Win a Nikon Super Zoom Digital Camera with Electric Ireland

Electric Ireland: David

Competition time everyone…

As the London 2012 Olympics draw closer (less than 3 weeks to go now – see the countdown clock on our website!), we know you’ll be eager to give support to our Irish athletes competing across the channel. As proud sponsors of Team Ireland, we’re giving you the opportunity to support them in a way you might not have expected – by playing a game on facebook!



Test your speed in three separate heats – running, swimming and cycling, and team up with your friends to be in with a chance to win some fantastic prizes, including the coveted trip to the Olympics itself! And even if you're as slow as a herd of snails, you'll still get your chance of a prize.

But that’s not all – we’re also running another competition right here on boards. Just tell us what your favourite sport or keep-fit activity is and why (or alternatively, post some interesting sporting/Olympic fact), and you’ll be in the draw to win a snazzy new Nikon Coolpix L310 (plus bag and 8GB SDHC memory card):



The winner will be drawn at random, and you can find the ts&cs here. The competition stays open until next Monday 16th July at 2pm.

Best of luck!

David.

P.S. Once you have played the facebook game you have the opportunity to change your profile picture to fly the flag (quite literally) for Team Ireland and really show your support!

clintondaly

No country in the Southern Hemisphere has ever hosted a Winter Games

lorweld

The first Olympic drug suspension wasn't until 1968. At the 1968 Mexico City games, Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall, a Swedish pentathlete, was suspended because he tested positive for a banned substance. That substance: Alcohol. He drank several beers before the pentathlon... which was against the rules... so he was suspended.

Austin1

Sir Roger Bannister ran a sub-4-minute mile in 1954 for the first time ever - he achieved what many had thought was impossible.

In the next two years five more men achieved this feat.

Squaredude

Solo Synchronized Swimming was a sport at the Olympic Games between 1984 and 1992.

jim_bob

Henry “Bobby” Pearce... An Olympic rower paused during a race to let a family of ducks pass in front of his boat

JamJamJamJam

The original disciplines of the Olympic Games were designed to replicate military situations. The long jump is said to mirror jumping across trenches or streams, so the participants were allowed only a short run-up, and carried weights in both hands. An athlete called Chionis jumped 7.05 cm in the 656BC games. The modern men's world record is just under 9 metres, but that includes a long run up to the board, so I think 7 metres is pretty amazing

dak

By 2010 only three countries had never sent female athletes to the Games : Brunei, Saudia Arabia and Qatar

The Recliner

Fun Olympic fact: Poetry used to be an Olympic event from around 1912 up until around 1948

tanoone

Love walking ! Everyday is different , and a great way to appreciate our beautiful country and ever changing weather . Cheap too!:D

bluestripe93

The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.

Orim

Katie Taylor won a gold medal for Ireland in the 2012 Olympics

jonomartin

Roughly 3,600g of gold worth more than $193,250 will be used to plate the medals that will be awarded at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

JillyW

Favourite Keep fit activity has to be taking part in boot camp or TRX class - anything that is done in a group - keeps it interesting and at least works out your laughing muscles!!

pamweld

Love the synchronised swimming and diving! Lovely to look at and know its quite difficult to achieve

vepyewwo

The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.

sam27

In 1921, Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games, borrowed a Latin phrase from his friend, Father Henri Didon, for the Olympic motto: Citius, Altius, Fortius ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger").

IsMiseLisa

The Olympics once lasted 178 days. Started in April, 1908, and didn't end till October.

Banjo

Did you know that a Gymnast is a "scholar of naked excercise" (from the greek, Gymnos meaning naked, giving us Gymnasium, the School of Naked Excercise) and so really, they should be disqualified for wearing leotards.
Not really an Olympic fact though... em... the rings are green, red, yellow, black and blue because at least one of those colours appears in every flag in the world?

DConway

I like the canoeing events

rcazzy

In 1850, William Penny Brookes had initiated a local athletic competition that he referred to as "Meetings of the Olympian Class" and formed the National Olympian Association which aimed to encourage such local competition in cities across Britain, which were a precursor to Pierre de Coubertin's International Olympic Committee and events.

kupus

The five Olympic rings represent the five major regions of the world – Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceana, and every national flag in the world includes one of the five colors, which are (from left to right) blue, yellow, black, green, and red.




.

dulpit

Least favourite sporting activity: cycling up a stupidly steep hill...
Favourite sporting activity: free-wheeling down a stupidly steep hill (wheee)

podgemonster

Table Tennis players are not allowed to wear white when competing.

ahandsomeman

Three continents – Africa, South America, and Antarctica – have never hosted an Olympics.

helimachoptor

Eric Moussambani Malonga or Eric the Eel set a new Equatorial Guinea record for swimming events at the 2000 Olympics!

justchillian

The 1952 Summer Olympics were held in Helsinki, the most northerly city ever to host the games.

jamezymck

Swimming is class! It can be different every time and theres so many types!

StephenOmara

My favourite olympic sport has got to be the javelin throw. I L O V E it so I do, I also love photography and this would be a great prize to get.

