Olympics cancelled?

[152lbs 17]

The Olympics should be permanently disbanded.  They are a waste of money for the host country and the return on investment is negligible.  Coupled with corruption at every level of the IOC, it's value is no longer in the positive.

[NJDan 588]

1 hour ago, 152lbs said:

The Olympics should be permanently disbanded.  They are a waste of money for the host country and the return on investment is negligible.  Coupled with corruption at every level of the IOC, it's value is no longer in the positive.

Having it at one place every four years would make a lot of sense.

[gimpeltf 1,521]

7 minutes ago, NJDan said:

Having it at one place every four years would make a lot of sense.

[NJDan 588]

7 minutes ago, gimpeltf said:

Switzerland would work. Good weather, centrally located, good infrastructure, politically neutral.

[gimpeltf 1,521]

1 minute ago, NJDan said:

Switzerland would work. Good weather, centrally located, good infrastructure, politically neutral.

I was just going with the old tried and true!

[NJDan 588]

Just now, gimpeltf said:

I was just going with the old tried and true!

Also not a bad idea.

 

[Lurker 1,396]

4 hours ago, 152lbs said:

The Olympics should be permanently disbanded.  They are a waste of money for the host country and the return on investment is negligible.  Coupled with corruption at every level of the IOC, it's value is no longer in the positive.

Except that millions and millions around the world find value in the Games for all different kinds of reasons. So there’s that. 

[lu1979 331]

15 hours ago, 152lbs said:

The Olympics should be permanently disbanded.  They are a waste of money for the host country and the return on investment is negligible.  Coupled with corruption at every level of the IOC, it's value is no longer in the positive.

For all their faults, and God knows they have many, there is still no sporting event that can equal the joy, drama, and excitement that the summer Olympics bring to the world every four years.  Having so many countries get together to compete in sports shared by so many cultures throughout the world can't help but lead to amazing stories and incredible drama. In the past the various countries including us have disrupted the games with politics which is unfortunate.  This year the main problems affecting the Games are really outside the control of the IOC or the countries that are trying to hold the competition.  Patience is required by all as they try to decide the best way to proceed during what is an unprecedented set of obstacles.  I for one am still looking forward with great anticipation to these games not only to watch my favorite sport performed at the highest level by the world's best wrestlers but to also watch many other athletes from sports that I don't normally pay that much attention to.  In my mind the Olympics are an amazing event and the world would be much worse off without them.  

PS - none of the above is meant as a defense of the IOCs many shortcomings which still need a lot of work:)

[dman115 128]

21 hours ago, Lurker said:

I can answer to that as I’ve been involved with developing protocols for return to competition. And it does seem silly, but the reasoning is not at all “you’re not going to catch it during the match but you might with the handshakes”. It’s one of the first steps you take in planning these returns, where can we minimize contacts as much as possible? What are the contacts that have to happen in order for the competition to take place? What are the contacts that have no bearing on the competition? Again, it’s not about operating at either ends of the extreme. It’s about what can we do to mitigate the opportunity for the virus to spread. Handshakes, Jersey swaps, etc have no bearing on the competition, so eliminate those contacts, regardless of how silly they may seem. It’s part of a bigger picture. 

Sorry I disagree with this 100%.  So you honestly can sit there with a straight face and say "Phew, so glad they didn't shake hands, we wouldn't be able to have wrestling if they did...and grandma and grandpa will be safe tonight!"??  There is ZERO evidence or data that says the spread will be slowed by not shaking hands after you spend a good 10-15 minutes breathing and sweating all over a half naked human being.  It is like saying, I am going to climb 7/8ths of Mt. Everest, but am going to skip the last 1/8th to the top as I may die...not to mention, you had 10000% more chance of dying climbing the first 7/8th's than the last 1/8th, but hey, look at the bigger picture...see...that logic makes NO sense.  I am not trying to be a jerk but claiming how illogical something is does not equate to operating at one of end of an extreme...I could very easily make the argument that not having a handshake after a wrestling match is very much at one end of the extreme.  Funny thing is you started to have me with the whole remove contact that has no bearing on the competition, that is the start of some logical thinking, but it drastically falls short when you are talking about a competition that is 100% all contact...and as close of contact as there possibly can be...so it is not part of a bigger picture, it is purely emotion and lack of seeing the big picture.

