[Olympic][b]WE WERE ROBBED!!![/b]

[Storm Raven]

Some of Storm Raven's comments quickly brought to mind a little segment from the Daily Show Monday night--a mime who wants to get mime into the Olympics. All the standard arguments about how difficult mime is, how it requires great skill and athleticism, etc. Come on! Do we need juggling and skateboarding at the Olympics (or snowboarding, even though Americans swept the men's halfpipe)? Where do you draw the line?

I will note that there is a very real, very serious effort to get ballroom dancing into the Olympics. I can see it happening. After all, if things like figure skating and rhythmic gymnastics can be Olympic events, how do you come up with a cogent argument for keeping ballroom dancing out?

And that, in a nutshell, is another big reason why figure skating and similar events should be dumped.

 

[Marshall]

I don't have a lot of sympathy for any sport that is left up to judges. Granted those people are amazing and they bust there butts and work hard to do what they do but until they have some type of impartial system set up (with a computer or something) you're always gonna hear about people getting robbed.

That goes for ice skating, gymnastics, synchronized swimming or any sport of that nature. Every sport has some type of official but i prefer the "referee" over the "judge" any day. Clear cut rules. A point is a point out of bounds is out of bounds.

Sorry it's always been a pet peave of mine. I can't tolerate judged sports for the most part. Even if I do enjoy watching them. The scoring and commentary always hurt me.

Mega-Dittos!

Its not a sport. Get it out of the Olympics. What next? Oil painting as an event?

Hmmm.... Maybe miniatures painting...

 

[Jabba Von Hutt]

It ain't over yet!

If you think that was bad, keep your eyes on the pairs ice dancing competition. I heard this on the radio this morning, that the placings were already determined with Bourne and Kraazt finishing 5th. Block voting is alive and well it seems.

And for those who don't think figure skating a sport, please read the following link.

http://www.canoe.ca/2002GamesFigureSkatingArchive/feb12_sto-sun.html

 

[Desdichado]

1) Tradition is no reason to continue doing something stupid.

(2) I'm sure ratings would go up a lot if we included naked skiing and nude figure skating in the Olympics. Does that make it a good idea to put those in too?

1) Neither is one guy's ranting on a message board related to D&D. I'd certainly pick tradition over that.

2) I'm sure they would go down. Network television wouldn't be able to show them anymore, for one thing. Don't make hyperbolic arguments to "win your case." You've made some good points about the subjective nature of figure skating judging, but you've long since left them in favor of pure vitriol.

 

[Storm Raven]

Re: It ain't over yet!

And for those who don't think figure skating a sport, please read the following link.

http://www.canoe.ca/2002GamesFigureSkatingArchive/feb12_sto-sun.html

And that proves what? That figure skating is as devoid of merit as a sport as half-pipe snowboarding and street skateboarding? I've been saying those should be dumped too.

No one is saying that the skills required in figure skating aren't hard or that they aren't impressive. Sure, figure skating requires lots of physical strength, stamina and agility. No question. What is being said is that this alone does not make it a sport.

What you posted doesn't even begin to address that point.

 

[Storm Raven]

2) I'm sure they would go down. Network television wouldn't be able to show them anymore, for one thing. Don't make hyperbolic arguments to "win your case." You've made some good points about the subjective nature of figure skating judging, but you've long since left them in favor of pure vitriol.

Okay, instead of nude figure skating being added to the Olympics, how about WWF Wrestling? That seems

(a) to be about as validly judged as most figure skating events; and
(b) to be enormously popular and a ratings grabber; and
(c) to require lots of physical strength and agility.

So, there is really no good argument for keeping the WWF guys out of the Olympics if you are going to allow figure skating.

 

[KnowTheToe]

BOO HOO!! You had me then you lost me.

 

[reapersaurus]

Getting back to the first page's posts:

I wish I had seen the performances. I missed 'em, and it sounds like a major screw-job.
But nothing new there.

Does anyone remember in the 92 Winter Olympics i think it was... in the Ice Dancing, something absolutely imposssible happened:

The top FIFTEEN skate pairs afetr the qualifying round ended up in EXACTLY the same fifteen places in the final round.

No movement.
No change.
No JUDGING.

Just the judges writing out what order they wanted the skaters to end up in, and then the dancers going thru the dog-and-pony show for the benefit of the audience and the television.

If you guys REALLY want to hear from more knowledgable people on this scandal, and hear their reactions, I recommend peeking into the rec.sport.skating.ice.figure newsgroup. They typically have people that will argue, rules-wise, why some scandal wasn'r actually a mistake.
I'm gonna check it out now....

 

[Jabba Von Hutt]

Re: It ain't over yet!

And that proves what? That figure skating is as devoid of merit as a sport as half-pipe snowboarding and street skateboarding? I've been saying those should be dumped too.

No one is saying that the skills required in figure skating aren't hard or that they aren't impressive. Sure, figure skating requires lots of physical strength, stamina and agility. No question. What is being said is that this alone does not make it a sport.

What you posted doesn't even begin to address that point.

OK, I'll bite. What in your opinion constitutes a sport?

 

[Storm Raven]

Re: Re: It ain't over yet!

OK, I'll bite. What in your opinion constitutes a sport?

A competition (usually of a physical nature) in which the victor is determined primarily by factors other than the subjective opinions of judges. A sport is a competition in which there is a measureable, objective component beyond the control of a human judge.

Speed skating is a sport. When the fastest guy crosses the finish line it doesn't matter if a judge thinks he did it inartfully, he wins.

Hockey is a sport. The team that gets the puck into the goal the most times wins. It doesn't matter if a judge thinks one team or another looked silly of used bad tactics, if they push the puck across more times they win.

In addition, intentions matter. Something is not a sport if it is intended that a judge determine the outcome. Figure skating fits in this category, so it is not a sport. Something is a sport if it is intended that a referee have as little impact on the final result as possible. Hockey fits in this category, so it is a sport.

Really now, I've explained this in this thread already. Did you miss that part?