FAI, soaring and Olympic Games

LarSwan wrote:
I am a gliding fanatic, but I think that the most suitable air sport for
the Olympic Games is parachuting.

Robert


While I've never flown one myself, I wonder if hanggliding/parasailing would
make more Olympic friendly sport vs my beloved hardwinged soaring. Better TV
close-ups of thinner competitors faces/bodies, more colorful equipment, more
muscles used for control and landing, more percieved danger, more creative
options for required preliminaries events and room for individual expression.

And a downhill event.

Noting the influx of retired hang gliding pilots into our form of soaring...the
best way to promote soaring at the Olympics is to play our best card which may
be our hanggliding brothers. The media already preferences their images over
ours, go with it.

Nice to imagine gliders in the Olympics, but I suspect you're right.

Shawn

SNIP-
To promote our sport we need to be positive, and to
exploit technology and
creativity to present it to viewers as the exciting,
challenging and
adrenalin pumping sport that it is.
SNIP

Without sounding too snide, I would think submarine
racers might say the same thing about there sport...and
it could very well be true. But translating that to
outsiders is a different issue. Face it, if most
soaring pilots are not interested in watching sailplane
races...I suspect the general TV viewing population
might find it a tough sale.

OK, maybe it isn't an olympic sport, but tossing toilet paper rolls
out of a glider and trying to hit a target seems like an excellent
way to "exploit technology and creativity," and is certainly exciting
and fun to watch.

Of course, there are SOME cheaters, who soak it in water and freeze it
right before throwing it out the window...NOT VERY SPORTING!!!
But an excellent way to get the observers at the target excited...

:PPPPPP

Mark

In article ,
Stewart Kissel wrote:
SNIP-
To promote our sport we need to be positive, and to
exploit technology and
creativity to present it to viewers as the exciting,
challenging and
adrenalin pumping sport that it is.
SNIP

Without sounding too snide, I would think submarine
racers might say the same thing about there sport...and
it could very well be true. But translating that to
outsiders is a different issue. Face it, if most
soaring pilots are not interested in watching sailplane
races...I suspect the general TV viewing population
might find it a tough sale.







--

------------+
Mark Boyd
Avenal, California, USA

So why do we have to have a one design contest for the Olympics?

Why not just make it a handicapped contest using the current fleet?

"Gary Boggs" wrote in message
...

So why do we have to have a one design contest for the Olympics?

That's exactly my point and it sounds like you and Eric at least agree

Why not just make it a handicapped contest using the current fleet?

Here we have a minor disagreement. Eric and I are saying that no
handicapping is required. We (the sport of soaring) just define 15m as a
monoclass and Standard as a monoclass.

There, now we're ready. Olympics 2008 will include 2 sailplane racing
classes - Standard and 15 Meter.
Oops, forgot rules. Same as for the World's I suppose?

But then we're back to having to have the latest (most expensive) design to
be competitive. I always thought that one of the reasons to have an Olympic
contest was to test the pilots, not the plane or the pocket book. Having a
handicapped contest would open it up to more than just those who could
afford the latest designs.


"For Example John Smith" wrote in message
...

"Gary Boggs" wrote in message
...

So why do we have to have a one design contest for the Olympics?

That's exactly my point and it sounds like you and Eric at least agree

Why not just make it a handicapped contest using the current fleet?

Here we have a minor disagreement. Eric and I are saying that no
handicapping is required. We (the sport of soaring) just define 15m as a
monoclass and Standard as a monoclass.

There, now we're ready. Olympics 2008 will include 2 sailplane racing
classes - Standard and 15 Meter.
Oops, forgot rules. Same as for the World's I suppose?

For Example John Smith wrote:

There, now we're ready. Olympics 2008 will include 2 sailplane racing
classes - Standard and 15 Meter.
Oops, forgot rules. Same as for the World's I suppose?

Allow a small delay for rules. Say, till Olympics 2009 ;-) ?

--
Denis

R. Parce que ça rompt le cours normal de la conversation !!!
Q. Pourquoi ne faut-il pas répondre au-dessus de la question ?

All the arguments I'm hearing AGAINST gliding an an Olympic sport can be
equally applied to one or more other sports that are already included in the
Olympics, so I don't consider them to be valid - unless there are so many of
them that the cumulative effect is to make gliding's participation
unfeasible.

Which body is responsible for pushing for gliding to be included in the
olympics? Is it the FAI? Perhaps this is a problem as they are lobbying on
behalf of multiple air sports rather than focusing on one?

Has the FAI, IGC, or any other national or international body ever
commissioned sports broadcasting consultants to investigate how new
technology could be expoited to present and promote gliding competitions?

Aparently one country has been trying grand-prix synchronised starts. I'm
sure that would be an option for making the racing clearer to the
uneducated observer while at the same time providing for exciting TV
viewing. Synchonised starts, gaggles with individual trying to break away
and take a lead, and finish line beat-ups. I'm sure that it would be of
interest to more than die-hard glider pilots.





"Stewart Kissel" wrote in
message ...
SNIP-
To promote our sport we need to be positive, and to
exploit technology and
creativity to present it to viewers as the exciting,
challenging and
adrenalin pumping sport that it is.
SNIP

Without sounding too snide, I would think submarine
racers might say the same thing about there sport...and
it could very well be true. But translating that to
outsiders is a different issue. Face it, if most
soaring pilots are not interested in watching sailplane
races...I suspect the general TV viewing population
might find it a tough sale.







---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.735 / Virus Database: 489 - Release Date: 06/08/2004

On Wednesday, August 18, 2004 8:34:56 PM UTC-4, Stewart Kissel wrote:
SNIP-
To promote our sport we need to be positive, and to
exploit technology and
creativity to present it to viewers as the exciting,
challenging and
adrenalin pumping sport that it is.
SNIP

Without sounding too snide, I would think submarine
racers might say the same thing about there sport...and
it could very well be true. But translating that to
outsiders is a different issue. Face it, if most
soaring pilots are not interested in watching sailplane
races...I suspect the general TV viewing population
might find it a tough sale.

i feel like if there were glider races on tv just like there is golf on the golf channel, every damn one of us would tune in.

The Olympics is an inappropriate venue for what we do. If Soaring were
to be included, it should only come after car racing, horse racing,
speedboat racing, soapbox derbying, street luge, bmx, skateboarding,
rock climbing, hang gliding, paragliding, skydiving, airplane
aerobatics, and a dozen or so other like sports more popular than
sailplaning. The Olympics already serves enough arcane sports. At
least those carry with them a sense of antiquity. New sports really
should be added based on participation as well as suitability to the
Olympic ideal. We don't much rate on either count.

To put it another way, if you toss an iron frisbee or hurl yourself
into sand boxes, you really need something like an Olympic gold medal
to justify the effort. Soaring has its own unique rewards that need no
extra adornments.