2022 Winter Olympics

[DevilHorse]

I thought it was time to start a thread on the upcoming Winter Olympics to be held in China.

Qualifying for the team has already started.

Please put your comments here.

Larry
DevilHorse

[DevilHorse]

Qualifying for the US teams in Curling is underway.

The biggest surprise to me (other than my interest in curling) is that team Shuster is not looking good, or that team Shuster won the gold last time. Skip John Shuster, and his famous 5 pointer in the 8th end throw in the Olympics 4 years ago, has been doing well this week to get into the finals (2 out of 3 to qualify to go to the Olympics to represent the US Men's 4's). But the Shuster team dropped the first match to the Korey Dropkin team; it wasn't even close. Falling down 5 zip in the first 2 ends. What is going on?

Other competitions for mixed doubles and the Women's team have also been going on. These teams will have to go to an international qualifying meet to get a spot in the Olympics as (with basketball) there are just so many slots in the Olympics to play. The whole Curling competing world is fierce and the Jamaican team could be next to compete ya know.

Larry
DevilHorse

[Bluedog]

Will be interesting to see what the WTA does and its impact (or lack thereof) on the Olympics in China. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google Peng Shuai.) No worldwide sports org has really had the courage to walk away from the market given its huge financial implications. Seems like US is planning largely symbolic protest stuff is my understanding (unrelated to Peng Shuai, from a human rights perspective).

With all that said, looking forward to watching athletes perform and the events surrounding it. Definitely will also be interesting given China being the lone holdout to achieve COVID zero basically. Hope that doesn't prevent too many from participating but of course it'll have some impact. Will be a lot to navigate.

[DevilHorse]

Will be interesting to see what the WTA does and its impact (or lack thereof) on the Olympics in China. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google Peng Shuai.) No worldwide sports org has really had the courage to walk away from the market given its huge financial implications. Seems like US is planning largely symbolic protest stuff is my understanding (unrelated to Peng Shuai, from a human rights perspective).

With all that said, looking forward to watching athletes perform and the events surrounding it. Definitely will also be interesting given China being the lone holdout to achieve COVID zero basically. Hope that doesn't prevent too many from participating but of course it'll have some impact. Will be a lot to navigate.

There was a time when the Olympics was the only showcase, and the ultimate goal, of many sports. Not so much for (roughly) half of those sports now as there are so many Pro circuits available now for ... skiing, track, even curling. Still there are others whose life's effort would be short circuited with a boycott. [The Pro Synchronized Swimming Circuit hasn't taken root, and Busby Berkeley isn't making as many films as he used to]. I'd have to feel for those athletes who would be used as political pawns should it come to a national boycott for any nation in any Olympics. Protests are fine with me. Peng Shuai on the other hand would appear to be under someone's thumb. I think it is great that pressure from her friends, and light being shown on this issue, is hopefully throwing her a lifeline.

Larry
DevilHorse

[cato]

There was a time when the Olympics was the only showcase, and the ultimate goal, of many sports. Not so much for (roughly) half of those sports now as there are so many Pro circuits available now for ... skiing, track, even curling. Still there are others whose life's effort would be short circuited with a boycott. [The Pro Synchronized Swimming Circuit hasn't taken root, and Busby Berkeley isn't making as many films as he used to]. I'd have to feel for those athletes who would be used as political pawns should it come to a national boycott for any nation in any Olympics. Protests are fine with me. Peng Shuai on the other hand would appear to be under someone's thumb. I think it is great that pressure from her friends, and light being shown on this issue, is hopefully throwing her a lifeline.

Larry
DevilHorse

If there were a boycott, I too would feel very badly for the athletes. However, I wouldn’t blame our political leaders for the boycott. I would blame the IOC for choosing the host country that forced the boycott with its actions.

[acdevil]

To be clear, the proposed boycott is by diplomats, not athletes. The athletes could still go and compete, but Biden and other big wigs would boycott to send a message.

[cato]

To be clear, the proposed boycott is by diplomats, not athletes. The athletes could still go and compete, but Biden and other big wigs would boycott to send a message.

I don’t think Biden’s going to the games regardless, but yes. The topic bandied about most recently was a diplomatic boycott.

[DevilHorse]

To be clear, the proposed boycott is by diplomats, not athletes. The athletes could still go and compete, but Biden and other big wigs would boycott to send a message.

Right now Biden IS considering a boycott of the 2022 games. But only by the diplomats!
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/18/beij...c-boycott.html
Those poor politicos who have been exercising their American Express cards, at our expense, for years.
All of that spending expertise potentially gone to waste. [00ps missed acdevil's post]

Larry
DevilHorse

[sagegrouse]

If there were a boycott, I too would feel very badly for the athletes. However, I wouldn’t blame our political leaders for the boycott. I would blame the IOC for choosing the host country that forced the boycott with its actions.

I may have dreamed this, but I thought the IOC had sworn off awarding:

(a) The Olympics to Third World or small countries. (The number of unfinished facilities when I was in Brazil a few years ago was truly discouraging.)