FACT: The Olympic rings cover every flag in the world. They picked yellow, green, red, black and blue because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world.

Now! Camera please ?

jamezymck

Swimming is class! It can be different every time and theres so many types!

boobar

Squash is my favourite sport for keeping fit. It's a great form of exercise and helps me to destress.

eoincd

My favorite Olympic fact: "The winner of the marathon at the 1904 Olympic Games, Fredrick Lorz, cheated by going most of the way by car."

also, in the same event that year:
"Fourth place was given to a Cuban postman, Felix Carbajal, despite him falling ill after eating some rotten apples. Len Tau, one of the first black competitors in the Olympics, came ninth despite being chased a mile out of his way by a dog."

bagoftaytos

Cycling all the way, flying through Dublin, up into the Phoenix Park, zip through the woods and back down the main road of the park. Great fun altogether!

SerialComplaint

Favourite activity: Cycling down Three Rock Mountain on a forest path, having taken a slight diversion on my morning commute.

eoincd

My favorite Olympic fact: "The winner of the marathon at the 1904 Olympic Games, Fredrick Lorz, cheated by going most of the way by car."

also, in the same event that year:
"Fourth place was given to a Cuban postman, Felix Carbajal, despite him falling ill after eating some rotten apples. Len Tau, one of the first black competitors in the Olympics, came ninth despite being chased a mile out of his way by a dog."

thebiglad

The first opening ceremonies were held during the 1908 Olympic Games in London.

Jim Aurora

The 1956 Olympics were Ireland’s most successful with five medals.

GhostInTheRuins

Fox tossing was a popular sport in 17th and 18th century in Europe that involved tossing foxes and other live animals as high as possible into the air.

Tefral

The oldest ever medallist was Oscar Swahn (Sweden) in 1920, who was 72 when he won a Silver medal in shooting.

tradhead

Women were first allowed to participate in 1900 at the second modern Olympic Games. In the Ancient Olympic Games, women were forbidden to take part. Married women were not admitted even as spectators, let alone as competitors on pain of death.

The penalty for women who broke the rule- to be thrown from a nearby cliff!

itsmytime

I love running. I was useless when I first started and it was such a struggle. But once I got fitter and faster the sence of achievement was amazing. I run now everyday and upping the distance all the time. It gives me time to clear my head and think about everything. Work can be so stressful and running helpe me cope with all the stress. Recently I brought my camera with me and stopped for a breather and took some pictures of the amazing woodland around me. Wow is all I can say. I sent one pic off to be put on canvas and it proudly hangs now in my living room. Everytime I see this picture I see how far I have come and how much better my life is now since taking up running.

I try to encourage all my friends and family now to try running and am so happy that some have taken it up and I see them out on the roads now running.

Even its a small change you can make for the good, then make it!!!

OpenYourEyes

The United States have won the most medals at the Summer Games (over 2,190) and Norway have won the most at the Winter Games (over 265)!

mgkonline

the most unusual fact about the olympics i've heard was about Dublin born John Pius Boland who competed in the first modern olympics in Athens 1896,he went there as spectator(which for the time was quite a task at that time) but entered as a contestant in the Tennis and won both mens singles and mens doubles medals! ....they don't make them like that anymore!!

c - 13

Interesting one this -

Stella Walsh won a gold medal representing her native Poland in the 100 meters at the 1932 Olympics, took silver in the same event four years later.

Born in Poland, in 1911 as Stanlislawa Walasiewiczowna, she changed her name shortly after her family emigrated to the States.

However, after she died an autopsy revealed that her name and nationality weren't the only things she'd changed. In fact, Walsh had both female and male chromosomes. And male genitalia. One of the greatest athletes in women's sports was actually a man.

kasek

Due to the end of the Cold War, The Barcelona 1992 Summer Games were the first without boycotts since 1972.

Eoghainc

My favorite keep fit activity is clubbing, I study in England and tend to take advantage of the 24 hour licensing. You try dancing for 12 hours solid with little breaks to run up and down the stairs to the toilets and tell me it isn't a great way to keep fit. Sure you aren't going to get massive muscles but go to a club twice a month and hit the gym 3 times a week and watch the weight fall off you. If I cant afford to pay into the event I usually get in for free by offering to take pictures for the promoters so this camera would actually help to keep me in shape

TheChrisD

Does playing the Wii count as a keep-fit activity? :P

Vote 4 Pedro

This will be the third London has hosted the Olympic Games.
It was first held in London in 1908 and then again in 1948

gallaron

Ok, it's unlikely to be in the Olympics anytime soon but love Gaelic Football. I was never much of a player but after a 10 year hiatus have been playing social football which I very much enjoy. Also been coaching underage for the last 4 years and now the team is at u9 get great enjoyment from the matches. Also from iomanaiocht which I do my best to coach but being from SW Dún na nGall I don't have a natural aptitude for it but do my best.

unklerosco

The last Olympic gold medals that were made entirely out of gold were awarded in 1912.

Boom.. knowledge

Joseph

Gym 3 times a week