As for the Olympics, I would bet it does not happen.  And I disagree with that with all my heart and my head.  Guarantee that one day when we look back at this time, the damage that peoples decisions are causing through this virus is going to be ten-fold worse than the actual virus.  We can't continue to make decisions for the VAST majority based off of the very very very small minority.

[neutralpositionref 15]

6 hours ago, lu1979 said:

For all their faults, and God knows they have many, there is still no sporting event that can equal the joy, drama, and excitement that the summer Olympics bring to the world every four years.  Having so many countries get together to compete in sports shared by so many cultures throughout the world can't help but lead to amazing stories and incredible drama. In the past the various countries including us have disrupted the games with politics which is unfortunate.  This year the main problems affecting the Games are really outside the control of the IOC or the countries that are trying to hold the competition.  Patience is required by all as they try to decide the best way to proceed during what is an unprecedented set of obstacles.  I for one am still looking forward with great anticipation to these games not only to watch my favorite sport performed at the highest level by the world's best wrestlers but to also watch many other athletes from sports that I don't normally pay that much attention to.  In my mind the Olympics are an amazing event and the world would be much worse off without them.  

PS - none of the above is meant as a defense of the IOCs many shortcomings which still need a lot of work:)

Contact that could be eliminated and not seem silly in a 100% contact sport:

• Shaking hands with the referee before the match
• Referee checking skin for sweat.  A visual inspection is good enough.
• Shaking hands with the referee after the match.
• Shaking hands with the opposing coaches after the match.
• Referee physically grabbing the wrist and raising the hand of the winner.  (stand back and raise the referee wristband the color of the winner)
• Shaking hands with the chairman and judge after the match.
• All referees should use hand sanitizer when rotating to a new position (referee uses hand sanitizer when he sits down and before he grabs the paddles/touches the control panel for the subsequent match)
• All computer operators should use hand sanitizer when rotating to the scoring position
• No challenge blocks should be used.  Challenge buttons as used at Olympics and Worlds should be wiped before each match.  Allow coaches to verbally issue a challenge when no button is available.

Just my 2 cents

Edited January 25 by neutralpositionref

[AHamilton 529]

1 hour ago, neutralpositionref said:

Contact that could be eliminated and not seem silly in a 100% contact sport:

• Shaking hands with the referee before the match
• Referee checking skin for sweat.  A visual inspection is good enough.
• Shaking hands with the referee after the match.
• Shaking hands with the opposing coaches after the match.
• Shaking hands with the chairman and judge after the match.
• All referees should use hand sanitizer when rotating to a new position (referee uses hand sanitizer when he sits down and before he grabs the paddles/touches the control panel for the subsequent match)
• All computer operators should use hand sanitizer when rotating to the scoring position
• No challenge blocks should be used.  Challenge buttons as used at Olympics and Worlds should be wiped before each match.  Allow coaches to verbally issue a challenge when no button is available.

Just my 2 cents

For the last several years, I have had hand sanitizer matside anyway.  I would use it often during the course of a tournament or quad.

[dman115 128]

17 minutes ago, AHamilton said:

For the last several years, I have had hand sanitizer matside anyway.  I would use it often during the course of a tournament or quad.

Which seems logical pandemic or no pandemic.  When I was coaching high school I would often wash my hands or use sanitizer through out the day at tournaments due to all the handshakes and such.  After duals the first thing I did was wash my hands...and I am not even a germaphobe...the body actually needs to somewhat be exposed to things to keep the immune system up and running...but I hate getting sick.

[Lurker 1,396]

2 hours ago, dman115 said:

Sorry I disagree with this 100%.  So you honestly can sit there with a straight face and say "Phew, so glad they didn't shake hands, we wouldn't be able to have wrestling if they did...and grandma and grandpa will be safe tonight!"?? 

No, that's not at all what I was saying.  In fact I was kinda saying something opposite.  You will need to go back and comprehend what I was saying before I can really respond to the rest.

[Lurker 1,396]

5 hours ago, lu1979 said:

For all their faults, and God knows they have many, there is still no sporting event that can equal the joy, drama, and excitement that the summer Olympics bring to the world every four years.  Having so many countries get together to compete in sports shared by so many cultures throughout the world can't help but lead to amazing stories and incredible drama. In the past the various countries including us have disrupted the games with politics which is unfortunate.  This year the main problems affecting the Games are really outside the control of the IOC or the countries that are trying to hold the competition.  Patience is required by all as they try to decide the best way to proceed during what is an unprecedented set of obstacles.  I for one am still looking forward with great anticipation to these games not only to watch my favorite sport performed at the highest level by the world's best wrestlers but to also watch many other athletes from sports that I don't normally pay that much attention to.  In my mind the Olympics are an amazing event and the world would be much worse off without them.  