(b) The Winter Olympics to venues without natural snow. (I mean, Sochi, Beijing, and -- for the most part -- Pyeongchang, all in a row. Give me a break!)

The Olympics are making the problem way too hard. For example, the U.S. should host the games every 20 years -- always in August in Los Angeles: bountiful facilities; the colleges are out of session to provide dorm;, cool evenings; and the locals all leave town to escape the crush.

FIFA should observe (a) -- if, for no other reason, to demonstrate that it can escape corruption.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I may have dreamed this, but I thought the IOC had sworn off awarding:

(a) The Olympics to Third World or small countries. (The number of unfinished facilities when I was in Brazil a few years ago was truly discouraging.)

(b) The Winter Olympics to venues without natural snow. (I mean, Sochi, Beijing, and -- for the most part -- Pyeongchang, all in a row. Give me a break!)

The Olympics are making the problem way too hard. For example, the U.S. should host the games every 20 years -- always in August in Los Angeles: bountiful facilities; the colleges are out of session to provide dorm;, cool evenings; and the locals all leave town to escape the crush.

FIFA should observe (a) -- if, for no other reason, to demonstrate that it can escape corruption.

I just did a little research to refresh my memory. Hosting the Olympics has largely lost its luster, so not a lot of places are bidding. Apparently Oslo was interested in 2022 but the IOC's demands were ridiculous so they bailed, so it came down to Beijing and Kazakhstan. Beijing is able to use a number of the venues they used for the summer 2008 games, so that makes it work better for them. It was actually a pretty close vote - 44-40. It looks like the ski venues are a few hours away from Beijing, which I would think is not ideal.

For those who are interested, summer 2024 is in Paris, 2026 winter is in Milan and the Italian Alps, and 2028 is in LA.

I am a huge Olympics fan, and particularly like the winter games - lots of interesting sports. I have never been but it is on my bucket list.

[PackMan97]

Winter games is a hard one to host. Not many large cities in mountains where it snows a lot.

[DevilHorse]

Winter games is a hard one to host. Not many large cities in mountains where it snows a lot.

Like Lake Placid NY, Population 2300?
I suppose 90 miles to Montreal (another country), and 200 to Boston/Rochester.
Perhaps Albany isn't big enough (140 miles), but Saratoga might have enough hotels. (100 miles).

Larry
DevilHorse

[CDu]

Like Lake Placid NY, Population 2300?
I suppose 90 miles to Montreal (another country), and 200 to Boston/Rochester.
Perhaps Albany isn't big enough (140 miles), but Saratoga might have enough hotels. (100 miles).

Larry
DevilHorse

A different time. The Winter games used to frequent smaller ski resort locations (Lillehammer, Albertville, Lake Placid, St. Moritz, Chamonix, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Lake Tahoe), all with populations below 50,000. But as the winter games have expanded and have become more and more popular, the IOC has moved to generally bigger cities (Nagano, SLC, Calgary, Turin, Vancouver, Sochi, now Beijing and Milan) that are in theory at least somewhere near the mountains. Which, as has been noted, creates some challenges, as there aren't as many big cities in/adjacent to mountains.

[Bostondevil]

I just did a little research to refresh my memory. Hosting the Olympics has largely lost its luster, so not a lot of places are bidding. Apparently Oslo was interested in 2022 but the IOC's demands were ridiculous so they bailed, so it came down to Beijing and Kazakhstan. Beijing is able to use a number of the venues they used for the summer 2008 games, so that makes it work better for them. It was actually a pretty close vote - 44-40. It looks like the ski venues are a few hours away from Beijing, which I would think is not ideal.

For those who are interested, summer 2024 is in Paris, 2026 winter is in Milan and the Italian Alps, and 2028 is in LA.

I am a huge Olympics fan, and particularly like the winter games - lots of interesting sports. I have never been but it is on my bucket list.

Remember the potential Boston bid for the Olympics? Same thing. When news leaked that the IOC wanted Boston to shut down one lane of The Pike to all but VIPs, the city said, "Absolutely not!" and the USOC quietly moved on from supporting the Boston bid. Boston would be a wonderful host city for the actual games, but it would be nothing but headaches getting there, and no, the IOC would never get a dedicated VIP lane on The Pike.

[DevilHorse]

A different time. The Winter games used to frequent smaller ski resort locations (Lillehammer, Albertville, Lake Placid, St. Moritz, Chamonix, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Cortina d'Ampezzo, Lake Tahoe), all with populations below 50,000. But as the winter games have expanded and have become more and more popular, the IOC has moved to generally bigger cities (Nagano, SLC, Calgary, Turin, Vancouver, Sochi, now Beijing and Milan) that are in theory at least somewhere near the mountains. Which, as has been noted, creates some challenges, as there aren't as many big cities in/adjacent to mountains.

Perhaps that is the plan, but for most of the venues, they can still only pack in the same number of people to view. How many people can view a bobsled run? I imagine there's a lot of room to see parts of the 10km cross country skiing, but that is probably only moderately popular. I noticed, since Lake Placid, the winter Olympics has essentially tripled the number of events contested. So, more events for people, if they show.

