Olympics curling

[crankedup]

I can appreciate the skills involved in this activity, however when the presenters refer to the participants as athletes I find that somewhat stretching the real term ‘athelete’ and it’s meaning.
When is a game suddenly deemed to be a sport?

[crankedup]

Fair comments raised.

[crankedup]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Curling...housework on ice.

Imagine that the participants simply ‘brush’ those comments aside.

[crankedup]

I think it’s a modern twist on wordage, after all it is the Olympic Games. Maybe they need to rename it the Olympic Sports.

[crankedup]

55palfers said:

Any ideas why Bowls (Crown Green) isn't an Olympic "sport"?

It's only Curling on grass surely?

I was going to ask exactly the same thing, except not crown bowls but the bowls game / sport
that southerners play.

[crankedup]

Couple of other sports/games that could possibly qualify for Olympic status.
Ten pin bowling, must sit alongside curling for the requirement of balance, good eyesight and concentration.
Pub skittles.

[crankedup]

sidicks said:

Goaty Bill 2 said:

You don’t wear ice skates for curling.

Facts matter! forget the humour.

[crankedup]

DJFish said:

Had the misfortune of listening to Piers Morgan this morning, rattling on about Lizzie Yarnold's gold medal and how silver is a bit st really and sports like curling are also quite crap in comparison.
Bit of a kick in the teeth for 95% of all winter athletes taking part over the last few weeks....
Like many others I found the curling strangely compelling.

Millions of pounds pumped into minority winter sports, what does the U.K. benefit from gaining medals at high cost?

[crankedup]

sidicks said:

crankedup said:

Facts matter! forget the humour.

<insert parrot here>

Like you are well known for your sense of humour, like goaty said, dogs don’t skate either but you missed that one.

[crankedup]

What adds insult to injury is that medal winners go on to lucrative careers. Do they pay back all the grants they accept when they earn big money, like the students now are obliged to?

[crankedup]

Shakermaker said:

crankedup said:

What adds insult to injury is that medal winners go on to lucrative careers. Do they pay back all the grants they accept when they earn big money, like the students now are obliged to?

But most of the funding comes from the money that is raised by Dept Culture, Media and Sport from the sale of National Lottery tickets. So, its not the same as they are getting actual tax payer money, just the money of people who play the lottery each week

Didn’t know that, thanks for posting. Makes the whole thing a little more palatable.
Having said that plenty of sports get sweet fa from anywhere except private sponsors. In particular the World of motorcycle racing where my son spent vast fortunes of his own cash each season in Superbikes. He managed to get offered a ride on the BSB grid but even then had to find another 20K minimum, which in race terms means double that for the season. Could have done season one but if no private sponsors turned up season two would have been imposssible. Decided against it and retired from racing. Expect this type of story is repeated over countless years and participants.

[crankedup]

^^^^^
Yes that’s 100% correct. We did all we could to help our lad but we’re also aware that spending on the lad had to be met with equal fairness for our daughter. We found that personal sponsors were hens teeth and as you rightly mention they want high profile podiums before they commit.
Very very tough World in sport for individuals without financial assistance, this is why we see Sons aand daughters of successful sports personalities coming through to take over the family sporting dynasty I guess, what price money and connections.