London Olympics

[Siz]

I gotta say the coverage of the sailing has been pathetic. Even though GB got a gold and a silver in the Finn (single-handed) and Star (2-man) respectively I still have no idea how any of it happened. I can only assume that the BBC consider full(er) coverage not to be of sufficient interest to the public.

I had heard that while most sports look better in slow motion sailing is much better sped up. Fair enough, so why not do just that - not ignore it altogether other than to jump on the jolly bandwagon of praising the British winners. The excitement and nuances of the 'sport' of sailing has been completely overlooked. Shame!

Maybe I'm in the minority as a dude who sails and has more than a passing interest, but is it not more in the public interest given our historic success in this sport?

I have always found this odd as well, but it is boring to watch, it also has a false perception of being elite and expensive so that might put people off.

Do you think?

That is more the case with rowing (though the perception is not necessarily false) and that has a huge following (and coverage). That cannot be the reason. Maybe sailing IS just boring for the casual sports fan.

As someone who has competed in both (rowed at Henley and sailed at National level) I can assure you that rowing is not the sport for everyone like sailing is. You cannot pursue a career in rowing unless you are prepared to train HARD. No club will dedicate a boat to casual passers-by because boats are delicate and expensive. Even at the Novice level you are training to win. The clubs will not give seats to people who are not focussed on that goal. So, while its doors are open to everyone, one cannot retain a regular seat in a boat unless one has earned it with sweat, skill, or both and are helping to raise the profile of the club by being successful in races. There is no such thing as a casual rower apart from veterans who have earned their retirement.

If the same perception exists for Sailing then I would say that it IS false.


Edit: In the interests of full-disclosure I'll just mention that I only sailed at National level once in 1985. I was crew in a National 12 (type of dinghy) and we came 14th.

[Crow]

Do you think?

Well rowing is easy to grasp and very entertaining especially when it's evenly matched. Even though it does have that elitist perception there isn't anything really that the audience has to learn rule wise, is easy to see who is winning, there is a good atmosphere, the terminology isn't excessive, and is very quick. So even people that aren't interested in sports can get enjoyment from the spectacle. It is still held back by the perception though and the commentators and leading figures in the sport are well aware and constantly trying to amend that.

Sailing on the other hand is the complete opposite but with elitism attached to it though totally misplaced and might be an excuse used by some people rather than admitting they don't understand it, it can be great to watch when little battles break out and the tactics are fun to watch but overall can be very boring especially for somebody new to the sport without any experience of sailing, I use to pretty much spend most of my summers in a dinghy when I was young and I would rather watch other sports.

[Ecurb Noselrub]

Just saw Usain Bolt win the 100 meter dash.  The race was over before you knew it - very fast!  The Jamaicans definitely have the "special sauce" when it comes to speed.

[Amicale]

I gotta say the coverage of the sailing has been pathetic. Even though GB got a gold and a silver in the Finn (single-handed) and Star (2-man) respectively I still have no idea how any of it happened. I can only assume that the BBC consider full(er) coverage not to be of sufficient interest to the public.

I had heard that while most sports look better in slow motion sailing is much better sped up. Fair enough, so why not do just that - not ignore it altogether other than to jump on the jolly bandwagon of praising the British winners. The excitement and nuances of the 'sport' of sailing has been completely overlooked. Shame!

Maybe I'm in the minority as a dude who sails and has more than a passing interest, but is it not more in the public interest given our historic success in this sport?

I have always found this odd as well, but it is boring to watch, it also has a false perception of being elite and expensive so that might put people off.

hmm I seriously need to take up a sport again.

I love sailing. I'd prefer to be on a boat, but I'll happily watch it, too. It brings back so many good memories of being a kid at the lake.

[Beachdragon]

I've been trying to watch the things that I wouldn't otherwise see in off olympic years.  Watched a lot of Archery and Badminton.  Some Table Tennis and shooting too.  A few horse events.

I keep missing canoeing though.  That can be really exciting as they usually canoe and Kayak on white water rapids.

I'm glad swimming is over though.  I'm not opposed to a match or two, but good grief when it's nothing but swimming for hours it gets tedious.  Almost the same with running, but weirdly I'm not sick of that yet.

I was disheartened to hear a couple of news reports that people have complained about gymnast Gabby Douglas' hair.  What the heck?  That young lady made history and people have complaints about her hair?

Also, another irritating thing is that someone (I think a coach of some ilk) said they thought Jen Ennis was too fat.  What the hell?  She's the British one with the washboard stomach and perfect body.  People are sick.

Anyway, hoping to catch more interesting matches this week. 

[Siz]

Also, another irritating thing is that someone (I think a coach of some ilk) said they thought Jen Ennis was too fat.  What the hell?  She's the British one with the washboard stomach and perfect body.  People are sick.

*Jessica Ennis*

Too fat for what? She won Gold by a country mile. WTF?

I her!

[Tank]

20 gold medals now for the UK, best since 1908.

[markmcdaniel]

I was disheartened to hear a couple of news reports that people have complained about gymnast Gabby Douglas' hair.  What the heck?  That young lady made history and people have complaints about her hair?

Also, another irritating thing is that someone (I think a coach of some ilk) said they thought Jen Ennis was too fat.  What the hell?  She's the British one with the washboard stomach and perfect body.  People are sick.

Anyway, hoping to catch more interesting matches this week. 

But they are women and we all know how important these things are. And now I need to find out just how fashionable there clothes were. * cringes and goes into hiding*.

[Crow]

Also, another irritating thing is that someone (I think a coach of some ilk) said they thought Jen Ennis was too fat.  What the hell?  She's the British one with the washboard stomach and perfect body.  People are sick.

WTF! If she has more than 9% body fat I would be shocked.

[Sandra Craft]

Also, another irritating thing is that someone (I think a coach of some ilk) said they thought Jen Ennis was too fat.  What the hell?  She's the British one with the washboard stomach and perfect body.  People are sick.

WTF! If she has more than 9% body fat I would be shocked.

Perhaps they feel she is large-boned and should lose weight there, otherwise I'm at a loss as to what she has to spare.

The fussing about Gabby Douglas' hair was that it was the same same style as her white team mates and her hairdo critics felt she should be representing by having a natural or braids or at least no more than unprocessed curls.  As cute as I think the natural is, my opinion is the kid has won two gold medals so the busybodies can mind their own business about her hair.  In fact, they could MTOB even if she didn't win a single thing -- it's her hair.

I finally got to watch some events I found interesting, but also confusing.  One of them was what I think they called the men's "still circles", or maybe it was "still rings", a gymnastic event that looked that they were in serious danger of separating their arms from their shoulders.

There was a Chinese guy who scored very high and turned in what looked like a flawless performance and the way commentators were talking, they thought so too and expected him to take the gold.  Then a Russian guy did a routine that was also impressive altho I thought I saw him wobble a few times and he didn't stick the landing.  However, he scored higher than the Chinese guy, which shocked everyone, including other gymnasts. 

Does anyone know what that's about?  I was thinking, altho I couldn't tell the difference, maybe his routine was harder and he got extra points for that which made the difference, but I have no idea.

[Siz]

So, it has finally come to the attention of the sneering press that the Brit cycling team have been using French wheels (Mavic).
Git might enjoy this:

[Crow]

All the equestrian elements should be dropped from the olympics. Nothing against horses it just doesn't really fit in with the event, especially as there are so many brilliant sports that aren't included.

[En_Route]

All the equestrian elements should be dropped from the olympics. Nothing against horses it just doesn't really fit in with the event, especially as there are so many brilliant sports that aren't included.

Yes, I'm furious about the omission of underwater chess and one- legged  cheese rolling.

[Tank]

All the equestrian elements should be dropped from the olympics. Nothing against horses it just doesn't really fit in with the event, especially as there are so many brilliant sports that aren't included.

Yes, I'm furious about the omission of underwater chess and one- legged  cheese rolling.

Para Olympics.

[En_Route]

All the equestrian elements should be dropped from the olympics. Nothing against horses it just doesn't really fit in with the event, especially as there are so many brilliant sports that aren't included.

Yes, I'm furious about the omission of underwater chess and one- legged  cheese rolling.

Para Olympics.

That explains it,