The Olympics Without Fans Is Harming Athlete Performance | Golden Skate

The Olympics Without Fans Is Harming Athlete Performance

el henry

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But what is the alternative?

The Games cannot be held safely with spectators. Judging from the athlete's reactions, they would rather participate in the Games without without spectators than no games at all.

(And the cut headline is misleading, IMO, implying that the main, principal or even only reason Simone dropped out was lack of an audience:scratch2:

I'm actually enjoying the events more than I thought I would. :)
 

moonvine

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But what is the alternative?

The Games cannot be held safely with spectators. Judging from the athlete's reactions, they would rather participate in the Games without without spectators than no games at all.

(And the cut headline is misleading, IMO, implying that the main, principal or even only reason Simone dropped out was lack of an audience:scratch2:

I'm actually enjoying the events more than I thought I would. :)
I do realize the athletes wanted them. My understanding is that the people of Japan didn’t. And I have yet to understand why Japan was so eager to lose millions…billions? Of dollars.

I’m really not enjoying them much I fear. I should try to. I fear we are going to go into another sports drought with this Delta variant.
 

macy

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i think the cut outs and sound recordings would have been better than nothing. i remember the skaters liking them at skate america and us nationals. obviously it doesn't replace a gigantic crowd, but it would have at least been an attempt at something more normal.
 

moonvine

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i think the cut outs and sound recordings would have been better than nothing. i remember the skaters liking them at skate america and us nationals. obviously it doesn't replace a gigantic crowd, but it would have at least been an attempt at something more normal.
There have been other athletes in the stands. It’s better than it was at Worlds. Marginally.
 

Ladskater

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I don't know if this true. I've been watching most of the events and I think the athletes are really putting in some great efforts despite no fans in the audience. I don't even notice the stands are empty. Our Canadian women's team have been really taking home some serious hard ware, our ladies rowing team just won the gold medal in the rowing 8 team event. I think though most of the athletes miss their families being there. That makes sense.
 

anonymoose_au

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I feared this would be the case.

Except...Simone has since said she's dropped out because of the "twisties" - a very serious issue where a gymnast loses their sense of orientation in the air when doing flips and twists. If this article is correct it's scary to think Simone may have continued if there WAS audience. She could have been seriously injured!

It is pretty awful that the IOC all but forced to Japan to hold these games. What sort of contract is that?! No wonder no-one wants to hold them these days.

As far as I can see though, the athletes don't seem to be doing any worse. Except maybe trampolining, I was watching yesterday and a lot of the women didn't finish their entire routine. But that seemed to have more to do with the fact the trampolinists didn't get to practice in the competition venue until the morning of the event, so could have been thrown off by that.
 

moonvine

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Except...Simone has since said she's dropped out because of the "twisties" - a very serious issue where a gymnast loses their sense of orientation in the air when doing flips and twists. If this article is correct it's scary to think Simone may have continued if there WAS audience. She could have been seriously injured!

It is pretty awful that the IOC all but forced to Japan to hold these games. What sort of contract is that?! No wonder no-one wants to hold them these days.

As far as I can see though, the athletes don't seem to be doing any worse. Except maybe trampolining, I was watching yesterday and a lot of the women didn't finish their entire routine. But that seemed to have more to do with the fact the trampolinists didn't get to practice in the competition venue until the morning of the event, so could have been thrown off by that.
I did not realize the IOC had forced them.

I don’t know about popularity in other countries, but trampolinist and rhythmic gymnasts in the US are well accustomed to no fans. They had their trials here and I didn’t know, it was never mentioned on the gymnastics trials website.

i find trampolining interesting but it makes me nervous. It looks VERY dangerous.
 

anonymoose_au

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did not realize the IOC had forced them.
That was my understanding? Or not so much forced them as put them in a really bad spot. Like had they insisted on cancelling or postponing they would have had to pay millions or even billions. I have to admit I'm really enjoying watching the Olympics, but I do feel sad when I think about the anxiety it's giving a lot of Japanese people. Fortunately, things seem to be going all right Olympics-wise - no huge outbreak in the Village or anything, but my big brother who lives in Tokyo isn't watching as a bit of a protest.

