FAI, soaring and Olympic Games

What did you all think about the recent Soaring International article (Nov, 2016 issue) on the value of re-starting the sport of glider racing in the Olympics. I for one think this would be very, very smart with minimal downside.

Sean

I don't buy that argument.

1. If you look at the recent winners in any soaring title championship, you can hardly find any
fatman. Actually, in order ta win, one has to mantain full concentration in long flights during hot
days and long competitions. Therefore one has to be in a very good physical form. Partly for same
reasons why no fatman can win in top car racing league.
2. All shooting activities (incl. archery, clay pigeon shooting, pistol and rifle events) in
olympics require far less physically from athletes. The same applies to Equestrian disciplines where
physical health does not make the difference. The same applies to sailing.


Regads,
Kaido


"nafod40" wrote in message ...
iPilot wrote:
It's been under discussion for several times, but I want to bring it up again.

While soaring is a sport, and it is competitive, I have a real hard time
viewing the participants as athletes. If you can sit in a lounge chair
for hours on end, playing Nintendo with a joystick, you've got the
athletic stamina and dexterity to be a gold medal soaring pilot.

Why isn't chess an Olympic sport? Or playing Doom on a Nintendo GameCube?

iPilot wrote:
I don't buy that argument.

1. If you look at the recent winners in any soaring title championship, you can hardly find any
fatman. Actually, in order to win, one has to mantain full concentration in long flights during hot
days and long competitions. Therefore one has to be in a very good physical form. Partly for same
reasons why no fatman can win in top car racing league.

I was a military pilot, and I remember we had some hefty (to put it
mildly) fighter guys who looked like they would have a coronary just
hiking the four flights of stairs from 2nd deck to the flight deck on
the carrier. We'd do semi-annual PT, and they were pitiful. Watching
them do sit ups was like a scene from "Free Willy".

Yet these same guys could strap on an ejection seat and fly 12 hour
missions with multiple refuelings, some hi-G dog fighting, lots of
hanging on the blades, followed by a night trap. And they were *good*,
which is why the Skipper looked the other way as to their weight.

So in short, I have some data points that say you don't have to be fit.

You do have to be tough, though. Toughness is a different thing, in my
experience.

SAILING NOT PHYSICAL? You obviously have no familiarity with sailing small
hot boats. Take as a good example, the Finn class, where sailors, who use
their
body weight 'hiking' (suspending themselves out over the side of the boat by
sitting on the deck with their feet tucked under straps, and leaning out
'til horizontal), to offset the force of the wind that seeks to heel (roll)
their boat, wear sweatshirts to soak up additional weight by immersing them
in the water. Each time the wind changes, they must scamper across the boat
while adjusting the sails and then get their weight out on the other side.
It is very gruelling! Studies at McMaster University Medical Research,
focused on the physical condition of sailors and its effect on their
performance, found that fatigue decreases the ability to concentrate and
make decisions on where to go, strategically and tactically, - not unlike
soaring.

For more detail, start at http://www.finnclass.org/
"iPilot" wrote in message
...
I don't buy that argument.

1. If you look at the recent winners in any soaring title championship,
you can hardly find any
fatman. Actually, in order ta win, one has to mantain full concentration
in long flights during hot
days and long competitions. Therefore one has to be in a very good
physical form. Partly for same
reasons why no fatman can win in top car racing league.
2. All shooting activities (incl. archery, clay pigeon shooting, pistol
and rifle events) in
olympics require far less physically from athletes. The same applies to
Equestrian disciplines where
physical health does not make the difference. The same applies to sailing.


Regads,
Kaido


"nafod40" wrote in message
...
iPilot wrote:
It's been under discussion for several times, but I want to bring it
up again.

While soaring is a sport, and it is competitive, I have a real hard time

viewing the participants as athletes. If you can sit in a lounge chair
for hours on end, playing Nintendo with a joystick, you've got the
athletic stamina and dexterity to be a gold medal soaring pilot.

Why isn't chess an Olympic sport? Or playing Doom on a Nintendo
GameCube?

Sorry about that. Regarding sailing my message was more like: "one's physical condition is not the
main factor that makes the difference".


"Charles Petersen" wrote in message ...
SAILING NOT PHYSICAL? You obviously have no familiarity with sailing small
hot boats. Take as a good example, the Finn class, where sailors, who use
their
body weight 'hiking' (suspending themselves out over the side of the boat by
sitting on the deck with their feet tucked under straps, and leaning out
'til horizontal), to offset the force of the wind that seeks to heel (roll)
their boat, wear sweatshirts to soak up additional weight by immersing them
in the water. Each time the wind changes, they must scamper across the boat
while adjusting the sails and then get their weight out on the other side.
It is very gruelling! Studies at McMaster University Medical Research,
focused on the physical condition of sailors and its effect on their
performance, found that fatigue decreases the ability to concentrate and
make decisions on where to go, strategically and tactically, - not unlike
soaring.

