Winter Olympics

I you want to really get into in Curling you would have to move to Scotland, we only have one Curling Rink in England, in Kent so you would be OK Pete.

 

That's exactly it.
It's not a laugh, it's the truth.

Kids in Nordic countries can go out skiing or skating straight from school any day of the week for probably nearly half the year and won't have to travel too far to do the same for much of the rest of the year. So there's a huge pool of young people from which to choose competitors.

If you live in Tunbridge Wells you aren't likely to have the same opportunities.

With any sport, you need to start young if you're going to have any chance of winning an Olympic medal.
At the moment it's cost us nearly £4M a medal. I'm not sure it's the best use of the money.

There seems to have been an explosion in the number of events now included in Olympic Winter Sports, I mean relays on a toboggan run?

 

My friend is a member of a group that helps on the estate of a local stately home , Haigh Hall . A pond on the estate, I always thought was a mill pond , it was actually known as the curling pond. The hall was owned by a Scottish earl ,Balcarres in the 1800s . How often is was icey enough to go curling ....maybe it was a lot colder in the 1800's

 

Funnily enough @HarryS the Balcarres estate is not that far from where I live. My late Mum curled, not at any great level but she took it up after she couldn't play her 1st love (tennis) anymore due to good old ano domini.
She did have a couple of opportunities to play outside on a frozen small loch as the game had been intended to be played. She said it was really hard work as no all beautifully smooth ice to play on and it took her all her time to get the stones to move long distances. Having the odd stick /leaf stuck in the ice made for very "interesting" calculations as to the line needed!
Slightly off subject I know but just had to remark on how well Scotland played yesterday at Murrayfield. I seldom get the chance to say that. They did our small country proud unlike that whinging female who was competing at The Winter Games that I am shamed to admit bodes from Edinburgh. I for 1 would be very glad if she gives up and does not get any further funding be it for short or long track skating. I and many like me up here feel the same way.

 

Well to be fair, yes Elise Christie has either crashed out or been disqualified in three events in two Olympic games but...

She is ten times a European gold medalist, including two overall European titles in 2015 and 2016. In the 2017 World Championships in Rotterdam she won world titles in the 1000m and 1500m events, as well as the overall gold, the first British woman and first European woman to do so.
So no mean achievement, eh?

I'd certainly not want her to lose funding, when you consider how many of our no hopers had the lion's share of the £28M pumped into these games by Britain.

I think the Dutch skaters described her best, in that she's a bit like an uncontrolled windmill.

Anyway, it's all over now, I only recorded it and watched the bits in which I had an interest, avoiding all the studio punditry and the endless repeats of Torvill and Dean from thirty-four years ago. They're all on You-Tube.

I hope the BBC give Clare Balding, who unnecessarily dominated every studio session, a long rest, before they give her another job about which she really knows very little.

 

Oh, the myths attached to the Nordic countries! I would have to travel at least 1000km north in order to use skis for even 4 months. For six, even further! If I lived in Hemel Hempstead, I could do it without even leaving town almost every day of the year... Of course, it is indoors there.

As a point of interest, the biggest ski event of the year here will be held next Sunday. Its the first time for a few years they have not had problems due to the lack of snow! Usually 15 800 entrants (the maximum allowed) and a distance of 90 km....

 

Yep, @strongylodon and guess where it is, Tunbridge Wells
England's only dedicated Ice Curling Rink near Tunbridge Wells in Kent

 

Yes, but not a lot of help for downhill/slalom skiers, board events and the several ways you can go down a toboggan run on a variety of tin trays.

For anyone to suggest that young people who live in Nordic countries have not got a distinct advantage when it comes sports that require some snow, need only look at the medal tables....every year.

 

The place in Hemel Hempstead is a downhill.

@Doghouse Riley how much time have you spent in the Nordic countries?

 

I really don't think that I haven't spent any, is relative.

I work on the premise, "That if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, talks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. The medal tables are testimony to the point I was making. Or do you think that's just coincidence?

It's a question of culture, history and available facilities.

We have "The Chill Factor" near us, fine for gentle runs for skiers and snowboarders, but that's it.

Now anyone else is entitled to any opinion they like, I really don't mind.
I've stated my view, I'm not going to debate it, I'm moving on.

 

@Doghouse Riley Before I moved here, I thought exactly the same as you do. Now, I know a lot different.

 

Why would you think I go to bed in a Minnesota Vikings helmet?