Getting into the Olympics

flangeman

2012 isn't that far away and I'm currently over in London. I've started to train up a bit and get quite a bit fitter, however its great to have a goal.

Just wondering, how would you represent Ireland in an event, like Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards or the Jamaican Bobsled team ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Bobsled_Team ) now that odd sports such as Baseball is going to be added?

Any ideas?

Update: Oops seems I'm wrong, baseball has been dropped ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4658925.stm ) only 26 sports now on.

6th

Pie eating contest FTW!

kev_s88

flangeman wrote: »

or the Jamaican Bobsled team

looks like someone was watching COOL RUNNINGS on saturday

darkman2

flangeman wrote: »

2012 isn't that far away and I'm currently over in London. I've started to train up a bit and get quite a bit fitter, however its great to have a goal.

Just wondering, how would you represent Ireland in an event, like Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards or the Jamaican Bobsled team ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaican_Bobsled_Team ) now that odd sports such as Baseball is going to be added?

Any ideas?

Update: Oops seems I'm wrong, baseball has been dropped ( http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4658925.stm ) only 26 sports now on.

Is this the Special Oylmpics or the actual Olympics?

Beano

a couple of alternatives :

Be from a developing nation so things like qualifying standards dont apply to you e.g. Eric the Eel who competed in a swimming event the same year he learnt to swim.

Lose all regard for life and limb and take up the luge or skeleton bob. Not an awful lot of actual skill involved just a willingness to do things that may maim/kill you.

Crazy Christ

Just try and fall from a horse or something. then go clean up at the Paralympics

connundrum

Crazy Christ wrote: »

Just try and fall from a horse or something. then go clean up at the Paralympics

Unless you manage to completely paralyse yourself, obviously. Then you could only enter the art competitions.

See a List of Olympic Sports (I hope wiki have them correct).

I wonder what way our water polo team is, might give that a shot. Whats the story with the joining part? Do you just sign somewhere and you're away?

flangeman

Funny enough my cousin plays on the Water Polo team.

Just looked up Eric the Eel ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Moussambani ) love the quote:

"The last 15 meters were very difficult."

I bet they feckin were.

Blisterman

I was talking about something like this, with my friends.

What would happen, if you and some friends picked some obscure sport from across the world, formed a team, called yourselves, the Irish XXX Team, and tried to arrange international matches?

Is there some body in Ireland, which assigns national teams, for different sports?

Mr. CooL ICE

flangeman wrote:

Getting into the Olympics

Buy a ticket like everyone else

robinph

Although there are more events in the summer games I'd expect you have more chance of getting into one of the winter ones, especially the ones where you just have to slide down a tube doing nothing other than praying you survive. Ireland used to have someone in the luge I think, although he was just some rich British guy with some Irish ancestry but couldn't get entry with the British Olympic organisation.

Gordon

I seem to recall reading that the Olympics are introducing rules that will stop people like Eddie the Eagle et al from partaking in the games. Must be something to do with overall aptitude as opposed to every country getting a chance. I could be wrong though, maybe I dreameded it.

Mikel Jr.

I take it you watched cool runnings at the week end on rte?

slipss

No, I remember hearing that aswell Gordon, I think they alrady brought it in, it was something along the lines of you have to be ranked in the top 100 or so by the particular sports gouverning international body, seems kind of contradictory to the whole inclusive spirit of the olympic games that they love to go on about so much.

metaoblivia

I don't know about other sports, but in gymnastics, they use the world championships the year before the Olympics as qualification to the Olympics. Only the teams who finish 1-12 can send full teams to the Olympics (6 gymnasts on each team). The teams that finish 13-15 can send two athletes of their choosing. Every other team can send only one athlete, but only if that athlete performs decently on all the events and scores well, or wins a gold medal in event finals. Then there are two wildcards - one for the women and one of the men. The Federation of International Gymnastics decides on this. They usually choose gymnasts who are from a continent that is underrepresented in comparison with the rest of the field, which in gymnastics is almost always Africa.
I would imagine almost every sport has some kind of system for Olympic qualification.

robinph

The Eddie The Eagle rule was brought in the year after Calgary I believe to limit entry to amongst the best 50ish in each event. Eddie was only just outside still managing to qualify for the next games though despite the rule designed to "ban" him.

Eric the Eel got in via a wildcard designed for developing nations in particular sports so that would probably be the easiest way to get entry in some sport, but I doubt that there would be any wildcard entries available for an Irish competitor in the summer games. Britian got a silver(?) in the womens bob-skeleton in the last winter games though and I think that she had never been near a bob track until the year before hand other than a dry push start track that they have in Bath University.

Rob_l

If you want to be in the Olympics surely being a sweeper person for the curling idiots isn't hard now is it.
Just start by bringing a brush with you and start sweeping everywhere any chance you get like walking down the road oh thats a spot of sweeping in a pub oh yeah you guessed it thats extreme sweeping as you try to sweep around the falling drunks


edit: sorry that wont help you go to London though thats the winter Olympics

the whole year inn

You can get into it with the highest post count ,get posting !

tolosenc

Irish Curling team ftw.

Pherekydes

If you want to try Bob or Luge or Skeleton or Curling then the aim of representing Ireland in London in 2012 will elude your grasp. The Winter and Summer Olympics are separate now. Separated by 2 years, that is.

Pick a proper event in a proper sport and do it properly or not at all.

OP: the 1500m or nothing. Take it or leave it.


P.S. They will probably have Darts in London.

Sparks

Blisterman wrote: »

Is there some body in Ireland, which assigns national teams, for different sports?

Yes, but it's split into two parts - the Olympic Council of Ireland which recognises the National Governing Body for that sport, and the NGB themselves, who pick the national team (for non-Olympic sports, the Irish Sports Council recognises the NGB, and usually they recognise the Olympic ones as well for funding purposes and so forth).

Go to an international match as the Irish team without the NGB's approval and not only will you not get to take part (these things are not done at the drop of a hat, invitations are sent out months in advance to the NGBs), but the NGB would take a dim view of it and you'd probably be banned from competing officially in that sport for a very long time.

rainbowtrout

Gordon wrote: »

I seem to recall reading that the Olympics are introducing rules that will stop people like Eddie the Eagle et al from partaking in the games. Must be something to do with overall aptitude as opposed to every country getting a chance. I could be wrong though, maybe I dreameded it.

That would be a pity, that's half the fun of watching the games. I think the rule was that every country had the right to send one representative to the games regardless of the sport and lack of qualifying times, hence Eric the Eel, so as we have athletes that will qualify for the games we would not have the option of the wildcard entry.

Wouldn't mind having a go at fencing, could practice in the kitchen at night with the yoke that's used to sharpen the knives!

FlutterinBantam

Why don't you give the 'Irish Hard Neck Team ' a try.??

Jaysus there are plenty of candidates willing to run across Australia/cycle across Africa/ride polar bears in the Arctic, etc etc etc all on one proviso... somebody else pays!!!

get some soft gob****e to sponsor your holiday to 'altitude training in Colorado' and you could be on a winner.

You won't be the first to try it.......;)