Of course, my little 'living-room protest' won't do a bit of good, but if enough people did it and it was reported that viewership was the lowest ever for a modern Olympic games, that would be something anyhow.

Mostly, I am just too disgusted to enjoy watching these games. Examples of what has happened:
- Many Beijing residents are now homeless, without much, if any, compensation for tearing down their homes to make way for the games, and even for future projects.
From Amnesty intl:"housing rights activist Ye Guozhu, who continues to serve a four-year sentence for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble" because of his opposition to the seizure and demolition of property to make way for new Olympic construction projects."

The local government and demolition companies are corrupt and totalitarian. Many of the evicted resident's homes and shoppes were not even in the way of the games, it is just the developers used the games as an excuse and will make big profits developing the city land where these people lived and worked.

One demolition company owner is also a local Judge.

Of course, this kind of "make a quick buck" has gone on at every Olympics, but those affected usually got some compensation, and were not tossed into jail for speaking up if they were treated unfairly.

There is the bigger picture too. The I.O.C. made a big mistake giving the games to China. The idea was to bring China into the developed world of the 21st Century, but in order to be in this club, nations are supposed to behave in a civilised way, and China is not there yet.

The Chinese government just does it's authoritarian thing and they get away with it... if we let the into the club we are just strengthing that, we are supporting them, legitimising the authoritarian ways.

Carrying a big stick is an easy way to run things, but civilised nations have to find ways to help everyone get what they need.

China made a lot of promises in order to get the games, and they have not lived up to many of them. Air pollution is the least of the broken promises as far as human rights goes, but it is a very visible one.

Open internet will not happen. I get blocked all the time on China Daily website.

Chinese leaders are assholes... I won't feel good about watching their Olympic Games, and I won't help welcome them into the modern world either - not until they change their ways.

quote:

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Originally posted by Noah_Scape:
[QB]...There is the bigger picture too. The I.O.C. made a big mistake giving the games to China. The idea was to bring China into the developed world of the 21st Century, but in order to be in this club, nations are supposed to behave in a civilised way, and China is not there yet.../QB]

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Hey, wait a sec...

Where are the 2010 games?

And what year does our "mission" end?

CHINA IS NOT READY, it is merely an IMAGE of a modern nation. In reality, it is an authoritarian, brutal, police state.

quote:

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The "Bird's Nest" National Stadium, which I helped to conceive, is designed to embody the Olympic spirit of "fair competition". It tells people that freedom is possible but needs fairness, courage and strength. Following the same principles, I will stay away from the opening ceremony, because I believe the freedom of choice is the basis of fair competition. It is the right I cherish most.

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quote:

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CHINA IS NOT READY, it is merely an IMAGE of a modern nation. In reality, it is an authoritarian, brutal, police state.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Doug:
Architect to boycott opening ceremonies at stadium he designed

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Canada is hoping to place in the top 16 out of 205 countries competing, but that's very iffy according to commentators I've been listening to. The Chinese themselves have improved in just about every sport that they are competing in, and, with the US, Russia, and Germany, will take the lion's share of medals.

It's being speculated on CNN that the USA's Michael Phelps can win 8 gold medals by himself in swimming, beating Mark Spitz's record of 7 set in 1976 I think it was.

The opening ceremonies start at 7am EST tomorrow. I'm hoping to catch some of it.

[ 08 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

I hate repressive regimes, whether here, in the US, or China. It's disgusting to hear about the evictions of people so these Olympic venues can be built.

The audience - 93,000 people there at the "Bird's Nest Stadium" at an average cost of $700 per person for these ceremonies.

ETA: 2008 t'ai chi masters just did an amazing demostration of their martial art - totally awesome.

[ 08 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

quote:

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
Anyone who believed that China was going to become politically and socially transformed by holding the Olympics, or that the IOC was somehow going to make sure that such transformation was carried out, will be interested in purchasing a nice bridge I have for sale.

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- Israel has a fairly large contingent, but only four athletes from Palestine.

- 247 athletes from Brazil! Their largest contingent ever.

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Originally posted by bigcitygal:
Um, isn't this the year 4706?

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- not all athletes on parade; swimmers are in the pool getting ready for their competitions tomorrow, and track athletes are also preparing for competition tomorrow.

- CBC reports Sarkozy was heavilly criticized for attending the opening ceremonies, but yesterday he presented a demand to China to release 'prisoners of conscience' (now estimated to be over 500,000)

- Bush has been highly critical of China this week, and, co-incidentally, totally ignored by the Chinese media

quote:

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Originally posted by M. Spector:

Seems not long ago they had just about everybody convinced that 2000 was the first year of the century. That would make this the ninth year...

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quote:

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Originally posted by Catchfire:

This is utter garbage. China not a "modern nation"? Aside from the implication that buys into age-old orientalist stereotypes of the primitive and backwards East, I would like to know what constitutes a "modern nation." Is Canada, who neglects to give FN communities clean drinking water, a "modern nation"? Is the United States, who, years after Hurricaine Katrina, can still not provide homes for the dispossessed?

As for China being an "authoritarian, brutal, police state," you either have one-way blinders on when you define "authoritarian" and "brutal" or you do not really know the meaning of the word "police state." I wonder, how do the Chinese people respond when you inform them of the tyranny under which they live?

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I agree with your first sentiment, of course China is a "modern nation", but then so is Mali, Canada, Belarus, Burma, and Brunei. Accusations otherwise do indeed play into orientalist stereotyping of a backwards East, however, the fact is that world views of China are changing. Orientalist stereotypes are becoming less and less applicable as China continues to change.

But then again, why the hell do you defend China? It is stupid, arrogant, and just the words of a privileged westerner (like myself). Canada doesn't get clean drinking water to FN peoples? That's a sin if I ever heard of one in a G8 nation. But, hey, let's look at China's track record for treating its minorities hunky-dory. It ain't that good. Just like us they have their recognized ethnic groups (from the Wu to the Russians to everything in between). Just like us they're damn well going to neglect them. Similarly, after Hurricane Katrina the world's most powerful nation should've had an easy time replacing all of the homes of those people and improving their lot of life. But then, oh wait, there is a veritable industry of incompetence in that nation, why, just look at FEMA. But, hey, why not look at what China is doing? I'm sure we could find lots of lovely examples in their own media. But, here is the crux of it, when we criticize China, and then make first-world, hyperdeveloped nations our foil...well, it just doesn't make any damn sense. We're literally worlds apart. China is developing, the comparisons of "oh, yeah...well, America does this!" doesn't really apply. Comparing China to other developing nations is a slightly better comparison, but it and India are in uncharted historical territory.

However, why don't you define authoritarian? By all means, China IS authoritarian. I'll be deferential and say that "brutal" is a slight overstatement. I'll say that only certain regions of the country are resemblant of a police state, but by all means, it is politically authoritarian and it isn't racist, orientalist, or anything else to say that. Similarly, the USSR was an authoritarian nation, was it Slavophobia when people made that assertion? Was it simply classical Western dismissal of Eastern peoples? Nah, it was probably the system of GULAGs and making the engineers work in special camps and environment created by men like Stalin, Brezhnev, Chenenko, and Antropov. And heck, I'm sure if I went to China and asked around I could find hundreds of millions of people that would say "yeah, this is a tyranny". Of course, I could go to Turkmenistan and find lots of people that say that the streets of Ashgabat and the Turkmenbashi cult are hardly aspects of the late madman that ruled that country.

edit:: whew, that was a gorgeous opening ceremony. The tai chi demonstration was beautiful.

[ 08 August 2008: Message edited by: Papal Bull ]

[ 08 August 2008: Message edited by: Papal Bull ]

- Netherlands able to sponsor 245 athletes - amazing from such a relatively small country

- enormous representation from the USA, and the Bushes are shown by the Chinese media very briefly

- Iran has a good contingent and will be interesting to see if they knock off the US in any events

- no scenes of protest thus far today

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Papal Bull: Orientalist stereotypes are becoming less and less applicable as China continues to change.

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The pro-democracy movement in China has been around for a long time. I prefer to take my cues from activists on the ground who know what they're doing, rather than the party line from official Chinese channels, or from outraged progressives from the West, in thinly disguised anti-Chinese rhetoric, also known as racism.

Oh, and New Orleans wasn't rebuilt for the people of that city for one reason, and one reason only, and it was NOT because of incompetence.

Why doesn't the West reduce or restrict trade with China? Why wasn't New Orleans returned to the people who lived there? Money and profit for the robber barons, as always.

P.S.

quote:

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Canada doesn't get clean drinking water to our FN peoples?

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- China expects to win 42 medals at an average cost of $6 million each invested in their athletes (that's serious money...) (not clear if those are 42 Gold medals or just their total expected medal count...)

1: criticism of China =! racism. And I don't think I was being anti-China. Critical, but not-anti. But hey, if you can mix up my words, go for it! You seem to feel you're entitled to do that whenever you want.

2: application of the stereotypes viewed by the media and population is becoming less possible. China is changing, those stereotypes are going to change too. The old orientalist ones aren't going to have any sort of application and new ones will inevitably arise. Get over yourself. If something exists there is application for it, right or wrong. Those stereotypes were applied broadly because of the "yellow peril" and a thousand other things.

3: racism was a major facet of it. But that doesn't mean that incompetent management of it was totally down to racism. There was also plain old greed and corruption and cronyism that had little, or nothing, to do with racism.

4: because the West is just as corrupt and self-serving as China. That's why trade and sanctions won't be brought up. The world wants cheap goods and China is one of the few nations that has the production capabilities to do it in massive numbers. Besides, doing so would just shoot the global economy in the foot.

5: point taken, post edited.

2. Per #1, please watch the link on this babble thread

3. My "one reason" re the disaster in New Orleans, was not racism, it was money and profit. I made that point perfectly clear in my post. Racism, and classism, have made it possible to "sell" this gross negligence to the rest of the US, but was never the primary reason.

4. Catchfire can speak for himself, so I'm dropping that point.

quote:

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But hey, if you can mix up my words, go for it! You seem to feel you're entitled to do that whenever you want.

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Sounds like you were sort of speaking to me given that I could fall into that progressive who just made a comment about China. Also, your point about the rhetoric can be viewed that way. It simply wasn't clear.

"Oh, and New Orleans wasn't rebuilt for the people of that city for one reason, and one reason only, and it was NOT because of incompetence."

Given your previous mention of racism I don't think it is too far out to take this comment as to be relative to racism. And I think both you and I agree about the racism and classism that is rampant in the rebuilding of New Orleans.

And believe me BCG, when you're this awesome, it is hard to get over yourself

quote:

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Originally posted by Caissa:
It's 5768.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Willowdale Wizard:
Yes, I was wondering about the low numbers of Indian athletes. And other countries, like Croatia who had twice the athletes of Finland.

I think the opening ceremony needed more fireworks.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Willowdale Wizard:
I think the opening ceremony needed more fireworks.

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quote:

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Originally posted by kropotkin1951:
Did he return his fee as well? Or is he getting rich off of the oppression he so readily sees. Hypocrites are soooo boring.

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Originally posted by Papal Bull:
let's look at China's track record for treating its minorities hunky-dory. It ain't that good. Just like us they have their recognized ethnic groups (from the Wu to the Russians to everything in between). Just like us they're damn well going to neglect them.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Wilf Day:

Evidence? Other than from the Tibetan exile community?

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quote:

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Originally posted by Wilf Day:

Evidence? Other than from the Tibetan exile community?

China has a long history, such as the 1127 Manchu invaders, and a long history with national minorities, of which the Manchu are the second largest. As everyone repeats: China is 92% Han Chinese, 8% in the 56 national minorities with special privileges. They are exempt from the one-child policy, so that 8% will grow. They have quotas at universities, so they can enter with lower marks than Han Chinese, and get various free services and preferential economic development and aid. Remarkably, in our China trip in May we heard no hint of resentment of these special privileges.

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Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer - he could be the most decorated Olympic athlete in history if he wins eight golds at these games as some are speculating.

ETA:

Heard an interesting comment on the NBC coverage of the games: "We are entering an era where the Chinese (instead of the USA) will dominate in the overall medal count, because they have the money, the facilities, and are importing the best coaches. And they have over a billion people, and out of that billion people are going to come the next generation of the world's best athletes".

[ 10 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

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Sharpshooters from Russia and Georgia embraced Sunday after earning medals for their countries, which have been teetering on the brink of war since the Beijing Summer Olympics kicked off last week.
Russia's Natalia Paderina, left, and Georgia's Nino Salukvadze wave during a medal ceremony Sunday.

Russia's Natalia Paderina and Georgia's Nino Salukvadze hugged after winning Olympic silver and bronze medals, respectively, in the women's 10-meter air pistol competition.

The rivals kissed each other on the cheek after standing on the medal podium with China's Guo Wenjun, who won the gold medal in the event.

Waving flower bouquets high, the women smiled broadly at the audience.

"If the world were to draw any lessons from what I did, there would never be any wars," Salukvadze, 39, said afterward, according to media reports. The reports described the two as friends.

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quote:

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So far, the Olympics have been an open invitation to China-bash, a bottomless excuse for Western journalists to go after the Commies on everything from internet censorship to Darfur. Through all the nasty news stories, however, the Chinese government has seemed amazingly unperturbed. That's because it is betting on this: when the opening ceremonies begin Friday, you will instantly forget all that unpleasantness as your brain is zapped by the cultural/athletic/political extravaganza that is the Beijing Olympics.

Like it or not, you are about to be awed by China's sheer awesomeness.

The games have been billed as China's "coming out party" to the world. They are far more significant than that. These Olympics are the coming out party for a disturbingly efficient way of organizing society, one that China has perfected over the past three decades, and is finally ready to show off. It is a potent hybrid of the most powerful political tools of authoritarianism communism — central planning, merciless repression, constant surveillance — harnessed to advance the goals of global capitalism. Some call it "authoritarian capitalism," others "market Stalinism," personally I prefer "McCommunism."

The Beijing Olympics are themselves the perfect expression of this hybrid system. Through extraordinary feats of authoritarian governing, the Chinese state has built stunning new stadiums, highways and railways — all in record time. It has razed whole neighborhoods, lined the streets with trees and flowers and, thanks to an "anti-spitting" campaign, cleaned the sidewalks of saliva. The Communist Party of China even tried to turn the muddy skies blue by ordering heavy industry to cease production for a month — a sort of government-mandated general strike.

As for those Chinese citizens who might go off-message during the games — Tibetan activists, human right campaigners, malcontent bloggers — hundreds have been thrown in jail in recent months. Anyone still harbouring protest plans will no doubt be caught on one of Beijing's 300,000 surveillance cameras and promptly nabbed by a security officer; there are reportedly 100,000 of them on Olympics duty.

The goal of all this central planning and spying is not to celebrate the glories of Communism, regardless of what China's governing party calls itself. It is to create the ultimate consumer cocoon for Visa cards, Adidas sneakers, China Mobile cell phones, McDonald's happy meals, Tsingtao beer, and UPS delivery — to name just a few of the official Olympic sponsors. But the hottest new market of all is the surveillance itself. Unlike the police states of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, China has built a Police State 2.0, an entirely for-profit affair that is the latest frontier for the global Disaster Capitalism Complex.

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The CBC on the other hand is doing superb reporting. I mean truly amazing. They're giving backgrounds on all the team players, and are equally kind to all members.

If I wanted to watch a propaganda fest, I'd tune in NBC, where on the weekend valuable air space was used to show the US Olympic team in prayer for 15 minutes.

What a load of crap. And Please! Stop showing that murdering chimp in the audience! Argh!

[ 12 August 2008: Message edited by: Stargazer ]

quote:

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By a happy coincidence, Gold Medal Ale was the guest beer at the Lamb and Flag pub yesterday - and by mid-afternoon, scores of Nicole Cooke's neighbours and friends had downed a pint or two to celebrate her Olympic triumph.

The only time the Lamb and Flag fell silent yesterday was when they re-ran the closing stages. Mrs Cooke filmed the event on the big screen. Hardened rugby fans in their red Welsh shirts wiped tears from eyes.

Cooke's home may be Switzerland now but she will bring her medal back to Wick. After all her wins she pops into the Lamb and Flag pub and passes her medal round.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Stargazer:
...If I wanted to watch a propaganda fest, I'd tune in NBC, where on the weekend valuable air space was used to show the US Olympic team in prayer for 15 minutes...

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Really?? That's surreal, hilarious, sick and more than enough reason for me not to watch NBC's propaganda machine. Not that I have been. I watched maybe 5 mins of a volleyball competition while waiting in a dentist's office today, and even that little bit made me shake my head because the commentary by two network clones was just so feeble. I couldn't care less about what they had to say. This was followed by a commercial for a national brand of chicken cutlets, some guy ice skating in an arena while pushing a stove.

quote:

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Originally posted by Stargazer:
Boom boom, do you not find the NBC coverage atrocious? I have stopped watching all American coverage. It is all about America. They don't even have the decency to tell us much, if anything, about the other competitors.

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I guess it bothers me because without this fascination, we wouldn't have governments spending money they don't have in order to host these massive international events. We also wouldn't have local governments favouring stadium projects over housing, transit and roads.

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:
By the way, CBC is announcing that segments of those awesome Opening Ceremonies were faked: that angelic 9-year-old in the red dress singing was actually lip-syncing, as the real 9-year-old singer has bad teeth and "was not as pretty" according to the Chinese media.

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This is circulating in the media today, as well as in Chinese blogs, where people divided are over the choice to replace the original girl in the service of optics. Here the swap is described as part of China's "quest for perfection."

quote:

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Lin Miaoke's performance Friday night, like the ceremony itself, was an immediate hit. "Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke becomes instant star with patriotic song," the China Daily newspaper headline said Tuesday.

But the real voice behind the tiny, pigtailed girl in the red dress who wowed 91,000 spectators at the National Stadium on opening night really belonged to 7-year-old Yang Peiyi. Her looks apparently failed the cuteness test with officials organizing the ceremony, but Chen said her voice was judged the most beautiful.

"The national interest requires that the girl should have good looks and a good grasp of the song and look good on screen," Chen said. "Lin Miaoke was the best in this. And Yang Peiyi's voice was the most outstanding."

During a live rehearsal soon before the ceremony, the Politburo member said Miaoke's voice "must change," Chen said in the radio interview. He didn't name the official.

So Peiyi's voice was matched with Miaoke's face.

"We had to make that choice. It was fair both for Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi," Chen told Beijing Radio. "We combined the perfect voice and the perfect performance."

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quote:

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Originally posted by jas:
I wonder what people find interesting or satisfying about watching athletic competition.

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This is a question which I've reflected upon much of my life, and here is my conclusion:

Take any spectator sport which involves competition (rather than just admiring some individual's artistry and skill). Hide all possible identification of the competitors (names, national or regional origin). If it's still worth watching, then it was worth watching in the first place. If not, then not.

It's like, "Look, I'm eating duck hearts! And intestines! And penis! I'm eating a penis! Look at me, I'm eating a penis!"

Yes, yes, we know. It's oh, so weird to, you know, use the entire animal instead of just cutting off choice parts. But hey, don't worry, you eat assholes and penises and ears and hearts too. They're called hot dogs. It's really not that strange.

On the other hand, maybe it's just one of those things where they are trying to showcase another culture and interesting differences. But I don't know. They make a big deal out of showing the (always white) westerner being served a plate of something or other at a restaurant, and the person spending a moment staring at it and then determinedly digging in with a brave face, while we the audience are all (I guess) supposed to go "ewww!!!"

I had a "cultural food differences" moment myself - when I was married, I went to our usual Persian store with my then husband, where we knew the shopkeeper. Well, one day they were stocking sheep testicles in the meat display, and my ex bought some. I had no idea what it was. Then he and the shopkeeper, grinning at each other, told me what it was. I didn't believe them at first! I was like, seriously? Get out. I don't believe it. They thought it was hilarious, because I'm pretty sure they were both hoping to freak me out, and instead of the food being the butt of the joke, I was the butt of the joke.

quote:

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Originally posted by Michelle:
Is anyone else getting sick of the "look at the weird food these people eat" coverage of the local human interest stuff in the games? Colleen Jones is doing that, too, but so are all the networks.

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ETA: I was watching the women's trampoline, Canada got a silver. The Chinese woman who got the gold was incredible.

[ 18 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:
I feel a twinge of sympathy for Alexandre Despatie of Laval, Quebec - he is doing some great diving at the Water Cube today, but losing points from the judges because he sometimes makes a big splash when he enters the water. A CBC commentator said the judges don't like to see a big splash when a diver enters the water. There's a few divers who have the 'splashless entry' down pat - I wonder their secret is?

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China has received a total of 77 applications to stage protests during the Olympic Games period - but none has been approved.

Beijing's public security bureau said 74 applications were "withdrawn", two were "suspended" and one was "vetoed".

China was praised by the International Olympic Committee when it said protest areas would be set up for the Olympics.

But it appears no application has managed to meet China's strict rules on who can and cannot stage a protest.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7567703.stm

quote:

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Originally posted by kropotkin1951:
We have the right to protest in a corner where no one can see except teh police and the media will show a picture every now and then of the "crazies" at the protest.

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Even Bush was there, wasn't he?

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Prime Minister Stephen Harper has risked relations with China by failing to attend the Olympic Games and going overboard in honouring Tibet's Dalai Lama, former prime minister Jean Chrétien said yesterday.

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It looks like the USA will win the overall medal count, with China a very close second, but China likely will have more Gold medals.

ETA: China is doing amazingly well in these games, considering that in some games, this is either only the first or second Olympics China is competing. In London in 2012, China is going to be poised to sweep the overall medal count by quite a margin.

[ 19 August 2008: Message edited by: Boom Boom ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:
In the overall medal count, Canada is now 17th out of 204 countries competing, with 13 medals won, and still a few more days to go. The COC predicted Canada would be in the Top 16, and the country is on track to do exactly that. No medals in the first week - that was because of scheduling; the events that Canada expects to win all take place in the second week. Canada is already ahead of its medal count at Athens four years ago.

It looks like the USA will win the overall medal count, with China a very close second, but China likely will have more Gold medals.

ETA: China is doing amazingly well in these games, considering that in some games, this is either only the first or second Olympics China is competing. In London in 2012, China is going to be poised to sweep the overall medal count by quite a margin.

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The medal counts by country are yawningly predictable.

If one looks at the medals awarded, it’s pretty clear that the medal count depends, largely, on a country’s population and wealth (as well as a few other less determinative factors). So, it’s not surprising that China, the United States, Russia, Australia, France, Great Britain, Germany, South Korea, Japan and Italy occupy the top ten slots in total medal counts (out of about 160 countries in the world, those ten countries have won about 60% of all medals).

The winter Olympics are even more exclusive (the top ten countries hauled in over 75% of all medals). In the winter Olympics, if you have wealth, cold and snow, you’re going to win medals (Germany, the United States, Canada, Austria, Russia, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland won nearly 70% of all medals in the last winter Olympics).

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:
Good heavens. They've added BMX bike racing to the Games. Grown men and women riding on tiny bikes - although they get up to 60 km/h, they look clownishly funny! (imagine Krusty the Klown on a minibike)

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quote:

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Originally posted by RosaL:
Then there's women's beach volleyball....

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quote:

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Originally posted by kropotkin1951:
Do you mean women's thong volleyball?

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
It's no more ridiculous than having grown men and women riding horses and winning medals - for the people, not the horses!

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Good for them.

ETA: this wasn't the olympics, though.

[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: RosaL ]

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
The poorer teams were stuck wearing what they were told to wear. I think we had a babble thread about it.

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Originally posted by Boom Boom:

I'll have to google for that thread, because I've been wondering for a while who decides what a team will wear. I thought it was an individual decision.

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[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: Stargazer ]

[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: Stargazer ]

quote:

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Originally posted by N.Beltov:
There was some publicity around at least one women's (regular) volleyball tournament in which the richer teams were able to afford the fee associated with their players NOT wearing the bikinis. The poorer teams were stuck wearing what they were told to wear. I think we had a babble thread about it.

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Sven: A fee not to wear a bikini?? Do you have a link for that?

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Not a fee but a fine for not wearing them. And, eventually, teams that did not wear the more revealing "uniforms" were no longer welcome at international events. Read on.

First of all, the trend is as follows ...

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Shirley: Those skimpy strips of cloth that they call uniforms are the joke of beach volleyball at home over here. If female competitors could wear actual clothing, perhaps it would be more possible to take sports like beach volleyball seriously. But in all honesty, I also find the trend in tennis uniforms and regular volleyball uniforms to be distasteful. It’s not just beach volleyball that has made itself a laughing stock by turning women into sexual entertainment.

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And here is one response to the above comments ...

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Tom: I don’t think the rules or the sports committee forbids athletes from wearing appropriately sleeved uniforms. The problem is that the athletes themselves have become accepting of the skimpy uniforms prevailing within their sports. Major commercial sponsors are the chief culprits in introducing the skimpy sportswear for marketing purpose. The use of sport role models to parade these type of sportswear serves to expand their popularity. Some female professional athletes are beginning to make a statement by wearing shorts instead of short skirts. eg. Mauresmo.

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So, the commercial influence on the sport may be responsible for this trend. However, Tom hasn't done his homework ...

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CBC: Ruben Acosta, the president of the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), defended the regulation bathing suits as being in step with the times. He also acknowledged the “uniforms” made the game more appealing to spectators. Critics wondered aloud whether the game or the players were on display.

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link

This trend seems to have started at the Sydney games ...

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Beach volleyball has also had a taste of controversy in the lead-up to Sydney 2000, but it’s controversy that will no doubt help the sport by raising its profile.

A change in regulations requiring female teams to wear tight-fitting and extremely skimpy two-piece uniforms raised the eyebrows or observers and ire of some female competitors.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/olympics/sports/beach-volleyball.htm

And, finally, here is the link that Sven was looking for ...

Message to women volleyball teams: wear skimpier uniforms or be FINED!

For Volleyball's Guru, Sex Appeal Is Key to Future
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 1998

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TOKYO: When Ruben Acosta walks into a room, it's easy to tell that looks matter.

Impeccably dressed in a Brioni suit and Italian loafers, the 64-year-old Mexican millionaire has the look and confident gait of a man running a Fortune 500 company, not that of the president of the world volleyball federation — even if it is the International Olympic Committee's largest member with 217 national associations.

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This guy is in charge. And what is he about?

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At the world championships, which ended Sunday in Tokyo, that meant that athletes had to slip into provocative, new skintight uniforms or risk being fined by the volleyball federation's fashion police — as five women's and seven men's teams were.

The outfits, designed to make the game more attractive to television, sponsors and advertisers, did bring the championships added exposure — but of a sort that many of the players were uncomfortable with. Often, their skimpy uniforms shriveled with the first bit of exertion...

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That's capitalism for ya. Call me doctrinaire. Wait! There's more from the article back in 1998 ...

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"There's no way our women will be wearing those," said Doug Reimer, head coach of the Canadian women's team, referring to the new skintight uniforms.

Over the course of the month long competition, federation officials — at Acosta's insistence — cajoled, fined and finally paid off teams to conform to the new dress code. The final bit of business at the championships was not the presentation of the winner's trophy, but the most fashionable team award as judged by an expert panel — headed by Acosta.

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And that's how it's done. Cuba sucked it up for the sake of the $10,000.00 prize. Another, more well off team, took a different approach:

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Italy, meanwhile, a country that prides itself on fashion sense, had both its men's and women's teams fined for sloppy dress. The Italians, who wore baggy shorts but won the men's gold medal for a record third straight time, laughed off their perceived poor taste.

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Easy to laugh if you are rich enough to do so.

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Doug Beal, coach of the American men's team, warned that in the United States, where feminist sensitivities are taken seriously, forcing players into provocative outfits is no joke.

Beal, whose team was fined $3,000 for wearing loose clothing, said the federation was "just asking for problems," especially from the women's team. He said that particularly in North America, where women's issues can be touchy subjects and easily litigated, "This could end up in court in a heartbeat."

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This article is 10 years old. What happened?

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Acosta is determined to proceed. He said that by the time the sport returns to Japan next November for the World Cup, which will also act as the qualifying tournament for the 2000 Olympics, everyone will be on the same fashion page.

"We are going to take a stronger stance in the future," said Acosta. "We will take measures to make sure the uniforms comply with our standards before accepting the registration of the teams.

"They will have to send picture of the players in the uniforms and sign a document saying they agree to wear them," Acosta said.

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And Acosta, corporate wishes, and compulsory marketing have won.

[ 20 August 2008: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]

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Volleyball womens uniform question?
why are they so revealing?

Volleyball players wear tight, sometimes skimpy uniforms because they are less constricting, so we can move as quickly as the sport requires. Also, the uniforms are made with cooler fabrics, like Underarmor, to assist the fit in keeping the player cool.

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Sure, I believe you. After all, it's what the poster women for beach volleyball are paid to say ...

Volleyball on ice advertising

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The head of soccer's organizing body recently suggested that women's soccer might get more attention if the uniforms were more like volleyball uniforms — in other words, tighter and shorter. Were you two tempted to wear soccer uniforms the next time you played?

Kerri: That's the first I've heard of it, and that's an interesting idea. Soccer is unique in itself, and the uniforms are very functional and versatile for their sport. It would be a transition for those players to be wearing spandex out there.

I love our uniforms. It was kind of an adjustment, learning to play in a bikini, but that's what we need on the beach. You don't want to be wearing big, baggy sports. They get in the way.

Misty: I grew up playing soccer. It's totally different. In soccer, you're running, you're not jumping and diving around too much on the ground.

In volleyball, when you go to jump, you get your thumbs caught in their pockets, and you're caught in the pant leg. It's just more comfortable and less restrictive with what we're wearing.

Plus, I grew up on the beach. I'm used to wearing a bathing suit. It's very comfortable for me.

Soccer's a totally different sport. If they want to wear bikinis and slide on the grass ... I've played soccer, and it hurts, the strawberries you get. It would be less coverage, and it would definitely hurt.

So is your uniform functional for what you play? It's not simply to show off, right?

Kerri: No, not by any means. I think it's part of the alluring part of our sport, which is women in bikinis, but on the flip side of that, we need to be wearing bikinis. You don't want to be wearing baggy clothes and be lost in your clothes.

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ahahahahahahahaha! What a crock of shit!!!

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Dear Bela Karolyi,

Would you please stop with your comments about the size of the female Chinese Olympic gymnasts? In case you didn’t notice, some of the Japanese gymnasts are pretty small, too. But they weren’t kicking your team’s butts, now, were they? Also, I saw Shawn Johnson hugging a couple of members of the Chinese team and they towered over her. Are you sure Shawn Johnson isn’t really eight? Because I was taller than her when I was eleven. Seriously. Thank you.

Dear Spain. And Argentina,

I understand that people can be world-class athletes and still be flawed human beings. But really, the Olympic team members are representatives of your countries. And it’s bad enough to have those team members show themselves to be ignorant without compounding it with an inability to keep their mouths shut.

Here are simple, easy-to-follow directions for when you are accused of being offensive: 1. Shut the f*ck up. 2. Then say “I am really sorry.” Please note you should only say those words as written (you may carry a crib sheet if necessary). At no time should you attempt to add any justifications or the word “if” to the script I have provided. 3. Then shut the f*ck up again.

By the way, it isn’t just about who you “offend.” It’s about reinforcing white superiority. If you want to learn a little about what that means in the United States, you should come live here for a while. Then you might learn that many people will assume you’re an illegal immigrant and less than human. But hey! They don’t mean anything by it! Thank you.

Dear television newscasters,

Focusing on what you think is strange and exotic about China just makes me think that you don’t get out enough. Also that your education in the United States was sorely lacking. And if you are going to talk about places in China, maybe you could bother to learn the pronunciation. Thank you.

(snip)

Dear newspaper grammar police officer,

I bet you were one of those kids who whipped through those reading cards in third grade but got low marks for comprehension. Because maybe you would understand that “He” is a Chinese last name. Thus, when a newspaper reports on “He’s tenacity” or something of that sort, you just look like a moron when you write and say, “That should be HIS tenacity. Where are the editurs?” Thank you.

Dear non-Chinese-speaking people,

For some reason I get really annoyed when I hear you limited-to-one-language folks complaining about how people in China don’t speak English. Hello! It is China! In any event, you are more likely to find somebody in China who speaks English than you are to find some non-Chinese person here who speaks Chinese.

But if you want to test out the hospitality of a country, go to a hotel desk (a store, a restaurant) in the United States and speak another language and see how far you’ll get. Thank you.

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As the Beijing Olympics neared their end, our task for CBC-TV was to go outside of the city and spend some time with a Chinese family at their home watching the Games on television.

It sounded innocent enough. But this is China — nothing comes easy....

The mother and grandmother were the only ones at home when we arrived. They recognized our interpreter, Tina, who asked if we could speak to them about the Beijing Olympics.

"No," was the answer. "Please go away. Please leave us alone. We don't want to talk to you."

Wow. What a change in attitude! What happened?...

But the elderly gatekeeper, who we later find out is the local Communist party official, won't have any of it.

By now, he has spotted us — and forbids us from speaking to the young mother.

In fact, his tone is threatening, especially toward this woman. "How dare you allow foreigners into your home!" he scolds her. "You know they are dangerous."

Dangerous? Us?

We are here trying to do a feel-good story about the Beijing Olympics. How is that dangerous?

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And the reader comments for the article are uncharacteristically reproving and critical. I liked this one in particular, from 'Free Tibet Troll':

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Michel Cormier, please when next time you read a Chinese sign, ask someone who actually live there to help you understand.

Here is the actual translation word by word:

first line "personnel and vehicle not from the village" (not outsider)
2nd line "please help register and clearance" (not security check)

And the sign is written in Chinese clearly not for anyone to read. if this Kas Roussy claims she is in China for 5 years I bet she saw thousand of sign just like this, it's everywhere just like private parking lot sign people usually ignore it. There must be a sign just like that in front CBC Beijing building. They usually write you name down and throw it away at the end of the day.

And security check??? Please don't make me laugh! Just provide me any trace of evidence how those villagers run security check on you. That would be something really really new.

If that Tina girl helped you read Chinese sign like that I couldn't help image how funny the scene you two rammed into a poor village like idiots.

Why I don't see any report from you before the villager changed their attitude??? I believe everything was warm and friendly, the only problem is CBC official didn't like it. