
So, could she just sign up to represent Hungary and then qualify automatically? No, that would be ridiculous. She had to meet two qualifications—which, when we break them down, are also ridiculous.
First, she had to place in the top 30 of a skiing World Cup event. That sounds challenging. But many women's World Cup events have fewer than 30 competitors total, which means so long as you take part, you place. Qualifying for these events, it seems, is easy and just a matter of filling up the right forms.
The second requirement was more complicated. Skiers receive points depending on how well they do in various events during the years leading up to the Olympics, and to qualify for the Olympics, you have to accrue 50 of these FIS points. Swaney got these points by ... participating in a whole lot of events. Never winning any, or doing very well, but taking part in more of them than any other skier and so racking up all the points necessary. So, even "scamming" the Olympics, as some people called it, took a lot of time and work.
When the games played out in South Korea, she finished last of course, and commentators were baffled by her simple skiing style.
And yet, during those qualifying matches, she often hadn't ranked last. Most skiers try to win, skiing fast and pulling off tricks. Inevitably, some of them mess up and crash. Swaney, however, just wanted to finish each event, so she never tried anything fancy and always made it to the end. Brings to mind the tortoise and the hare. Or that one ski episode of South Park.
I don't see how that is tricking the system. The Olympics have always been the place to watch hilariously poor athletes compete against the best.
It is strange as I remember some years ago there was a thing with violin player Vanessa may and a Japanese comedian trying to represent Thailand but it didn't come off.
Right now Norway (:uffda:) leads in both Gold medal (13) and total medals (28.) That's about a gold medal for every 400,000 people in the country. Why is Norway (:uffda:) so dominant at these games?
Quote from: Savonarola on February 16, 2022, 01:07:55 PM
Right now Norway (:uffda:) leads in both Gold medal (13) and total medals (28.) That's about a gold medal for every 400,000 people in the country. Why is Norway (:uffda:) so dominant at these games?
1: Rich
2: Lots of snow
3: Lots of mountains.
Make a list of countries this applies to.
Quote from: Savonarola on February 16, 2022, 01:07:55 PM
Right now Norway (:uffda:) leads in both Gold medal (13) and total medals (28.) That's about a gold medal for every 400,000 people in the country. Why is Norway (:uffda:) so dominant at these games?
They are childlike beings of the wild.
Some countries merely adopt the winter. Norway was born in it, molded by it.
Quote from: Savonarola on February 16, 2022, 01:07:55 PM
Right now Norway (:uffda:) leads in both Gold medal (13) and total medals (28.) That's about a gold medal for every 400,000 people in the country. Why is Norway (:uffda:) so dominant at these games?
A systematic approach to creating god athletes in winter sports. It's quite beautiful.
Quote from: Grey Fox on February 16, 2022, 01:21:50 PM
Quote from: Savonarola on February 16, 2022, 01:07:55 PM
Right now Norway (:uffda:) leads in both Gold medal (13) and total medals (28.) That's about a gold medal for every 400,000 people in the country. Why is Norway (:uffda:) so dominant at these games?
A systematic approach to creating god athletes in winter sports. It's quite beautiful.
Let's not go nuts.
Quote from: The Brain on February 16, 2022, 01:04:53 PM
I don't see how that is tricking the system. The Olympics have always been the place to watch hilariously poor athletes compete against the best.
(https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JtYrD_kBLpItn6zjOiQKMfAdyBA=/0x0:1920x1080/1600x900/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50353467/thumb1.0.0.png)
My favourite Olympics story - apparently one of the mascots is a very cute gender non-specific panda Bing Dwen Dwen:
(https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-02-06/Big-Star-of-2022-Winter-Olympics-Why-is-Bing-Dwen-Dwen-so-popular--17r7RH25HJm/img/0c0c9abee7b548aeb3ffaa6201b3ec41/0c0c9abee7b548aeb3ffaa6201b3ec41.jpeg)
Everyone loved them - they were the breakout star in China. And then Bing Dwen Dwen spoke - with the voice of a clearly middle aged man from the North-East (China's rust belt). Which caused huge reaction and dismay on the Chinese net :lol:
Imagining a British version it's as if it turned out to have the voice of Jimmy Nail :lol:
Canada won gold in hockey - the only thing I watched at this Olympics. So at least something is still as it should be. :)
Aren't pretty much all animal mascots gender non-specific? :unsure:
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 17, 2022, 07:40:12 PM
Aren't pretty much all animal mascots gender non-specific? :unsure:
Depends on the name, I suppose. Misha's a lad.
Fair enough.
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 17, 2022, 07:37:24 PM
Canada won gold in hockey - the only thing I watched at this Olympics. So at least something is still as it should be. :)
Cana lost in the quarter finals to Sweden.
GB won their first medal only just now? In curling of all sports. What happened?
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 06:42:49 AM
GB won their first medal only just now? In curling of all sports. What happened?
We're not an Alpine country.
You can't rely on the same people or sports all the time.
