Re: [Paddlewise] What's Wrong with Kayaking

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004 15:20:32 -0500, "Michael Daly" <mikedaly_at_magma.ca>
said: The real problem is the virtual monopoly of the coverage.  If
there were two or more channels covering the Olympics, then they could
compete for the grannies who watch cute kids or the sports fans who want
to see competition.


I was a judge at the 1996 Olympics for slalom.  The TV people set up a
camera stand in such a way that it partially blocked our view of one of
the gates.  Needless to say, it was not moved, nor was our judge's hut.

Now the slalom races are much, much shorter and, starting this coming
season, the boats will be, too.  But when I started slalom racing there
were a lot of old timers complaining about the dropping of the "free"
gate and reducing the penalty for a missed gate from 100 seconds to
"only" 50.  So I guess change is always stressful.

That said, if I was an Olympic athlete, I would probably appreciate the
money that the coverage brings in.

Jim Tibensky