Besides, having multiple SUMMER resort areas like Lake George, Saratoga, Saranac Lake, and Montreal just an Hour away, probably would not disqualify Lake Placid. That's lots of rooms that are unused, where people can be bussed in.

The Olympics runs on money, not attendance. The attendance is for the optics (based on the articles that I've scanned). Attendance has not been good for quite a while at all of the Olympics. So why the big cities? I'm sure they appreciate the months of traffic snarls for construction and the games. I remember when New York City was discussing a bid for the Olympics. People were freaking over how the bridges would be impossible to get over during those 2 weeks. Why inflict the Olympics on a city? To buy new venues for the sports teams? Bah. Atlanta probably was elevated to being an International destination; they also got bombed.

Larry
DevilHorse

[BigWayne]

Perhaps that is the plan, but for most of the venues, they can still only pack in the same number of people to view. How many people can view a bobsled run? I imagine there's a lot of room to see parts of the 10km cross country skiing, but that is probably only moderately popular. I noticed, since Lake Placid, the winter Olympics has essentially tripled the number of events contested. So, more events for people, if they show.

Besides, having multiple SUMMER resort areas like Lake George, Saratoga, Saranac Lake, and Montreal just an Hour away, probably would not disqualify Lake Placid. That's lots of rooms that are unused, where people can be bussed in.

The Olympics runs on money, not attendance. The attendance is for the optics (based on the articles that I've scanned). Attendance has not been good for quite a while at all of the Olympics. So why the big cities? I'm sure they appreciate the months of traffic snarls for construction and the games. I remember when New York City was discussing a bid for the Olympics. People were freaking over how the bridges would be impossible to get over during those 2 weeks. Why inflict the Olympics on a city? To buy new venues for the sports teams? Bah. Atlanta probably was elevated to being an International destination; they also got bombed.

Larry
DevilHorse

The olympics run on money and catering to the spoiled aristocrats and wannabes on the IOC. I went to a lot of events at the Atlanta Olympics and partly as a result figured out a lot about how the tickets were parceled out. Having stadiums and attendance is extremely important to have a way to reward all of the connected people with VIP treatment.

[wilson]

...Atlanta probably was elevated to being an International destination; they also got bombed.

Larry
DevilHorse

It’s really a shame that the bombing so mars the analysis of the Atlanta Olympics. For our city, it was unquestionably a positive. Despite all the latter-day talk about how the Olympics are just a logistical and financial albatross (which they pretty much are now), Atlanta managed to turn a modest profit on the Games (not the point, but still makes it feel like we came out ahead), and this city definitely was transformed in stature and culture by our Olympics. I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to experience a Games in my hometown, and it will never stop being one of the very top memories of my life.

[cato]

It’s really a shame that the bombing so mars the analysis of the Atlanta Olympics. For our city, it was unquestionably a positive. Despite all the latter-day talk about how the Olympics are just a logistical and financial albatross (which they pretty much are now), Atlanta managed to turn a modest profit on the Games (not the point, but still makes it feel like we came out ahead), and this city definitely was transformed in stature and culture by our Olympics. I feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to experience a Games in my hometown, and it will never stop being one of the very top memories of my life.

I have always had the impression that the Olympics in Barcelona was transformational and positive. But we are a long way away from that era.

There isn’t much I can say about some of the recent choices to host the Olympics within the posting guidelines.

[DevilHorse]

Qualifying for the US teams in Curling is underway.

The biggest surprise to me (other than my interest in curling) is that team Shuster is not looking good, or that team Shuster won the gold last time. Skip John Shuster, and his famous 5 pointer in the 8th end throw in the Olympics 4 years ago, has been doing well this week to get into the finals (2 out of 3 to qualify to go to the Olympics to represent the US Men's 4's). But the Shuster team dropped the first match to the Korey Dropkin team; it wasn't even close. Falling down 5 zip in the first 2 ends. What is going on?

Other competitions for mixed doubles and the Women's team have also been going on. These teams will have to go to an international qualifying meet to get a spot in the Olympics as (with basketball) there are just so many slots in the Olympics to play. The whole Curling competing world is fierce and the Jamaican team could be next to compete ya know.

Larry
DevilHorse

John Shuster's team came back from an 0-1 deficit in matches to win the next two matches and become the US representative to the 2022 Winter Olympic games. Taking the last match 5-4. This will be Shuster's fifth trip representing the USA at a winter Olympics.

If only ABC was still running the Superstars competition.

Larry
DevilHorse

[CameronBornAndBred]

The Biden administration will not send an official US delegation to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing as a statement against China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday.

US athletes will still be allowed to compete in the Olympics, but the administration will not be sending government officials to the games. The same policy applies for the Paralympic Games, which are also taking place in Beijing.

Good move, IMO, for both the athletes and our stance as a country. I hate the idea of keeping those that have worked so hard from chasing their dreams because the country they represent thinks the host country is made up of bad characters.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/06/polit...ics/index.html