For more detail, start at http://www.finnclass.org/
"iPilot" wrote in message
...
I don't buy that argument.

1. If you look at the recent winners in any soaring title championship,
you can hardly find any
fatman. Actually, in order ta win, one has to mantain full concentration
in long flights during hot
days and long competitions. Therefore one has to be in a very good
physical form. Partly for same
reasons why no fatman can win in top car racing league.
2. All shooting activities (incl. archery, clay pigeon shooting, pistol
and rifle events) in
olympics require far less physically from athletes. The same applies to
Equestrian disciplines where
physical health does not make the difference. The same applies to sailing.


Regads,
Kaido


"nafod40" wrote in message
...
iPilot wrote:
It's been under discussion for several times, but I want to bring it
up again.

While soaring is a sport, and it is competitive, I have a real hard time

viewing the participants as athletes. If you can sit in a lounge chair
for hours on end, playing Nintendo with a joystick, you've got the
athletic stamina and dexterity to be a gold medal soaring pilot.

Why isn't chess an Olympic sport? Or playing Doom on a Nintendo
GameCube?

At least the archers need strong enough arms to pull back their bows.
How bout the air rifle events? I bet they have really buff trigger
fingers.

Make everyone one-man-rig on the line!

wrote in message
...
At least the archers need strong enough arms to pull back their bows.
How bout the air rifle events? I bet they have really buff trigger
fingers.

I see the problem now. We are too obsessed with the 'flying' aspect
of the sport, where the real potential is in the assembling and
disassembling aspect of the sport.

Assembling and disassembling gliders is physically strenuous, and is
fascinating for spectators who are amazed that an airplane can be fit
in such a small trailer. It can be done in any weather and location.
And it can be a team effort.

Hows this for a format.

84 gliders release a set distance and height from the venue all at the same
time.
They final glide to the finish line which is on the boundary fence. Extra
bonus points for using ground effect for the last three kilometres. Tall
trees and power lines for added skill test.
They can either land straight through or pull up for a dodgy circuit, then
attempt to land next to their trailers which are lined up down one side of
the runway with tops up and fuse dollys in place. Trailers are spaced six
meters apart. Their 3 man/women crews then have to clear them off the runway
or if the pilot is skillfull enough he boots on some rudder and tries to
park on the fuse dolly. Extra points for this. Then as pilot extracts
himself the crew set to work derigging the glider and storing in the
trailer. The winner is the one whos trailer top is down the fastest from the
release time and has the least penaltys. Penaltys are for hitting other
crews while landing and groundlooping.

Good crowd appeal. Everything happens within sight of the stands. Don't need
soarable weather so could be a winter games event as well. ( Ice lake would
really turn up the excitment ) Team event as well as individual. It is the
best part of the whole contest thing as far as spectator appeal goes.

I saw this once at the German nationals and its very entertaining.






"Liam Finley" wrote in message
om...
I see the problem now. We are too obsessed with the 'flying' aspect
of the sport, where the real potential is in the assembling and
disassembling aspect of the sport.

Assembling and disassembling gliders is physically strenuous, and is
fascinating for spectators who are amazed that an airplane can be fit
in such a small trailer. It can be done in any weather and location.
And it can be a team effort.

In article ,
"Paul" wrote:

Hows this for a format.

84 gliders release a set distance and height from the venue all at the same
time.
They final glide to the finish line which is on the boundary fence. Extra
bonus points for using ground effect for the last three kilometres. Tall
trees and power lines for added skill test.
They can either land straight through or pull up for a dodgy circuit, then
attempt to land next to their trailers which are lined up down one side of
the runway with tops up and fuse dollys in place. Trailers are spaced six
meters apart. Their 3 man/women crews then have to clear them off the runway
or if the pilot is skillfull enough he boots on some rudder and tries to
park on the fuse dolly. Extra points for this. Then as pilot extracts
himself the crew set to work derigging the glider and storing in the
trailer. The winner is the one whos trailer top is down the fastest from the
release time and has the least penaltys. Penaltys are for hitting other
crews while landing and groundlooping.

Good crowd appeal. Everything happens within sight of the stands. Don't need
soarable weather so could be a winter games event as well. ( Ice lake would
really turn up the excitment ) Team event as well as individual. It is the
best part of the whole contest thing as far as spectator appeal goes.

I saw this once at the German nationals and its very entertaining.

Especially for those with glider repair businesses! ;-)

-- Bruce

--
Bruce | 41.1670S | \ spoken | -+-
Hoult | 174.8263E | /\ here. | ----------O----------