[Vampyr]

Curling. WTF?

[sailoranch]

Vampyr, on 2014-February-21, 22:06, said:

Curling. WTF?

Curlers probably think the same thing about bridge.

[chasetb]

Because of school and work, I haven't been able to play at the local club in quite some time. Thursday, I was able to make it and play. I had forgotten how bad the standard was, and some boards were fouled up because a table didn't check to make sure they had the correct boards.

Bridge, WTF?

[32519]

Nah, it must be American grid-iron. These weenies play with crash helmuts and all sorts of body padding.

[gwnn]

I had the same feeling but then Sir Attenborough explained it: http://digg.com/vide...olympic-curling

[Cyberyeti]

I don't see curling as any more inexplicable than bowls, just fixed target rather than jack.

[Fluffy]

I saw the topic title and said... I hope she is not talking about curling...

I don't really see the problem with curling, its a very easy to understand sport.

In Spain we have our own version called Petanca, mainly practiced by retired people on the parks (it is played on sand and you only throw, not brush). On the last decade as most sports technology is jumping in and the balls are no longer round and leather is no longer in fashion.

[ggwhiz]

They held the National Championships here a few years back and it's the same as bridge. The bigger the event, the better the after-match parties.

They could use a goalie though.

[Winstonm]

Curling was invented so Fins could expand their ketchup empire by selling to a new hotdog stand market.

[blackshoe]

What I don't get is why laying down on a board and sliding down a ramp is an Olympic Sport.

[Vampyr]

gwnn, on 2014-February-22, 02:06, said:

I had the same feeling but then Sir Attenborough explained it: http://digg.com/vide...olympic-curling

Love it.

[Bbradley62]

To me, both curling and "laying down on a board and sliding down a ramp" are more sports than figure skating is. No event in which the winner is determined by a panel of judges who declare "who did best" should be allowed, especially if "artistic impression" counts for points. Yes, that means no figure skating, trick-based skiing or snowboarding, diving, gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, synchronized swimming, etc. Any contest in which you see who goes faster or farther or wins a game based on clearly-defined rules is better.

[1eyedjack]

At least it doesn't require a panel of judges of dubious impartiality to decide the outcome based on "artistic merit".
[edit - same point as bbradley62 I see]

[Vampyr]

1eyedjack, on 2014-February-22, 19:52, said:

At least it doesn't require a panel of judges of dubious impartiality to decide the outcome based on "artistic merit".

True, but while I am watching it I can't help thinking Why????

[32519]

How about the stupidity of fox-hunting being declared a sport? When does the fox win? Or how does the fox win? And when it does win, who crowns it?

[Vampyr]

32519, on 2014-February-22, 21:43, said:

How about the stupidity of fox-hunting being declared a sport? When does the fox win? Or how does the fox win? And when it does win, who crowns it?

Has fox hunting really been declared a sport? Where?

[1eyedjack]

Vampyr, on 2014-February-22, 22:20, said:

Has fox hunting really been declared a sport? Where?

It was one of the three original "field" sports - hunting, shooting and fishing.
"I have heard that there is good sport to be had in Buttermere"

But I don't think it was ever "declared" a sport. It just was.

Never made it to the olympics.
Difficulty in defining a winner (except perhaps with fishing) may be influential.

[Antrax]

1eyedjack, on 2014-February-22, 19:52, said:

At least it doesn't require a panel of judges of dubious impartiality to decide the outcome based on "artistic merit".

You do realize TDs also make what would appear to an outsider to be deciding an outcome based on some unquantifiable merit, right?

[1eyedjack]

Antrax, on 2014-February-23, 04:36, said:

You do realize TDs also make what would appear to an outsider to be deciding an outcome based on some unquantifiable merit, right?

I have never argued that Bridge should be declared a sport, let alone an olympic one, nor more deserving of such status than synchronized swimming.
But since you raise the issue, the two can be distinguished.
The delivering of a subjective judgement of a TD in Bridge is an act of last resort in an attempt to restore equity after a breach in regulations. There is no compulsion to breach the regulations in order to invoke such a ruling, and most hands proceed to their conclusion without. In synchronized swimming the contestants can perform with the highest adherence to the regulations and yet a result is not achievable without that judgement.
In short, there is a distinction between a referee restoring order as best he can on the one hand, and on the other, an event in which judgement is required to determine the outcome as an integral feature of the game.

[Vampyr]

1eyedjack, on 2014-February-23, 04:03, said:

It was one of the three original "field" sports - hunting, shooting and fishing.
"I have heard that there is good sport to be had in Buttermere"

But I don't think it was ever "declared" a sport. It just was.

Never made it to the olympics.
Difficulty in defining a winner (except perhaps with fishing) may be influential.

Yes, I would have called it "sport" in the way you use it above, and nearly did elaborate to that effect. But what 325 said was, of course, very different, so I responded only to that.