You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Atmosphere seems amazing.
Had a flick through the schedule and didn't see a single sport where I thought "oh, I'll watch that".
And Claire ***** Balding is back. What does she bring to the screen other than a fake laugh? Oh, she rode a horse.
I thought it was great today, lots of sports I would never normally watch and the level of skill was off the scale.
The blue screen studio is very impressive too. Liked the commentators they wheeled in.
I liked it.
Watching sports you know nothing about, and had no prior interest in, is essential Olympics.
I thought they didn't have many sports on BBC due to licensing deals.
I flicked through the German schedule.... Admittedly it doesn't help that I'm either sleeping or working.
Am awful lot of sports and I just think "really? Olympic sport!?"
Football?
Golf?
Road cycling?
Mtbing?
Tennis?
Aren't there enough big, well known international events for these sports already?
Ah but the poorly paid GB/Spanish/Italian team have to play Kitts and Nevis (pick a struggling less well off nation) where one of the players earns more than the entire national Olympic budget obviously the Olympic spirit in play.
I just think “really? Olympic sport!?”
Football has been part of the olympics for over century now. You'll be shocked at how central cycling has been, including road cycling, to the history of the modern olympics. Yeah, mtbing is a relatively new addition... not sure why anyone would moan about its inclusion on a mountain biking forum though.
Aren’t there enough big, well known international events for these sports already?
All the sports at the olympics also have their own international events. What's your point caller?
I can understand people arguing that some sports have their own pinnacles. Golf has the majors, tennis the grand slams, cycling world championship and tours. They arguably also have more TV coverage ordinarily than your 'amateur' athletes in track and field do in the course of a normal year. So whilst I don't begrudge any sportsman the opportunity, I do feel there's a difference. I'm not sure how many golfers focus for four years just to have the chance at winning the Olympics.
Watched a little of the surfing - kinda find it hard to see it as a sport though. Hard to do but very niche.
Balding is professional, funny and knowledgeable.
I quite like her. 🙂
The sailing is chaos! Brilliant!
The guy from Trinidad and Tobago really ballsed it up!
@caher "Watched a little of the surfing – kinda find it hard to see it as a sport though. Hard to do but very niche."
Well, if you live in the UK perhaps 😛
Well, if you live in the UK perhaps 😛
Or Austria....
Two thirteen year olds competing against someone almost three times their age in the woman's street skateboarding.... 😁
Why don't they use proper old school long bows?
Yeah, mtbing is a relatively new addition… not sure why anyone would moan about its inclusion on a mountain biking forum though.
self loathing?
Thought the skateboarding was a bit sterile and doesn't suit the Olympic format for me but good to see new sports involved to try and keep up with things.
IMO the Olympics has become bloated and ridiculous
Lots should be pruned out. its become a self perpetuating circle jerk for administrators
Loads of sports that have their own high profile world cups and the like, loads of nonsense. Anything that is not judged with a large objective part as well can go. Rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming etc etc
I find myself agreeing with tj.
If athletes can rake in large wads of cash when they compete in another world championship contest, that's a really, really big clue as to the redundancy of including said sport in the Olympics.
The non-objective judging thing is a tough one though, it's not like either of those examples have a massive other world competition to participate in.
It's about time they sacked off the finn or the laser two mens single-handers is unnecessary put something big in or a mixed crew or womens 470s.
All the sports at the olympics also have their own international events. What’s your point caller?
The point is that the Olympics have become so bloated that almost nobody can afford to host them.
I'd strip out any sport requiring expensive equipment. Sailing, cycling, horses, shooting. Then any sport where the winner has to be judged and not measured as per the motto higher faster stronger.
Then any sport where the finalists are millionaires. Golf, football.
Meh, consciously not watching, really shouldn't have gone ahead given the current situation. The IOC make FIFA look like philanthropists. The amount of money wasted and inappropriate legacy from the various games is horrendous. Look at the legacy of the last Greek games, lots of abandoned structures, outside the Olympics no one needs such huge dedicated sports facilities. Greece, a country fabled for being rich.
