Tokyo Olympics

crunchman

Kilgore said:

axisus said:

tony99 said:

This horse trot dance thing is fuckin rubbish

The trouble with Dressage is that it is too in the past, it needs modernising. 

They've done their best, until 1952 only commissioned military officers and "gentlemen" were allowed to participate.

Personally I think jousting would be a great Olympic event. 

It would definitely make the equestrian stuff more interesting.

munckee

Teetonetal said:

U

Not really any different to any judged competition - the trick has to be trained and pulled off to a high technical standard. Really it's no different to skateboarding, surfing, diving, except the tricks to be performed are strictly controlled rather than left free choice.

On lots of levels it's an incredible sport. Just very, very dull if it's not your thing as spotting the intricacies requires a level of appreciation that most won't have and it basically becomes a really difficult spot the difference on horseback.

But the others rely on the skill of one individual with a tool, as opposed to who has the best horse.

Chuffola

Rocker said:

A question for Welsh and Scottish readers, would you rather send a team/athlete from Wales/Scotland to the Olympics under the Welsh/Scottish flag as opposed to one team from the UK?

I ask as we in Ireland send a team under the Irish flag and are proud of their efforts in competition.  However well they perform, to achieve the qualification standard is an achievement in itself.  Any medals won are much celebrated in the country.

Saying that I fully support and feel a part of the Lions tours and Europe in the Ryder Cup.

Depends, though, on the sport doesn't it? Some NI atheletes / boxers etc. compete for GB&NI and some for Ireland, including golfers (Rory a prime example). Some sports in NI are part of an all-Ireland body (rugby, golf, swimming and gymnastics (I think) which might be why they compete for Ireland. Some decide for either "nation" dependent on their political / personal beliefs. Doesn't bother me in the least,  

Personally, as someone from a Protestant / Unionist background (not been in church for decades other than weddings / funerals so wouldn't consider myself any demonination these days - and rarely voted for a Unionist party*), I'd far rather see an all Ireland approach to all sport generally, except football where I am happy to follow the Green and White Army and never even come close to winnning anything

*This wasn't meant to be a political comment by the way, just for context.

Rocker

Well said @Chuffola and kudos for your spirit.  My question was mainly aimed at Welsh and Scottish members.  When Jackson, sorry I can't think of his first name, was world class in the discipline of 110 metres hurdles, his successes tended to get lost in the overall GB totals.  Ditto for Andy Murray in Scotland.  Just wondering if Welsh and Scottish people looked at it from that viewpoint.  Not trying to annoy anyone or trolling, just interested.

axisus

Teetonetal said:

UnclePsychosis said:

tony99 said:

This horse trot dance thing is fuckin rubbish

On lots of levels it's an incredible sport. 

er, no. It really really isn't. It's not even incredible on 1 level. 

Actually, I will give you one level. I just looked up the definition of Incredible, and it is "impossible to believe". It is impossible to believe that it is considered a sport.

Kilgore

axisus said:

Teetonetal said:

UnclePsychosis said:

tony99 said:

This horse trot dance thing is fuckin rubbish

On lots of levels it's an incredible sport. 

er, no. It really really isn't. It's not even incredible on 1 level. 

Actually, I will give you one level. I just looked up the definition of Incredible, and it is "impossible to believe". It is impossible to believe that it is considered a sport.

It's better in the winter Olympics. You should see what those horses can do on skates. 

underdog

axisus said:

Teetonetal said:

UnclePsychosis said:

tony99 said:

This horse trot dance thing is fuckin rubbish

On lots of levels it's an incredible sport. 

er, no. It really really isn't. It's not even incredible on 1 level. 

Actually, I will give you one level. I just looked up the definition of Incredible, and it is "impossible to believe". It is impossible to believe that it is considered a sport.

It's definitely more impressive than formula 1 is to me anyway 

Kittyfrisk

axisus said:

Teetonetal said:

UnclePsychosis said:

tony99 said:

This horse trot dance thing is fuckin rubbish

On lots of levels it's an incredible sport. 

er, no. It really really isn't. It's not even incredible on 1 level. 

Actually, I will give you one level. I just looked up the definition of Incredible, and it is "impossible to believe". It is impossible to believe that it is considered a sport.

Steady on old thing, next you'll be saying that all these professional olympic athletes aren't 'Heroes' for 'medalling'  

Bridgehouse

I’m not totally convinced by sports that require a panel of judges, but I can see why they are “sports” as they involve physical exertion and extreme skill. 

Some judging is understandable - like in boxing for instance, as otherwise they become fights to the knock out. 

Some equestrian is definitely sport - jumping is timed and scored on faults. 

Gymnastics I can understand as it’s skill, accuracy and technical difficulty. 

crunchman

Bridgehouse said:

I’m not totally convinced by sports that require a panel of judges, but I can see why they are “sports” as they involve physical exertion and extreme skill. 

Some judging is understandable - like in boxing for instance, as otherwise they become fights to the knock out. 

Some equestrian is definitely sport - jumping is timed and scored on faults. 

Gymnastics I can understand as it’s skill, accuracy and technical difficulty. 

Men's gymnastics I can understand.  Not so sure about the womens where they do the floor routine to music.  That's more like Strictly Come Dancing.  If they want to call it sport, they should do it the same as the mens.

MagicPigDetective

Rocker said:

A question for Welsh and Scottish readers, would you rather send a team/athlete from Wales/Scotland to the Olympics under the Welsh/Scottish flag as opposed to one team from the UK?

I ask as we in Ireland send a team under the Irish flag and are proud of their efforts in competition.  However well they perform, to achieve the qualification standard is an achievement in itself.  Any medals won are much celebrated in the country.

