1948 Winter Olympics

Author: edw1958
Keywords: Olympics 08 Medals karaokay Athens Los Angeles Medal winner Carl Lewis 1984 Beijing Fuwa Move You Anya Marina Vancouver 2010 Winter spirit GREY'S ANATOMY
Added: November 27, 2008

The Olympic Games is an international multi-sport event established for both summer and winter games. There have been two generations of the Olympic Games; the first were the Ancient Olympic Games (Greek: Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες; [Olympiakoi Agones] (help·info)) held at Olympia, Greece. The second, known as the Modern Olympic Movement, were first held in 1896, in Athens, Greece. The modern Olympics feature the Summer Games and Winter Games. The Paralympic and Youth Olympic Games are variations on the Modern Olympic Movement. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was founded in 1894 on the initiative of a French nobleman, Pierre Frédy, Baron de Coubertin. His vision was to bring together amateur athletes from around the world to compete in a variety of events. The IOC has become the governing body of the "Olympic Movement," a conglomeration of sporting federations that are responsible for the organization of the Games. The evolution of the Olympic Movement has forced the IOC to change Coubertin's timehonored ideals. The original vision of the pure amateur athlete had to change under the pressure of corporate sponsorships and political regimes intent on the creation of sports "dynasties". Participation in the Games has increased to the point that nearly every nation on earth is represented. This growth has created numerous challenges; including political boycotts, the use of performance enhancing drugs, bribery of officials, and terrorism. While the Olympic Movement is forced to address issues never before conceived by Coubertin, the Olympics continue to grow in the face of these challenges. The Games encompass many rituals and symbols that were established during their infancy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Most of these traditions are displayed in the opening and closing ceremonies, and the medal presentations. Despite the complexity of the current modern Games, the focus remains on the Olympic motto: Citius Altius Fortius - Faster, Higher, Stronger.In 1948 Sir Ludwig Guttman, determined to innovate new ways to rehabilitate soldiers after World War II, organized a multisport event between various hospitals to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics. Guttman's event, known then as the Stoke Mandeville Games, became an annual sports festival. Over the next 12 years Guttman and others continued their efforts to use sports as an avenue to healing. For the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Guttman brought 400 athletes to compete in the "Parallel Olympics"the first Paralympics. The Paralympics have been held in every Olympic year since 1960. The host city for the Summer Olympics has also hosted the Paralympics since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South KoreaCurrently, the Olympic program consists of 35 sports, 53 disciplines and more than 400 events. The Summer Olympic program includes 28 sports with 38 disciplines, and the Winter Olympic program is comprised of 7 sports with 15 disciplines.[57] There were 9 sports on the original Olympic program in 1896: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, tennis, and wrestling. If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well.[58] Of the 15 disciplines in 7 sports featured at the most recent Winter Olympics; cross country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping, and speed skating have been on the program at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating made its debut at the London Summer Olympics of 1908 and ice hockey was first contested at the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp before the introduction of a separate Winter Games.The ethos of the aristocracy as exemplified in the English public schools greatly influenced Pierre de Coubertin.[61] The public schools subscribed to the Ancient Greek and Roman belief that sport formed an important part of education, an attitude summed up in the saying: mens sana in corpore sano a sound mind in a healthy body. In this ethos, a gentleman was one who became an allrounder, not the best at one specific thing. There was also a prevailing concept of "fairness," in which practicing or training was considered tantamount to cheating.[61] Those who practiced a sport professionally were considered to have an unfair advantage over those who practiced it merely as a "hobby.In the early 20th century, many Olympic athletes began using drugs to improve their athletic abilities. For example, the winner of the marathon at the 1904 Games, Thomas J. Hicks, was given strychnine and brandy by his coach, even during the race.[79] As these methods became more extreme, it became increasingly evident that doping was not only a threat to the integrity of sport but could also have potentially fatal side effects on the athlete.

Author: leaderfabio
Keywords: Archery Athletics Badminton Baseball Basketball Beach Volleyball Boxing Canoe/Kayak Flatwater Slalom Cycling BMX Mountain Bike Road Track Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Gymnastics Artistic Rhythmic Trampoline Handball Hockey Judo Modern Pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Softball Swimming Synchronized Table Tennis Taekwondo Triathlon Water Polo Weightlifting Wrestling china beijing 2008 pequim olympic games jogo olimpicos
Added: November 9, 2008

