Morgan
SGI NSW Cup
Pretty slow around here on weekends. At least during the off season.
Anyone actually follow this? Not as if Australia is a winter sports superpower or a power at all. I don't even know why they bother. The guy who won the gold medal in the speed skating some years ago was more a national embarrassment than anything else. He was presented in the international media as "look at this idiot who actually won a gold medal". Anyway, it's here so lets see how it goes.
Fireworks exploded over the “Bird’s Nest” as the lattice-shaped stadium took centre stage, just as it did at the 2008 Games, as Beijing becomes the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.
Plenty of Australia’s 44-strong team marched through the stadium, while American Samoa’s flag bearer stole the show by appearing in a traditional outfit - topless - despite the freezing conditions.
Xi, under whose rule China has adopted a more muscular attitude internationally compared to 14 years ago, was given a rapturous welcome by the socially-distanced crowd wearing face masks, for what his ruling Communist Party hopes will be a soft-power triumph.
The ceremony was dazzling but less spectacular than the extravaganza 14 years ago. It got off to a solemn start when eight soldiers slow-marched with the Chinese flag, before the national anthem rang out into the cold night air.
At the end of the ceremony, the Olympic torch was secured to the centre of a giant snowflake, which was then illuminated to become the cauldron and hoisted above the stadium.
The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries staging a diplomatic boycott of the Games. Those nations’ athletes will still compete at the Games, which run until February 20 and are taking place inside a vast “closed loop” bubble designed to thwart the virus.
About a third of the 90,000-capacity “Bird’s Nest” was full, but like sports events at the Games, tickets were not sold to the public because of the pandemic. The show was masterminded by acclaimed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who was behind the 2008 extravaganza.
AUSTRALIA'S FLAGBEARERS
Aerial skier Laura Peel and figure skater Brendan Kerry carried the flag for Australia. It is the first time Australia has deployed dual flag-bearers at a Winter opening ceremony. But it comes after basketball star Patty Mills and swimmer Cate Campbell carried the flag at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Kerry and Peel are both competing in their third Olympic Games.
‘GIVE PEACE A CHANCE’
After the teams marched into the arena, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach appealed to “all political authorities across the globe”, urging them to “give peace a chance”. “In our fragile world, where division, conflict and mistrust are on the rise, we show the world -- yes, it is possible to be fierce rivals while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together,” Bach said.
Despite the warm words and party atmosphere, the lead-up to the Games was clouded by controversy, including warnings about surveillance of athletes and what will happen to them if they make anti-China comments. Speaking in Beijing, American figure-skating coach and former Olympian Adam Rippon said he hoped the Games will bring added scrutiny.
“What I hope with these Games is that there is so much attention brought to these issues about human rights it does put pressure on the Chinese government to really address it,” Rippon, a bronze medallist at the 2018 Winter Games, told CNN.
There are also environmental concerns about holding a Winter Games in one of the driest places in China and on almost entirely man-made snow. Then there is Covid. The nearly 3,000 athletes and tens of thousands of support staff, volunteers and media have been cut off from Beijing’s general population.
China, where the virus emerged in late 2019, has pursued a no-nonsense zero-Covid policy and adopted the same approach to the Games, with everyone inside the bubble tested daily and required to wear a mask at all times.
There have been more than 300 Covid cases in the bubble, among them an unknown number of athletes. Some sports, such as curling and figure skating, have already begun and Saturday will see the first gold medal of the Games awarded, in cross-country skiing.
HEARTBREAK FOR AUSSIE CURLERS
Australia’s first-ever curling Olympians Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt are on the brink of elimination after another heartbreaking loss in the Mixed Doubles. With 10 teams competing and the top four qualifying for the semi-finals, the 0-3 Aussies needed a big day against top contenders Sweden and Great Britain. But they fell just one point short of a miraculous comeback against heavyweights Sweden to begin the day.
Needing three points to tie the score and send it to additional ends, Gill’s last-ditch throw saw the Aussie claim two points, finishing 7-6 losers. Then the Aussies stormed back and took two points in the final end to force extras against the Brits but then lost 9-8 in overtime. Sitting 0-5 the Aussies must realistically win all of their remaining matches and then hope for the best to qualify for the semis.
Anyone watching this?
Anyone actually follow this? Not as if Australia is a winter sports superpower or a power at all. I don't even know why they bother. The guy who won the gold medal in the speed skating some years ago was more a national embarrassment than anything else. He was presented in the international media as "look at this idiot who actually won a gold medal". Anyway, it's here so lets see how it goes.
Amazing Opening Ceremony kicks off Beijing Winter Olympics
President Xi Jinping declared the Beijing Winter Olympics open Friday as China tried to turn the page on a build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns, Covid and a US-led diplomatic boycott.Fireworks exploded over the “Bird’s Nest” as the lattice-shaped stadium took centre stage, just as it did at the 2008 Games, as Beijing becomes the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics.
Plenty of Australia’s 44-strong team marched through the stadium, while American Samoa’s flag bearer stole the show by appearing in a traditional outfit - topless - despite the freezing conditions.
Xi, under whose rule China has adopted a more muscular attitude internationally compared to 14 years ago, was given a rapturous welcome by the socially-distanced crowd wearing face masks, for what his ruling Communist Party hopes will be a soft-power triumph.
The ceremony was dazzling but less spectacular than the extravaganza 14 years ago. It got off to a solemn start when eight soldiers slow-marched with the Chinese flag, before the national anthem rang out into the cold night air.
At the end of the ceremony, the Olympic torch was secured to the centre of a giant snowflake, which was then illuminated to become the cauldron and hoisted above the stadium.
The United States, Britain, Canada and Australia are among countries staging a diplomatic boycott of the Games. Those nations’ athletes will still compete at the Games, which run until February 20 and are taking place inside a vast “closed loop” bubble designed to thwart the virus.
About a third of the 90,000-capacity “Bird’s Nest” was full, but like sports events at the Games, tickets were not sold to the public because of the pandemic. The show was masterminded by acclaimed Chinese film director Zhang Yimou, who was behind the 2008 extravaganza.
AUSTRALIA'S FLAGBEARERS
Aerial skier Laura Peel and figure skater Brendan Kerry carried the flag for Australia. It is the first time Australia has deployed dual flag-bearers at a Winter opening ceremony. But it comes after basketball star Patty Mills and swimmer Cate Campbell carried the flag at the Tokyo Summer Olympics. Kerry and Peel are both competing in their third Olympic Games.
‘GIVE PEACE A CHANCE’
After the teams marched into the arena, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach appealed to “all political authorities across the globe”, urging them to “give peace a chance”. “In our fragile world, where division, conflict and mistrust are on the rise, we show the world -- yes, it is possible to be fierce rivals while at the same time living peacefully and respectfully together,” Bach said.
Despite the warm words and party atmosphere, the lead-up to the Games was clouded by controversy, including warnings about surveillance of athletes and what will happen to them if they make anti-China comments. Speaking in Beijing, American figure-skating coach and former Olympian Adam Rippon said he hoped the Games will bring added scrutiny.
“What I hope with these Games is that there is so much attention brought to these issues about human rights it does put pressure on the Chinese government to really address it,” Rippon, a bronze medallist at the 2018 Winter Games, told CNN.
There are also environmental concerns about holding a Winter Games in one of the driest places in China and on almost entirely man-made snow. Then there is Covid. The nearly 3,000 athletes and tens of thousands of support staff, volunteers and media have been cut off from Beijing’s general population.
China, where the virus emerged in late 2019, has pursued a no-nonsense zero-Covid policy and adopted the same approach to the Games, with everyone inside the bubble tested daily and required to wear a mask at all times.
There have been more than 300 Covid cases in the bubble, among them an unknown number of athletes. Some sports, such as curling and figure skating, have already begun and Saturday will see the first gold medal of the Games awarded, in cross-country skiing.
HEARTBREAK FOR AUSSIE CURLERS
Australia’s first-ever curling Olympians Tahli Gill and Dean Hewitt are on the brink of elimination after another heartbreaking loss in the Mixed Doubles. With 10 teams competing and the top four qualifying for the semi-finals, the 0-3 Aussies needed a big day against top contenders Sweden and Great Britain. But they fell just one point short of a miraculous comeback against heavyweights Sweden to begin the day.
Needing three points to tie the score and send it to additional ends, Gill’s last-ditch throw saw the Aussie claim two points, finishing 7-6 losers. Then the Aussies stormed back and took two points in the final end to force extras against the Brits but then lost 9-8 in overtime. Sitting 0-5 the Aussies must realistically win all of their remaining matches and then hope for the best to qualify for the semis.
Anyone watching this?