I find Balding quite grating, tbh, it’s some sort of faux jolly hockey sticks persona thing that annoys me. I also don’t find her particularly funny or knowledgeable, unlike say Hazel Irvine.
Yeah, mtbing is a relatively new addition… not sure why anyone would moan about its inclusion on a mountain biking forum though.
self loathing?
That made me laugh- this forum could win the gold at times, and not just MTB related.
I keep thinking there's nothing I want to watch at the topics and then 2 hours have gone by. So something is going right with the coverage.
It’s about time they sacked off the finn or the laser two mens single-handers is unnecessary
Finn is the heavyweight boat and has been in the Olympics for a very long time and is incredibly physical to sail.
Laser is the "lightweight" boat (<80kg) and is a bit meh.
it’s some sort of faux jolly hockey sticks persona thing that annoys me.
I don't think its faux. It think she really is rather "jolly hockey sticks"
Finn is the heavyweight boat and has been in the Olympics for a very long time and is incredibly physical to sail.
Laser is the “lightweight” boat (<80kg) and is a bit meh.
I know I'm conflicted my heart says sack off the laser because meh. My head says sack off the finn because the **** sails a finn outside the Olympics so it's far less accessible.
I vote for international canoe or hydrofoil moths. There should be one development class at the Olympics for giggles.
470s can stay though, they're a real boat.
I think MTB should stay. It's big for the riders with people focussing a season on it.
Road racing? Maybe it could go.
Should be a criteria somewhere that says Olympics is the biggest event in the sport. Football, Tennis, road cycling all have bigger events.
That said the road race was great. Riding as countries not trade teams mixes it up and it takes us away from the usual European roads.
Shame about coverage though, it's always fun to watch random sports and become an instant fan when we have a star!
I keep thinking there’s nothing I want to watch at the topics and then 2 hours have gone by. So something is going right with the coverage.
Yeah, watched the 3x3 basketball yesterday and initially thought 'Really?' but watched the lot. Brilliant.
The Olympics is a spectacle. Where else are many sports brought together in one big jamboree? Its supposed to represent the best of and is alot less cynical than the professional sports so the more sports the better...why should relatively small minority sports not get a shout? If we want something to inspire the next generation in whatever they choose to do then having it showcased on a big stage alongside the more traditional sports can only be a good thing to keep the kids off the streets and focused on a greater goal.
I’m not keen on clare balding, for the same reasons tbh.
But, I’m not tuning in to watch her, I’m tuning in to watch all the stuff I don’t normally watch on tv.
Also, other channels are available . .
I didn’t think much of the skateboarding, which is weird as I normally enjoy it.
Enjoyed the archery, tae kwon do, triathlon, all stuff I wouldn’t normally bother watching.
‘Sports where the winner has to be judged’ yeah I’m not a fan of this type of format generally, but how else should it be done? Removing it would do away with a fair few sports.
Road racing? Maybe it could go.
Nah I like the road racing. Its a true team race, no radios and shit.
Thought the MTB without the taped course was excellent....
For future years I wonder if a "Pop-Up" Olympics is possible without the whole infrastructure thing...
Well the women's road race at least showed that an amateur (even if she was a former pro) can still win in a sport dominated by well paid full time athletes
Meh, consciously not watching, really shouldn’t have gone ahead given the current situation. The IOC make FIFA look like philanthropists. The amount of money wasted and inappropriate legacy from the various games is horrendous.
This x 1000
The Olympics is a bloated, corrupt...
And besides, sport is for doing not watching. WTF would anyone want to spend hours of their precious life watching someone else chuck things around/ run fast ?
The point is that the Olympics have become so bloated that almost nobody can afford to host them.
Well done to Brisbane for winning the 2032 games.... as the only city that bid
And besides, sport is for doing not watching. WTF would anyone want to spend hours of their precious life watching someone else chuck things around/ run fast ?
I don't think the Olympics are for you. You'll be pleased to hear that you don't have to watch any of it.
that welsh lass, what an axe kick !!!
Couldn't work out if Tom Daley's mate shouted "mother ****ers" or "****ing bastards" on live tv when the gold was announced. Funny though 😀
Nah I like the road racing. Its a true team race, no radios and shit.
