Attempt to get figure skating into Paralympics

[pesto]

BBC always uses the IOC convention of ranking by gold first, then silver, then bronze. But they also always report the total number of medals, too. They are so rare in the winter games, that it's worth making noise about each and every one.

We need more mud-based winter sports represented. Countries with wet and muddy winters are discriminated against by the IOC.

 

[4everchan]

BBC always uses the IOC convention of ranking by gold first, then silver, then bronze. But they also always report the total number of medals, too. They are so rare in the winter games, that it's worth making noise about each and every one.

We need more mud-based winter sports represented. Countries with wet and muddy winters are discriminated against by the IOC.

well... with that reasoning, many countries are discriminating against... like all of Africa... and all of these Equatorial/tropical climate countries.
If your winter is muddy, that's fine... you don't need to win medals in sports you don't have I mean.. Canada is not about to win a medal in surfing.

 

[pesto]

well... with that reasoning, many countries are discriminating against... like all of Africa... and all of these Equatorial/tropical climate countries.
If your winter is muddy, that's fine... you don't need to win medals in sports you don't have I mean.. Canada is not about to win a medal in surfing.

Justice for the sand-based countries NOW! And some jungle-based sports, perhaps. Question is, should they be winter or summer Olympics...

 

[pesto]

With global warming, perhaps we will all be reduced to mud-based sports soon enough.

 

[Diana Delafield]

With global warming, perhaps we will all be reduced to mud-based sports soon enough.

Rugby springs to mind

 

[pesto]

Rugby springs to mind

Or cyclo-cross!

 

[skatesofgold]

I have a question, and it is absolutely not meant to disparage or minimize the achievements of these athletes.

Does anyone watch the Paralympic Games? I don't think I can name a Paralympic athlete, either American or otherwise.

I'm sure there are good stores and excellent athletes that deserve recognition, but I'm worn out after the Olympics, and I don't watch the Paralympic Games that follow, and I see very little publicity about them.

If the IOC wants to make these Games a bigger deal, I think they need a new strategy. Perhaps the Winter Paralympic Games could be run concurrently. On most nights of Olympic coverage, there seemed to be a lack of sports stuff for the commentary team to talk about, or they wouldn't have to fill the airtime with nonsense features.

I don't think it's feasible to hold them concurrently. Most of the venues have to be changed for the paralympic events and the athlete village would have to be larger.

 

[FlyingFeather]

Justice for the sand-based countries NOW! And some jungle-based sports, perhaps. Question is, should they be winter or summer Olympics...

Sand dune sledding?

 

[moonvine]

Down syndrome is Special Olympics not Paralympics if I recall correctly and figure skating is already included

Figure skating AND gymnastics are included!

 

[moonvine]

I have a question, and it is absolutely not meant to disparage or minimize the achievements of these athletes.

Does anyone watch the Paralympic Games? I don't think I can name a Paralympic athlete, either American or otherwise.

I'm sure there are good stores and excellent athletes that deserve recognition, but I'm worn out after the Olympics, and I don't watch the Paralympic Games that follow, and I see very little publicity about them.

If the IOC wants to make these Games a bigger deal, I think they need a new strategy. Perhaps the Winter Paralympic Games could be run concurrently. On most nights of Olympic coverage, there seemed to be a lack of sports stuff for the commentary team to talk about, or they wouldn't have to fill the airtime with nonsense features.

I don’t much. But they don’t include any of my favorite sports. If they did, I would.

 

[4everchan]

I don’t much. But they don’t include any of my favorite sports. If they did, I would.

I watch a lot of swimming a track and field in the summer para.

Swimmers are amazing. Some of them have no arms and swim extremely fast. They are incredibly fit.

 

[Diana Delafield]

Figure skating AND gymnastics are included!

Right. That category has its own athletic competitions in the Special Olympics program. But at the national levels, intellectual disabilities are also part of the Inclusive Skating program with all types of disabilities, physical, intellectual, emotional. Obviously there's some crossover there.

 

[DizzyFrenchie]

well... with that reasoning, many countries are discriminating against... like all of Africa... and all of these Equatorial/tropical climate countries.
If your winter is muddy, that's fine... you don't need to win medals in sports you don't have I mean.. Canada is not about to win a medal in surfing.

Actually all those who enjoy lots of sun (that is, typically, more dry tropical climates than wet equatorial) could run skating rinks with Sun energy and recent technologies to spare/not pollute too much water, and to use less energy? Between Ice Hockey, Curling, Speed Skating and Figure Skating, they may not have the snowy slopes to send skiers, but they may still have strong delegations?