Winning 5 medals at each of the last two Winter Olympics was rather unusual (for example, look at the UK's record from 1968 to 1992.)
Thank God for Scotland.
Quote from: Agelastus on February 19, 2022, 09:22:01 AM
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 06:42:49 AM
GB won their first medal only just now? In curling of all sports. What happened?
We're not an Alpine country.
Sure, but the UK nevertheless was able to send 50 athletes.
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 10:15:36 AM
Quote from: Agelastus on February 19, 2022, 09:22:01 AM
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 06:42:49 AM
GB won their first medal only just now? In curling of all sports. What happened?
We're not an Alpine country.
Sure, but the UK nevertheless was able to send 50 athletes.
We have a lot of posh people who like to frequent Swiss resorts in Winter. :bowler:
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 10:15:36 AM
Sure, but the UK nevertheless was able to send 50 athletes.
Except for the curlers they will all do dreadfully though :lol:
GB will get a 2nd medal in women's curling too.
Quote from: mongers on February 19, 2022, 10:34:40 AM
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 10:15:36 AM
Quote from: Agelastus on February 19, 2022, 09:22:01 AM
Quote from: Maladict on February 19, 2022, 06:42:49 AM
GB won their first medal only just now? In curling of all sports. What happened?
We're not an Alpine country.
Sure, but the UK nevertheless was able to send 50 athletes.
We have a lot of posh people who like to frequent Swiss resorts in Winter. :bowler:
I don't know their social origins, but a 50 person team that manages to include 3 sets of siblings would indicate a somewhat limited talent pool to select from.
-----------------------------------------
Anyway, our 50 person team includes 10 curlers (as I said, thank god for Scotland), 6 bobsleighers, and 11 freestyle skiers (also not a traditional Alpine sport.) That's more than half the team in just 3 of the 15 sports at the Olympics.
We've also had no success in Skeleton this year, another recent Olympic sport where we have won several medals.
As I said, we are not an Alpine nation; our success is mostly in non-traditional Olympic sports. Even Curling only appeared as an occasional demonstration sport before 1998.
QuoteWinter Olympics: Finnish cross-country skier suffers frozen penis in 50km race
:pinch: :pinch: :pinch:
Quote from: Threviel on February 18, 2022, 01:24:53 AM
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 17, 2022, 07:37:24 PM
Canada won gold in hockey - the only thing I watched at this Olympics. So at least something is still as it should be. :)
Cana lost in the quarter finals to Sweden.
Sorry, I should have clarified I was talking about the hockey where the best players in the world competed. The Canadian side was undefeated in that competition.
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 21, 2022, 02:52:47 PM
Quote from: Threviel on February 18, 2022, 01:24:53 AM
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 17, 2022, 07:37:24 PM
Canada won gold in hockey - the only thing I watched at this Olympics. So at least something is still as it should be. :)
Cana lost in the quarter finals to Sweden.
Sorry, I should have clarified I was talking about the hockey where the best players in the world competed. The Canadian side was undefeated in that competition.
The hockey where tackling is not allowed because Canadian players are far too good?
Are there different hockey categories at the Olympics?
Quote from: Eddie Teach on February 22, 2022, 04:40:41 AM
Are there different hockey categories at the Olympics?
Well, there's real hockey that India normally wins in the summer Olympics and Ice Hockey that a few countries normally win in the winter Olympics.
Then there's women's ice hockey, which is what we are talking about, where Canada has a real league with real pro's that are good and everyone else sends some school kids. The first international tournament ended with Canada running over and actually hurting other players with tacklings, the differences were so great that tacklings were forbidden in international play. The US is the only real competitor and they sometimes win a match against Canada. Sweden lost 11-0 in the quarter finals this year.
Quote from: Eddie Teach on February 22, 2022, 04:40:41 AM
Are there different hockey categories at the Olympics?
Two. Men's and women's
Nyuk nyuk.
Quote from: Threviel on February 22, 2022, 05:12:32 AM
Quote from: Eddie Teach on February 22, 2022, 04:40:41 AM
Are there different hockey categories at the Olympics?
Well, there's real hockey that India normally wins in the summer Olympics and Ice Hockey that a few countries normally win in the winter Olympics.
Then there's women's ice hockey, which is what we are talking about, where Canada has a real league with real pro's that are good and everyone else sends some school kids. The first international tournament ended with Canada running over and actually hurting other players with tacklings, the differences were so great that tacklings were forbidden in international play. The US is the only real competitor and they sometimes win a match against Canada. Sweden lost 11-0 in the quarter finals this year.
Pretty sure the Americans would object to their women's hockey team being described as a bunch of school kids. I am not sure what you mean by "tacklings". Contact is allowed in Women's hockey.
I read it has checking.
Quote from: Grey Fox on February 22, 2022, 01:53:25 PM
I read it has checking.
Goal scoring even. But hard to tell if you only watch the Swedes play.
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 22, 2022, 01:51:58 PM
Contact is allowed in Women's hockey.
