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Sir Rols

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Everything posted by Sir Rols

  1. Sir Rols
    Interesting point about the need to use Sigulda for sliding - Sweden did indeed, until the early 2000s, have its own sliding track, at Hammarstrand, near Ostersund (and I assume earmarked in its pervious Ostersund Oly bids). Built in 1964, before Lillehammer it was the only sliding track in Scandinavia, and regularly hosted FIL events and world championships. There seems to be some campaign to re-open/refurbish it but, of course, there was no mention of it in the 2026 bid or mentions regarding 2030, so I assume it’s not on the cards.
  2. Sir Rols
    What more can one say? He’s a d!ckhead…
  3. Sir Rols
    It’s not actually an existing venue, but a new, centralised entertainment venue that will be fitted with a temporary pool for the games. I’ve got no quibble with that - Brisbane can do with a good, centre-centre entertainment arena, and swimming is one event for Oz where we really do want to maximise our spectator seating. Outside the games, though, we really don’t have much call for high capacity seating for aquatic centres. And it’s not like we are short of modern, state-of-the-art aquatic centres - SE Queensland itself is already a major hub for high performance swimming and training. Swimming Australia is basically on the hunt to make the games pay for their personal latest vanity wish-list.
  4. Sir Rols
    Ah, but you need to realise that a community heritage park/picnic area is the missing ingredient Meanwhile, Swimming Australia is the latest to want to get it’s fingers in the pork barrel of the “frugal, cheap, sustainable” games: Swimming Australia holding "national home of swimming" talks for Brisbane 2032
  5. Sir Rols
    That would presume they can actually get somebody else to stump up for 2030… which is still looking like anything but a sure thing
  6. Sir Rols
    Some good sense for once… by FIFA Fifa admits defeat over Saudi sponsorship of Women’s World Cup
  7. Sir Rols
    And, with support from the sme team behind the 2040 working group… “South African student designers, enter the Caesarstone South Africa student design competition and design the Athlone Olympic Urban Sports Centre.” Details: Athlone Olympic Sport Centre Design Comp
  8. Sir Rols
    I was shocked to realise it’s been almost 15 years since I’ve last been back there. I really must return - it’s such a magical country. I prefer it in Midsommar to winter, though.
  9. Sir Rols
    Spoke (or rather, corresponded) with my various relatives across Sweden the past week or so, and naturally the Olympics came up. My Stockholm cousin says it would be a “miracle” if the Green Stockholm city council supported it. My cousins/aunts etc further north were more equivocal, but not expecting much to come of it. That said, they did reassure me that in the unlikely chance it comes off, that javisst I’d naturally have free beds across the country, from Stockholm to Falun to points close to Åre come 2030. Apparently I’ve even got distant rels I didn’t know know about in Riga. But not to make my next visit conditional on the games - they wanna see me anyway come what may.
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  16. Sir Rols
    As they should… and I think scrutiny and criticism is a valuable and vital part of that journey
  17. Sir Rols
    Fair enough - I tend to agree. But it would have been better if that cost was outlined up-front rather than only revealed when it became a fate accompli. And while one person’s $10 billion is a good investment in region building, it’s also another person’s $10 billion that’s not going to schools or hospitals.
  18. Sir Rols
    Personally, I’m okay with Federal funds going towards the games. What I find a bit more hard to stomach is the notion that a games that was sold as a low-cost, responsible bid with the vast bulk of everything already existing suddenly has a $9.7 billion price tag - for construction alone - nine years out. That said, being against a federal contribution isn’t a “wrong” opinion. Most of us here - on a board full of Olympic fans - are likely comfortable with it. But that’s not to say we should devalue he views of people who don’t see the benefits of huge spending on a two weeks sports festival. I’ve often said the Olympics, indeed any games, are a luxury for those who can afford it, not a necessity. Many a city, both in Oz and around the world, have abandoned nascent bids for events because they just can’t really justify or sell to the public the cost-benefits ratio. That’s not doing anything wrong. And there’s plenty of academic studies that have shown much of the so-called benefits of a games are oversold or just plain non-existent. Especially when many of the benefits touted - heightened civic spirits, increased profile, are just so intangible. It’s fair enough to be comfortable with costs and funding splits, and to say so and defend them, but it’s just as valid to be against it and to say so. That’s possible, but hopefully not. There’s no point in planning ahead or undertaking any project for the future if you’re pessimistic about that future. You HAVE TO look forward to a future with some degree of optimism if you want to progress, or at least strive to achieve a better future.
  19. Sir Rols
    The stoats won…. Public give backing to pair of stoats to be mascots for Milan Cortina 2026
  20. Sir Rols
    That’s what the story says, 12th and 13th, and an opening ceremony (why the f*ck does an IOC session need an opening ceremony? - and then the IOC wonders why people consider it out of touch) on the 14th.
  21. Sir Rols
    October dates announced for IOC Session in Mumbai
  22. Sir Rols
    Or you get played….
  23. Sir Rols
    And he does, and has said so on the forums. Not strictly true. Arguments on whether others who’d expressed interest were caught snoozing aside, 2032 was awarded well before anyone expected they had to have their act together, and it was protested by a number of NOCs who felt they’d been blindsided. There certainly were rival bids in the works, who got caught out by a change of selection procedure in the middle of a global pandemic.
  24. Sir Rols
    Better than some of the suggestions I’ve read here over the years. Probably still too “funky” for some, though. Have you tried asking it about Paris?
  25. Sir Rols
    Considering he was in favour of ending the winter games once and for all over the issue of equipment manufacturers logos on competition gear, I’m sure he would. Honestly, I think he’s your kindred spirit.
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