 

[4everchan]

Actually all those who enjoy lots of sun (that is, typically, more dry tropical climates than wet equatorial) could run skating rinks with Sun energy and recent technologies to spare/not pollute too much water, and to use less energy? Between Ice Hockey, Curling, Speed Skating and Figure Skating, they may not have the snowy slopes to send skiers, but they may still have strong delegations?

of course they could... but I am pretty sure @pesto was tongue in cheek.... the point of the Olympics is not to celebrate the countries but to celebrate the sports and youth in these sports. So when a sport is included, they don't necessarily worry if there is a mud winter country... they look at representation. 3 Continents must be competitive in the elite of the sport. Not 5. For instance, it is only when Asia picked up on curling with China, Japan and South Korea, that it was finally admitted in the games.

 

[ra7_78]

I have a question, and it is absolutely not meant to disparage or minimize the achievements of these athletes.

Does anyone watch the Paralympic Games? I don't think I can name a Paralympic athlete, either American or otherwise.

I'm sure there are good stores and excellent athletes that deserve recognition, but I'm worn out after the Olympics, and I don't watch the Paralympic Games that follow, and I see very little publicity about them.

If the IOC wants to make these Games a bigger deal, I think they need a new strategy. Perhaps the Winter Paralympic Games could be run concurrently. On most nights of Olympic coverage, there seemed to be a lack of sports stuff for the commentary team to talk about, or they wouldn't have to fill the airtime with nonsense features.

I do watch, but not nearly as much as the "regular" Winter (and Summer) Games. I watch more Paralympic events in the summer (mainly swimming and track and field events) games.
Muffy Davis is a Paralympic athlete. Maybe cheating a bit since she's from Idaho and not from somewhere else. She was also a legislator for a bit in the Idaho House. Her story is pretty remarkable.

Muffy's Story | muffydavis

www.muffydavis.com

 

[Skater Boy]

I would love to see skating in the paraolympics if not for Roman Kosomorov (Spelling) I think he won the OGM in 2006 with Navka. He has gone through such tragedy - loss of both legs Ihink and hands. I saw him skating recently and was like wow. He deserves gold. Such a tragedy.

 

[Diana Delafield]

I would love to see skating in the paraolympics if not for Roman Kosomorov (Spelling) I think he won the OGM in 2006 with Navka. He has gone through such tragedy - loss of both legs Ihink and hands. I saw him skating recently and was like wow. He deserves gold. Such a tragedy.

He'd be a good role model for "paraskating"

 

[momrk]

I have a question, and it is absolutely not meant to disparage or minimize the achievements of these athletes.

Does anyone watch the Paralympic Games? I don't think I can name a Paralympic athlete, either American or otherwise.

I'm sure there are good stores and excellent athletes that deserve recognition, but I'm worn out after the Olympics, and I don't watch the Paralympic Games that follow, and I see very little publicity about them.

If the IOC wants to make these Games a bigger deal, I think they need a new strategy. Perhaps the Winter Paralympic Games could be run concurrently. On most nights of Olympic coverage, there seemed to be a lack of sports stuff for the commentary team to talk about, or they wouldn't have to fill the airtime with nonsense features.

I do watch- but it isn't easy and there was much more coverage of the Summer Paralympics than the Winter - I heard some statistics, something like more than 3000 hours for Olympics and less than 300 for Paralympics across various NBC platforms (talking here about NBC, USA etc, not Peacock which I don't pay for). Very frustrating as some of the sports are pretty compelling. Also, some of the coverage I saw had little to no commentary so you were left guessing a lot. I saw very little of this go round versus what I saw of the last summer games.

 

[4everchan]

I do watch- but it isn't easy and there was much more coverage of the Summer Paralympics than the Winter - I heard some statistics, something like more than 3000 hours for Olympics and less than 300 for Paralympics across various NBC platforms (talking here about NBC, USA etc, not Peacock which I don't pay for). Very frustrating as some of the sports are pretty compelling. Also, some of the coverage I saw had little to no commentary so you were left guessing a lot. I saw very little of this go round versus what I saw of the last summer games.

CBC streams every single event. It's amazing how lucky we are and sometimes, we don't even know it.

 

[Diana Delafield]

CBC streams every single event. It's amazing how lucky we are and sometimes, we don't even know it.

I was hooked on the wheelchair curling, and that's one sport I've never tried. I couldn't figure out how they could "throw" (push with a stick actually) so accurately, with no one sliding along sweeping like mad as the rock slowly wended its way. The gold medal game was mesmerizing.