In 1998, the International Olympic Committee threatened to remove ice dancing from the Winter Games if it could not be changed into a more competitive event. This resulted in the implementation of a bizarre and arcane points scoring system that ultimately chased every afficianado (and even ticket paying patrons) away in disgust....and has since, unfortunately, spread to the free skating events. This has been a shame because other simpler changes 'might' have produced an acceptable result with less chaos. Gus Lussi advocated 40 years ago for a rule to "toss out" the high and low mark for each skater. This would have had the effect of confounding efforts at colusion, and fought the majority panel effect! I have been a skating fan since 1960, but even I refuse to watch an ice dance OD. There came a day when I simply could no longer tolerate enduring one more intermitable straight line footwork sequence!! I'm just not interested in that concept. The sport could have taken cues from the ballroom world (or even dog show events), and added more judges, sequestering a judges pool and selecting event judges at the last minute (to reduce efforts at subterfuge). There has always been a problem with the judging accredidation process which demands that potential judges get the results right (correct). This encourages the arena consultations we have all seen taking place, and late night phone calls to make sure a judge ends up with the right scorecard. An event has to be judged on the actions that take place on the ice, that night. Judges should have the freedom to mark accordingly. Most judges and officials have been around for decades. Term limits for officials should be adopted, and judges should only be allowed to judge at World or National levels a couple of times. This might allow them to voice their own opinions, which is fine as long as they can document their markings in the light of public scrutiny. Changes like this might have given the sport a chance to stab at fairness. I am reminded of a remark made by European TV commentator (and 1948 Olympian) Eva Pawlik, who objected to the use of electronic scoring systems. She felt that if "judges were required to face the audience and stand center ice (with their old card boxes) and report a result, they might be more inclined put a bit more effort into it." Certainly, all judges should be able to face the world press. Instead we now have a system of judges confidentiality, with no accountabilty. Even with the changes, the 2002 Olympics brought even more corruption to light. "To blame you must have proof!" quotes one sactimonious judge (who can hardly keep from grinning while she speaks) in this segment. Well, they found plenty of proof in Salt Lake City, just 4 years later. We also catch a glimpse of the political machine at work here with condemnation from Mr. Cinquanta, who would later discourage many with his heavy handed dealings with the French contingent and others. Far to many suspended judges return just a few years later to continue their good work!! (See Joyce Goodwins "THE SECOND MARK" for eye opening details.) Sad also that they felt the need to remove the 6.0 scoring results. Since the new point totals often add to a score around 200, it would have been easy to factor it by 3, and round off to a 600 total that could then have the decimal applied. This might have even provided some additional fairness and excitement thru rounding chance. An ordinal ranking system does provide fair results, if applied honestly. Many view skating as a freak show these days. The skaters are freaks of nature, the sport unattainable for commoners, the judges and officials are corrupt, and there is nothing for a skating fan to connect with. Empty arenas for major events, and lower TV ratings should be getting someones attention. American television audiences especially should be exercising their power as consumers, and demanding something better.....or simply turn off their sets. I find the corruption endemic and systemic. We should follow the advise of the American UN ambassador, John Bolton, who advocates democratic nations leaving the UN and re-forming their own world organization. I would encourage the United States, Canada, Japan, China, and any European nation that wants to join us, to leave the ISU and form a new governing body. We have tolerated to much abuse, for to long.

Author: k9henrydog
Keywords: figure skating 1998 ice dancing judging bourne kraatz canada
Added: June 5, 2008

29March2008..... Sankt (St) Moritz- exclusive resot town in the Engadine Valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in Swiss Canton of Grabünden. St. Moritzs is considered the oldest and one of the famous winter resort in the world. Every winter this alpine village hosts the WHITE TURF horse race on the FROZEN LAKE ST. MORITZS attended by the international Upper Class. The official languages are Romansch and German. St. Moritz has been the host city for the 1928 and 1948 WINTER OLYMPICS. It is also hosted the 1934, 1974 and 2003 ALPINE SKIING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. It is one of the 3-cities that have hosted being INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA and LAKE FLACID, NEW YORK in USA. Additionally, it has hosted by the FIBT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (bobsleigh and skeleton racing) a record 21 times.

Author: Vhera65
Keywords: Travel
Added: March 30, 2008

29March2008..... Sankt (St) Moritz- exclusive resot town in the Engadine Valley in Switzerland. It is a municipality in the district of Maloja in Swiss Canton of Grabünden. St. Moritzs is considered the oldest and one of the famous winter resort in the world. Every winter this alpine village hosts the WHITE TURF horse race on the FROZEN LAKE ST. MORITZS attended by the international Upper Class. The official languages are Romansch and German. St. Moritz has been the host city for the 1928 and 1948 WINTER OLYMPICS. It is also hosted the 1934, 1974 and 2003 ALPINE SKIING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS. It is one of the 3-cities that have hosted being INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA and LAKE FLACID, NEW YORK in USA. Additionally, it has hosted by the FIBT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (bobsleigh and skeleton racing) a record 21 times.

Author: Vhera65
Keywords: Travel
Added: March 30, 2008