PS - none of the above is meant as a defense of the IOCs many shortcomings which still need a lot of work:)

Agree here whole heartedly.  It's very holiday like: a time friends and family get together, opening ceremony parties; probably the one time in our house where everyone in the house wanted to watch the same thing; learn the stories of these amazing athletes from all over the world that you have never heard of; etc etc.

There's corruption and there's people in it for the wrong reasons, that's the same with anything "big".  But there is certainly all kinds of value, in so many different 'categories', in the Olympic Games.

[Lurker 1,396]

30 minutes ago, dman115 said:

Which seems logical pandemic or no pandemic.  When I was coaching high school I would often wash my hands or use sanitizer through out the day at tournaments due to all the handshakes and such.  After duals the first thing I did was wash my hands...and I am not even a germaphobe...the body actually needs to somewhat be exposed to things to keep the immune system up and running...but I hate getting sick.

Same here, completely agree.

[AHamilton 529]

56 minutes ago, dman115 said:

Which seems logical pandemic or no pandemic.  When I was coaching high school I would often wash my hands or use sanitizer through out the day at tournaments due to all the handshakes and such.  After duals the first thing I did was wash my hands...and I am not even a germaphobe...the body actually needs to somewhat be exposed to things to keep the immune system up and running...but I hate getting sick.

I agree on all points.  I do not like to get sick and I would be raising 50+ kids hands in a quad.  I definitely didn't want flu, but I probably started with the sanitizer to prevent staph or some other skin thing.

[dman115 128]

2 hours ago, Lurker said:

No, that's not at all what I was saying.  In fact I was kinda saying something opposite.  You will need to go back and comprehend what I was saying before I can really respond to the rest.

My apologies...I think I was getting multiple poster's posts all mingled.  I know what you are saying...the "logic" some are trying to use doesn't always add up for me even though I understand the intent.  And I am in agreement with you that the answer doesn't live at each end of the extremes (don't just go willy nilly, nor shut everything down).

I think we can all agree with we want this crap to get under control and for everyone to go back to some sort of "normalcy".  Can't wait to attend one of my kids sporting events again.

[ionel 1,314]

5 hours ago, AHamilton said:

I agree on all points.  I do not like to get sick and I would be raising 50+ kids hands in a quad.  I definitely didn't want flu, but I probably started with the sanitizer to prevent staph or some other skin thing.

When its your turn to get the Covid vaccination be sure and ask for a shot in the arm, history has shown you don't fare well from a shot in the hip.  ;)

[AHamilton 529]

3 minutes ago, ionel said:

When its your turn to get the Covid vaccination be sure and ask for a shot in the arm, history has shown you don't fare well from a shot in the hip.  ;)

Ouch!

[Lurker 1,396]

4 hours ago, dman115 said:

My apologies...I think I was getting multiple poster's posts all mingled.  I know what you are saying...the "logic" some are trying to use doesn't always add up for me even though I understand the intent.  And I am in agreement with you that the answer doesn't live at each end of the extremes (don't just go willy nilly, nor shut everything down).

I think we can all agree with we want this crap to get under control and for everyone to go back to some sort of "normalcy".  Can't wait to attend one of my kids sporting events again.

I completely hear what you’re saying, and really can’t even disagree with you in the notion that wrestling a match but no hand shake is just...silly. Just one item on a list of things you do to get the overall risk factor from (just throwing out numbers here) 25% down to 10%. Any one thing by itself can be a small, even silly thing, but when you add them all together...

 

Edited January 26 by Lurker

[gowrestle 634]

On 1/23/2021 at 8:59 AM, Lurker said:

Have been as well and have to say my experience was exact opposite. One of my biggest take aways was the level of hospitality that just seemed imbedded in the culture. 

Cool

[neutralpositionref 15]

The IOC released a statement this morning.  The Japanese Olympic Committee is still forging ahead with plans to host the Olympics.  The postings about a cancellation are nothing but rumors.

Edited January 27 by neutralpositionref