Saying that I fully support and feel a part of the Lions tours and Europe in the Ryder Cup.

Too bloody right I would. Wales competing in the Olympics as an independent nation... it’s what dreams are made of. Whilst it’s good to see Welsh athletes do well, I don’t really feel a part of the whole Team GB thing, it’s just a constant reminder of the denial of said dream.

Team GB though - how do NI folk feel about that name, seeing as Great Britain does not include the northern part of Ireland within the UK? 

musteatbrain

Rocker said:

Well said @Chuffola and kudos for your spirit.  My question was mainly aimed at Welsh and Scottish members.  When Jackson, sorry I can't think of his first name, was world class in the discipline of 110 metres hurdles, his successes tended to get lost in the overall GB totals.  Ditto for Andy Murray in Scotland.  Just wondering if Welsh and Scottish people looked at it from that viewpoint.  Not trying to annoy anyone or trolling, just interested.

This happens in the commonwealth games with all the home nations sending their own qualified athletes. It’s a fair few notches below the olympics though

ewal

Rocker said:

A question for Welsh and Scottish readers, would you rather send a team/athlete from Wales/Scotland to the Olympics under the Welsh/Scottish flag as opposed to one team from the UK?

I ask as we in Ireland send a team under the Irish flag and are proud of their efforts in competition.  However well they perform, to achieve the qualification standard is an achievement in itself.  Any medals won are much celebrated in the country.

Saying that I fully support and feel a part of the Lions tours and Europe in the Ryder Cup.

  The broadcaster and media obsession with Team GB puts me off watching the thing, although pretty sure the parochialism would be just as bad if it was Team Scotland.

munckee

ewal said:

Rocker said:

A question for Welsh and Scottish readers, would you rather send a team/athlete from Wales/Scotland to the Olympics under the Welsh/Scottish flag as opposed to one team from the UK?

I ask as we in Ireland send a team under the Irish flag and are proud of their efforts in competition.  However well they perform, to achieve the qualification standard is an achievement in itself.  Any medals won are much celebrated in the country.

Saying that I fully support and feel a part of the Lions tours and Europe in the Ryder Cup.

  The broadcaster and media obsession with Team GB puts me off watching the thing, although pretty sure the parochialism would be just as bad if it was Team Scotland.

I can't imagine any country's media wouldn't concentrate on it's own athletes.

Teetonetal

munckee said:

ewal said:

Rocker said:

A question for Welsh and Scottish readers, would you rather send a team/athlete from Wales/Scotland to the Olympics under the Welsh/Scottish flag as opposed to one team from the UK?

I ask as we in Ireland send a team under the Irish flag and are proud of their efforts in competition.  However well they perform, to achieve the qualification standard is an achievement in itself.  Any medals won are much celebrated in the country.

Saying that I fully support and feel a part of the Lions tours and Europe in the Ryder Cup.

  The broadcaster and media obsession with Team GB puts me off watching the thing, although pretty sure the parochialism would be just as bad if it was Team Scotland.

I can't imagine any country's media wouldn't concentrate on it's own athletes.

Having lived in France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany, yes, it's true, they do.

Focus is always on home stories and superstars.  

Even so, with so many sports on offer, it would be impossible to cover them all in depth, so focusing on those two things makes a pretty strong selection for the majority of interested watchers.

WezV

Frazer Clarke is through to the Quarter finals in Men's Super Heavyweight boxing.   

It's going to get crazy round here if he goes further, already had fireworks going off for a lot of last night. 

munckee

WezV said:

Frazer Clarke is through to the Quarter finals in Men's Super Heavyweight boxing.   

It's going to get crazy round here if he goes further, already had fireworks going off for a lot of last night. 

I've not managed to catch him yet, future world champ contendor?

fob

The trouble I'm  having with these Olympics is actually watching them. Trying to watch the 200m and 4x200m Freestyle races proved to be almost impossible. There were highlights where the BBC had cut out parts of the race - so you'd see the start, cut to the turn, then cut to the finish with little animations (lightning strikes) put over it because they presumably think everyone has the attention span of a goldfish.

I thought I was just getting old but then saw an interview with one of the competitors who said he'd not been able to watch his own race as he couldn't find it.

I don't remember this with any previous Games. Beijing for example, with a similar time difference, was just a matter of looking up the event and watching it - even the entire session. The only chance you get now is to watch one of the summary shows and hope you pick the one that shows the whole thing.

The summary shows are a bit annoying as well. Clare Balding and Alex Scott seem to think they're presenting to a pre-school play group. I caught one with Jason Mohammed and instantly remembered that there are presenters who assume they're talking to adults.

UnclePsychosis said:

tony99 said:

This horse trot dance thing is fuckin rubbish

I try hard not to be disparaging of minority sports - because ultimately they're all just varying shades of nonsense - but I can't even pretend when it comes to Dressage. I really don't get it, at all. Shouldn't be anywhere near the Olympics. 

It's not really for me either but I guess it goes back to a time when horses, and their expert control, were very much a part of everyday life. I quite like that it's there.

mudslide73

WezV said:

Frazer Clarke is through to the Quarter finals in Men's Super Heavyweight boxing.   

It's going to get crazy round here if he goes further, already had fireworks going off for a lot of last night. 

Somehow I'd missed that he's a Brewer @WezV - hopefully there will be many more fireworks.

WezV

mudslide73 said:

Somehow I'd missed that he's a Brewer @WezV - hopefully there will be many more fireworks.

I'm not so sure.   They started about 10pm last night, the fight wasn't till 4am this morning.   His next fight is 5:30am on Sunday morning   

munckee said: I've not managed to catch him yet, future world champ contendor?

I've know him since he was a kid as I worked at his school long before I moved to this house.  He's always claimed he's a future world champ contender