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Olympic site

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2017 8:34 pm
by sms29s66
Is anyone else getting nervous about the site for the coming winter games? I have to think that if I were the parent of an athlete who is also a minor I would not allow my child to compete in such a volatile place. Is there anywhere else the games could go on such short notice

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 7:40 pm
by chuckiem
I thought right away when the venue was selected it was a risky choice given the lunatic leader to the north. Events since then have only made it seem even riskier. I know I won't be buying any tickets to the event, not even for figure skating. And yeah, if I had an athletic kid, I wouldn't be too keen on him/her getting an Olympic berth.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 4:28 am
by Virginia
I think the two likeliest alternative venues are Sochi and Vancouver, who have the facilities from 2014 and 2010, but it seems unlikely that either country could pull together another games with five months' notice.

I've been worrying about the young man I call "Kim Jung Crazy Boy" ruining the Olympics a lot over the past month or two.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:17 am
by Andy
I would say that the problem should be formulated in a different way: what the heck was the IOC thininking?

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:51 am
by Ellen
Virginia wrote:I think the two likeliest alternative venues are Sochi and Vancouver, who have the facilities from 2014 and 2010
...


Sochi ...
When it is not certain that the Russian Olympic team is allowed to participate at all or participate but under Neutral flag (since there is another Mc'Lauren or another report with some more doping investigations to go yet :roll: ) , then choosing Sochi would be a good idea :D

And yes, when we hear what's going on around the North Korea, I cannot imagine how it is possible to have such Global event, as the Olympics, so close...

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 3:16 pm
by Winnipeg
I heard on the news this morning that the IOC is quite confident the Olympics will not be affected and they are still committed to SK.

I think Calgary would be the best alternative location if a new venue was needed. Snow is more reliable.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:56 pm
by chuckiem
The IOC is being a bit of an ostrich with its head in the ground....

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:49 am
by Virginia
Winnipeg,

As a former Olympic host, Calgary is a good idea, but I just don't think the facilities can be brought up to speed in five months.

Here are a few examples off the top off my head:

- First, there's housing. Organizing committees either co-opt university dorms or convert purpose-built Olympic villages into some kind of permanent housing after the Games are over. I've no idea what became of Calgary's -- do you know, Winnipeg? And even if they were available, they wouldn't be big enough. Many more athletes compete at the Olympics today than thirty years ago (nearly 1500 in '88 versus 2800 in 2014.)

- If memory serves, in 1988 the two ski jump hills were 70 meter and 90 meter. Today they compete on 90 and 110, I think. Have the ski jumps been updated?

- I'm pretty sure that both the figure skating and hockey events were held in the same arena, the Saddledome (I seem to remember skaters complaining that they never got to practice on the Olympic ice, since the two events alternated day to day). It was the last time these two very popular events would share an arena; I think Albertville built separate ones (and now figure skating shares their rink with short-track speedskating). Does the city of Calgary have two arenas of an appropriate size?

- Then we have all these new winter Olympic sports -- all the snowboarding events, freestyle skiing, ski cross, etc. None of those were part of the '88 games, and all require purpose-built venues. What about those?

And we haven't even talked about how all this would be funded.

It takes seven years to plan an Olympic Games. I really don't think it would be possible to pull it off in five months.

Sochi, as the most recent Olympic host, would have the most up-to-date facilities -- I believe the Russian government spent a billion dollars on them. But the massive problems with doping that have been alleged make it a less-than-attractive option for the ISU (and for non=Russian athletes).

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 6:42 am
by sms29s66
Assuming we can depend on our own (USA) nut job not to take preemptive action, I've been thinking that the NK madman wouldn't dare attack with all those Chinese athletes in the line of fire???? Perhaps someone should inform Trump that the Olympics will be nearby and that we will have athletes there. You can't take it for granted that he knows these things.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 5:20 pm
by Maleeva
Tensions may ease if North Korea qualifies athletes to the games. This is a good article about the situation and mentions a North Korean pairs team who can qualify in Germany later this month.

http://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id ... cket-sales

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 5:24 pm
by chuckiem
But if they don't WIN, will all heck break out?

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:30 pm
by sms29s66
Is this the madman's first rodeo (Olympics)? I'm ashamed to say that I'm not sure NK has had athletes in the past. Are they one of those countries that has to march with another delegation?

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Fri Sep 15, 2017 6:06 pm
by Winnipeg
Virginia, you make excellent points about Calgary. Seems very unlikely when these points are considered.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 4:47 am
by Virginia
sms,

I don't know about Winter games, but I know for a fact that North Korea has sent athletes to every Summer Olympics since 1972 (except Los Angeles 1984 and Seoul 1988, which they boycotted). They've won medals every time, mostly in weightlifting and wrestling.

(There was a bit of a fuss last summer at Rio about the 31 North Korean athletes not being allowed to take possession of the free Galaxy smartphones that were given to all competitors by sponsor Samsung. Officials of the delegation confiscated them instead. It's well known that North Korean citizens are not allowed free access to the Internet, so clearly those phones were risky for the dictatorship.)

Anyway, the North Koreans are no strangers to the Olympic movement, but I don't trust that to keep Kim's finger off the trigger.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:31 am
by sms29s66
Virginia, regarding his own athletes you are probably right. But risking the wrath of China and Russia who could easily cripple his economy might give him pause Regarding your earlier post, i had considered that housing the athletes would be a major problem. I hadn't realized that the number of competitors had grown so much. I suppose splitting up the events among suitable venues in various countries would also be a logistical nightmare. I fear the games will have to be cancelled if things keep going the way they have been :( :(

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:48 pm
by Virginia
Not only have they added quite a few sports, SMS, they've also added sports that bring a lot of competitors. Take women's hockey, something that didn't exist in the 1988 Olympics. There must be 20 people on a team at least. Even with only ten countries competing (and I bet there are more), that makes 200+ athletes to be housed, fed and provided with security, plus coaches and officials. Short-track seems to bring a lot of athletes too, along with the various forms of freestyle skiing and snowboarding like the half-pipe, moguls, aerials, etc.

Figure skating probably brings one of the smaller delegations to the Olympics, actually. The biggest any team can be is 18, and I don't think any country qualifies three in each discipline very often. At Sochi the Canadian delegation was the biggest, I think (6 ice dancers, 6 pairs skaters, 2 ladies and 30 men for a total of 17), followed by the US and Russia with 15 each.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:03 pm
by Winnipeg
I suppose there could be a modified Olympics.

No opening and closing large scale ceremony and have each sport hold their own competition.

ON the other hand, cancelling is an option

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:27 am
by sms29s66
Winnipeg, that's what I can see really happening--especially in light of the news today racheting up the likelihood of military action. I don't see how the IOC can just stand by and wait. This IS the eleventh hour.

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 4:18 pm
by chuckiem
How about postponing the Os for a year while a new site is selected and prepared?

Re: Olympic site

PostPosted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 5:46 pm
by sms29s66
chuckie, that's probably the best solution even though it would crush the hopes of many athletes.