Whilst I liked the road race, simple question, are the best single stage racers training in four year programmes purely to peak for the Olympics? I'd say not. 'No radios and shit' is not a big enough differentiation for an event that already has big money elsewhere.
Bring back Architecture and Town Planning! The Olympics aren't the same with out them...
The Olympics used to have an arts competition
If someone could explain why squash is not in, despite years of trying, that would be nice.
If someone could explain why squash is not in
because it's booooring. That's why.
I think I'd settle for rules that don't allow national funding (Like the Lottery for example) if you to compete in the Olympics? Fine, knock yourself out, but it shouldn't be used as a national flag shagging competition while whole nation's folks are getting fatter and funding for local sports is being cut. I think it was Finland that pretty much decided that they weren't going to do this anymore a few years back. They never win medals anymore, but at least their population aren't turning into literal wee human globes on legs
It’s about time they sacked off the finn or the laser two mens single-handers is unnecessary put something big in or a mixed crew or womens 470s.
Finn Vs Laser are completely different events. You couldn't switch the sailors between them and be competitive. Just look at Ben Ainslie between 2000 and 2004. Like saying ditch the Sprint because Chris Hoy could just do the road race. They even get different interpretations of Rule 42.
470 is mixed this time round.
49er used to be mixed, is now separate men's/women's events.
TBH I kinda agree that sailing needs to move on from the 70s/80s when it had a boom. Change the rules so fleets have 3 Olympic cycles then then change. So the laser could be dropped in favour of an Aero, Finn for a D-One, Narca17 for something foiling. The laser (or rather the ILCA) disappeared so far up its own arse that there was actually a point before Rio when they wondered if any boats would be built for the games due to the legal bullshit between the class/builder/designer.
And bring back the keelboats/yachts and match racing! Something bigger than the dragon/star. Mixed 4 person crews. The argument for getting rid of them was cost and insufficient countries/sailors which was true. But I'm sure they could find someone to provide 4 identical 30ft boats for the publicity and not being so much about boatspeed it wouldn't be so nesecary for countries to have a full program of training and racing built arround the class.
When I were a lad, the Olympics still pretended to be the pinnacle for amateur sport, and the World Games covered all the remaining minority sports that weren't in the Olympics.
Now - at least as far as developed nations with sport funded medal targets - its effectively a pro competition.
The whole "bloated " thing cuts both ways - very few countries can afford to host it without selling its soul to advertising, but it's the only chance many kids will see some sports on TV and get inspired to give it a go. I've no problem learning about archery, rhythmic gymnastics etc, if they don't interest me, I find or do something else.
Watched a bit of the opening ceremony, which was just surreal with all these nations walking out into an empty stadium. Complete with Partridge-esque enthusiastic commentary. It was just weird. But kind of entertaining. The fireworks were cool. Instead of all this boring sport, I don't know why they don't just have a worldwide fireworks competition. Now that would be worth watching!
think she really is rather “jolly hockey sticks”
Or jolly tennis rackets.
Or jolly ice skates.
Or jolly horse bridles.
Or jolly rugby balls.
Or jolly trooping the colour.
Or jolly dog show.
Or jolly walking boots.
Or jolly boat oars.
Or jolly royal wedding.
Or jolly running shoes.
Or jolly wheel chairs.
Or jolly diving boards.
Or jolly sailing boats.
Or jolly just about anything......
Agree with TJ and others.... Faster, further, bigger, higher.... Something that can be measured with either a tape or a stopwatch. Sports that need to be measured by judges are not sports.
No gymnastics, diving (unless they do how from how high can you jump from or how far from the edge of the pool), skateboarding, horse riding (which isn't a sport, just a hobby for toffs).
Olympics should, imo, not include sports that require expensive items of equipment to able to participate.
Track cycling.... they all ride a standard issued bike from Decathlon that costs 150€ and not carbonium mega bikes. Let the legs to the talking. A bit like that Japanese form of cycling where all the old guys bet on.
No more taekwondo (hugging each other whilst trying to simultaneously kick each other in the back of the head has to be one of the most pathetic things to watch), jujitsu, wrestling etc.... Just have MMA. No judges. The first to tap out loses.