In the community, the state of emergency has been increased so the Olympics probably feels rather frivolous to the citizens of Tokyo right now.
i find trampolining interesting but it makes me nervous. It looks VERY dangerous.
I used to have a trampoline that I would jump on for hours! Not that I could do any tricks at all.

It's pretty tense at the men's event I must say! Especially at the moment there's been quite a lot of close calls on the trampoline from the men, no-one's been seriously injured or anything, but I've certainly been gasping at some of it! One of the favourites didn't even make the final.

There is Aussie in the final though, so everything crossed!
 

moonvine

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I don't know if this true. I've been watching most of the events and I think the athletes are really putting in some great efforts despite no fans in the audience. I don't even notice the stands are empty. Our Canadian women's team have been really taking home some serious hard ware, our ladies rowing team just won the gold medal in the rowing 8 team event. I think though most of the athletes miss their families being there. That makes sense.
There was a problem at the track. I don’t know if it will continue. I’m an every 4 years track watcher, so I don’t claim to be an expert, but apparently one shot of the starting pistol means “go” and two mean “stop and come back.” There has been confusion because the noise is echoing as the stadium is so empty and the athletes are thinking it has gone off twice when it has really gone off once. I don’t know if there is a sound dampening solution. I think it’s because the stadium is so large. In the other venues there seem to be enough athletes and media to make it look like someone is there.
 

Amei

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I did not realize the IOC had forced them.
That was my understanding? Or not so much forced them as put them in a really bad spot. Like had they insisted on cancelling or postponing they would have had to pay millions or even billions. I have to admit I'm really enjoying watching the Olympics, but I do feel sad when I think about the anxiety it's giving a lot of Japanese people. Fortunately, things seem to be going all right Olympics-wise - no huge outbreak in the Village or anything, but my big brother who lives in Tokyo isn't watching as a bit of a protest.

In the community, the state of emergency has been increased so the Olympics probably feels rather frivolous to the citizens of Tokyo right now.

Here's an article that goes into the logistics of cancelling the Games

Japan is pushing all the responsibility that the Games weren't cancelled on the IOC, which I think is a bit 'passing the buck' - Japan could have backed out of their contract in some way like they could have closed their borders and refused entry to a non-Japanese passport holder.

They would have likely been dealt financial penalties and potentially barred from hosting the games or something for a certain amount of time.
 
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anonymoose_au

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They would have likely been dealt financial penalties and potentially barred from hosting the games or something for a certain amount of time.
Still seems unfair, I mean this wouldn't have been Japan deciding to cancel for no reason. Olympics have been cancelled before due to war. This time it happens to be a war against a virus. Like was London penalized when the 1948 Olympics was cancelled? I don't believe so.

The IOC should have been more understanding.
 

Ladskater

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There was a problem at the track. I don’t know if it will continue. I’m an every 4 years track watcher, so I don’t claim to be an expert, but apparently one shot of the starting pistol means “go” and two mean “stop and come back.” There has been confusion because the noise is echoing as the stadium is so empty and the athletes are thinking it has gone off twice when it has really gone off once. I don’t know if there is a sound dampening solution. I think it’s because the stadium is so large. In the other venues there seem to be enough athletes and media to make it look like someone is there.
That would be a problem. Maybe future Olympics will be designed differently, with smaller venues
 

moonvine

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That would be a problem. Maybe future Olympics will be designed differently, with smaller venues
If the venue was full as it certainly would have been it would not be an issue.

There is also an issue in the gymnastics venue. It was built to contain thousands of people, but now only contains athletes, media and coaches and administrators. The gymnasts who are performing later in the rotation are getting cold and it is negatively impacting their routines.

Hopefully no more Olympics will be held during pandemics.
 

Amei

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Still seems unfair, I mean this wouldn't have been Japan deciding to cancel for no reason. Olympics have been cancelled before due to war. This time it happens to be a war against a virus. Like was London penalized when the 1948 Olympics was cancelled? I don't believe so.

The IOC should have been more understanding.

The Games are perfectly fine going on without spectators; yes there is a loss of local revenue with little to no tourists there for the Games, but the big money comes from broadcasting which is not impacted by the pandemic.
 

4everchan

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considering the number of olympic and world records beaten... and the performances i have seen.... the games are fine... some athletes have been disadvantaged in some events with lack of competing and so on... but the overall performances are stellar for the most part...
 
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