I thought tackling was english, sorry. Bodychecking/hitting it's called apparently and was removed from the rules after the first world cup.
Quote from: Threviel on February 22, 2022, 04:05:48 PM
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 22, 2022, 01:51:58 PM
Contact is allowed in Women's hockey.
I thought tackling was english, sorry. Bodychecking/hitting it's called apparently and was removed from the rules after the first world cup.
Well, its not tackling. That is what Marti used to do.
Here is a good description of the nuance I found after a quick google search.
QuoteJust because girls' and women's hockey is "no-check" doesn't mean there's no contact. However, because the rules don't allow for checking, often times the physical part of the sport is not taught at a young age. This mentality is bad for girls learning the game as they grow into teenage and young women hockey players.
"There is actually quite a lot of contact in the girls' and women's game," said Christopherson, who serves as the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association president. "You don't see the huge, deliberate hits like you do in the men's game, but there is plenty of physicality."
Coaches need to emphasize there is indeed contact in the girls' game. As girls progress, just like in the boys' game, it becomes more and more physical.
"The play gets faster and there's going to be more body contact," Brodt-Brown said. "If you go watch a college game, it's not checking, but it's close – there's contact and bodies are hitting the boards."
Angling, Containing and Pressuring
Angling is a way of closing off space from offensive player. At any level, it's one of the first skills youngsters are taught before engaging in contact. Angling, containing and pressuring are things that players can begin to learn while developing basic skills like skating, puck-handling and passing.
"[Angling, containing and pressuring] are part of the game at any level," Christopherson wrote. "Skill development is the number one thing at the younger levels, but part of skill development is ice awareness and the ability to force turnovers, halt rushes, separate players from the puck, etc., and all of those things are more than likely going to include some contact."
Angling drills allow kids to feel contact in a controlled environment. Playing keepaway with the back to the defender, wide drive races and steering drills are controlled environments where players can learn these skills. Small-area games also force them to make plays in tight areas, which can help kids develop on-ice awareness and hockey sense.
By exposing young players to these types of drills, coaches can follow a progression of contact confidence and body contact skills starting at the 8U level. Players who experience contact situations in every practice are more likely to be comfortable being physical – both on the giving and receiving end.
Body Positioning
"In angling, if you're doing it properly, you're going to be taking the body," Brodt-Brown said. "But just as important as giving contact, is learning how to receive it."
Brodt-Brown, a former standout at the University of Minnesota, learned a lot from playing boys' hockey growing up.
"You had to put yourself in good position against the boards and other areas because you always had to be prepared to be hit," Brodt-Brown said. "You always had to have your guard up. Girls might not have their guard up because they think they're not going to get hit."
Being prepared for contact, both mentally and physically, can help reduce injuries.
Reducing Injury
"Giving and receiving contact is and will always be part of the game," Christopherson said. "Many injuries could be avoided (on both sides of contact) if the player was better prepared."
Brodt-Brown agrees that injuries and concussions in girls' and women's hockey could be reduced, and are often a result of not being taught to prepare for a collision.
"I think there will be fewer injuries – just knowing how to take contact and put yourself into position will help overall," Brodt-Brown said. "In boys' hockey they're hitting a lot harder, so that tells me that we need to do a better job of teaching girls how to take body contact at an early age.
"That would help the girls' game because a player's head will have to be up if someone is angling them. It's not necessarily a check; it's just a good defensive play."
https://www.minnesotahockey.org/news_article/show/708654-teaching-body-contact-in-girls-hockey
Just saw that Finland beat Mordor for the men's hockey gold.
What happened to Canada?
Lost against Sweden in the quarterfinals, like the USA.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 22, 2022, 08:40:41 PM
Just saw that Finland beat Mordor for the men's hockey gold.
What happened to Canada?
Won gold, what were you watching
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 22, 2022, 09:38:27 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 22, 2022, 08:40:41 PM
Just saw that Finland beat Mordor for the men's hockey gold.
What happened to Canada?
Won gold, what were you watching
Men's hockey, which is what he said in the post.
Is CC's contention that "the best hockey players in the world" are women? :wacko:
Quote from: crazy canuck on February 22, 2022, 09:38:27 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on February 22, 2022, 08:40:41 PM
Just saw that Finland beat Mordor for the men's hockey gold.
What happened to Canada?
Won gold, what were you watching
I may have spotted the secret of Canada's success. :hmm:
Quote from: Eddie Teach on February 23, 2022, 01:47:30 AM
Is CC's contention that "the best hockey players in the world" are women? :wacko:
Even so Yi was talking about men's hockey.
Quote from: Eddie Teach on February 23, 2022, 01:47:30 AM
Is CC's contention that "the best hockey players in the world" are women? :wacko:
It is my contention that only the women sent their best players to the Olympics. Because the NHL Sat it out the men's tournament were the B players. I apologize if that was not immediately obvious to people who didn't know much about hockey. I'm not sure why anybody cares about the men's hockey gold in this Olympics.
Asoka.