And what's the deal with various weight classes? Why isn't there a category for short legged runners? Or even slower runners?
Surfing? Biggest wave or longest run. Held on that wave in Portugal regardless of where the Olympics are held.
No guns at the Olympics.
Archery with traditional bows, not these fancy compound things with wheels that dangle after you've shot an arrow. Long bows. Hit a target, like a melon, at 200 yards. Kill shot or not.
But we're also now clearly very good at synchronised sports, so we should perhaps invent new ones so we can get Golds at them at well. Synchronised shot-put, synchronised weightlifting...It would be amazing
Long bows. Hit a target, like a melon, at 200 yards. Kill shot or not.
Why longbow? Why not a Mongolian horse bow, or a yumi, or a replica of Odysseus's bow?
At 200yds it's an area weapon with a beaten zone, 70m is already a long way
Surfing?
Personally, I'm looking forward to Cheese Rolling and Welly Wanging being added.
Although they have to get in line behind Dodgeball.
Something that can be measured with either a tape or a stopwatch. Sports that need to be measured by judges are not sports.
I'd rather watch Simone Biles than any 100m-10000m running race any day TBH. Sports that don't require some sort of artistic merit aren't really sports at all, they're just messing about in the playground.
for me a sport needs to things to really be a sport. the competitors need to put inphysical effort and it needs a ( mainly) objective scoring system
Sports that don’t require some sort of artistic merit aren’t really sports at all, they’re just messing about in the playground.
That's Tom Pidcock and Adam Peaty put in their place
So to summaries:
Sports with rules for scoring should be dropped.
All sports should be ones you can win on an objective scale, but there should be rules, lots or rules to argue over to keep things nicely subjective.
I thought there were only three sports - hunting, shooting and fishing - and everything else was simply a game?
Faster, further, bigger, higher…. Something that can be measured with either a tape or a stopwatch.
God no. Those normal distribution curve sports are mind numbingly dull. People running around in circles or chucking something the same way, the same size, roughly the same distance. So inutterably tedious.
Ooh congratulations, you're the freak at the end of the bell curve, fascinating. And if you weren't then the next person would be. Great.
At least the artistic sports have a little bit of pizazz to them.
You don't like the horse-dancing then TJ?
I don't get why horse dancing is a thing but disco dancing isn't. Lets be honest, this is miles better than anything presently going on in the Olympics, most of which is spirit-crushingly dull...
and it needs a ( mainly) objective scoring system
disagree. I'd much rather watch something with an element of artistic merit
At least the artistic sports have a little bit of pizazz to them.
Sports with pizzas is fine with me
If someone could explain why squash is not in, despite years of trying, that would be nice.
Is it because every remaining squash court in the UK has been converted into a soft play area? Any actual squash competition these days would have a element of leaping over the ball pit, and avoiding the 5 year old crying about being smacked in the mouth by Jayden.
The olympics would even make disco dancing boring, it managed it with skateboarding for ****s sake!
I thought there were only three sports – hunting, shooting and fishing – and everything else was simply a game?
Methinks the man doth quote incorrectly...
[Fox] hunting, motor racing and mountaineering IIRC
Twain wasn't it?
Talking of which, if they never did meet, how did he manage to have kids?
No guns at the Olympics.
Might make for interesting starts.
"Ready steady go!"?
What's good about Olympics is the variety. Variety of sports and variety of how a medal comes about. You get interesting routes to a gold like Ben Ainsley in the finn racing at the back of the fleet to match race Christensen. Or the hard slog of a set of heats in rowing/various races. Or one shot glory in the marathon.
Its a bit pathetic claiming something you aren't interested in isn't a sport.
Shooting and stuff is clearly a sport as is gymnastics even the ribbon and diving is hard. Just because there is an artistic element does not remove the physical competitive element.
Sports with pizzas is fine with me
But not with the Italians:
Tokyo 2020: S Korea TV sorry for using pizza to depict Italy
Anything that is not judged with a large objective part as well can go. Rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming etc etc
This. Sorry Tom (Daley not Pidcock).
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5319349/
The conclusion that even Olympic judges, who are highly qualified and experienced [34], demonstrate significant biases while scoring elite-level performances may seem surprising.
Is it because every remaining squash court in the UK has been converted into a soft play area?
I think it's mostly because watching televised squash is a surreal experience. So because normal squash courts aren't exactly designed for good TV, they have to have a transparent box especially made, and because of the next problem; the ball is too small and generally moving too fast to see, you end up with the sport being essentially two competitors running about in a large transparent box, waving small bats around, trying not to run into each other but often getting in each's way, and sweating...a lot.
But it meets tjagain's and other's need for objective scoring, so presumably it's "better" than either diving or watching Simone Biles do incredible, gravity deifying things
Any actual squash competition these days would have a element of leaping over the ball pit, and avoiding the 5 year old crying about being smacked in the mouth by Jayden.
Well that just brightened up my covid-ravaged day. Thanks 😂
Back to the original question, i'm not a huge fan of Claire Balding, but she's good for an anchor role or studio lead, but like any other lead, when they start getting too involved in the discussions it's where they tend to annoy viewers, same with all leads though.
As for Olympic sports, i don't really tend to bother until the athletics, although the gymnastics stuff is great to watch, everything else is usually peripheral stuff.
you end up with the sport being essentially two competitors running about in a large transparent box, waving small bats around, trying not to run into each other but often getting in each’s way, and sweating…a lot.
This is also a description of fencing..
rather watch Simone Biles
Cirque du Solei?
What about competitive juggling?
Currently trying to placate the GF and show some interest in handball. We got up to open the window and I fast forwarded it five minutes (TF it's on replay)... Seven goals in that time!
Does seem to be a bit of "I don't get it so it must be rubbish" on this thread, so at least it's STW business as usual.
Diving and normal gymnastics have objective and subjective scoring ire degree of difficulty and then how well they did it. Just about acceptable to me.
Horse dancing is cruel.
You can liven a game of squash up no end by making it a doubles match. The increase in the element of danger of having two extra bodies on the court is significant 🙂
I think people either don't understand or choose to ignore that all sports require an element of judging. Even the simplest sports like the 100 meters needs people to check the equipment used and decide whether it offers an advantage, not to mention whether someone false started or not.
Once you move into sports like cycling you have judges deciding whether the rules are being adhered to and awarding wins to riders who crossed the line second if the rider who crossed first did something illegal in the sprint.
Then you've got football and rugby where the referees are constantly making decisions about whether players actions are legal or not. Sure, the score is the ultimate arbitrator of who wins or losses but the referee's judgement plays a huge role in who gets the gold.
At the far end you have sports where judges award scores based on pre-determined criteria but it's disingenuous to say this makes it less legitimate.
Does seem to be a bit of “I don’t get it so it must be rubbish” on this thread, so at least it’s STW business as usual.
The Walking Race. I don't get it and I am 100% convinced it is total bullshit. I have no idea why I detest this event so much and I'm sure it's completely irrational but that's where I stand.
For the road cycling, I'd like to see something a little different. Either
(A) make it officially a team sport whereby each national team is timed by its fastest rider only
(B) a 'race' where the winner is the person (or team) who spent the most time at the front. Would be a whole new set of strategies available and be dead fun to watch. Maybe allow multiple people to be considered at the front of they are within say a few meters of the leader and not slipstreaming. Kinda means the whole race is a race and not just the end.
You can liven a game of squash up no end by making it a doubles match.
You could also liven it up with the addition of a crocodile and about 3ft of water
You could also liven it up with the addition of a crocodile and about 3ft of water
The Aussie Olympics will contain surfing. Watch this space.
Horse dancing is cruel.
Is that not down to the individual trainers & so forth, as opposed to the contest itself?
Horse dancing is cruel.
I think this for me is perhaps about the only Olympic event that really does need to be stopped, and I think it probably speaks volumes about the behind the scenes lobbying that goes on to get sports into the Olympics. I know it's part of a larger event (Jumping and evening are the other components) but this bit at least can get in the sea .
Horse dancing is cruel.
Compared to what? Keeping a dog shut in a house or kennel? Using one to herd sheep?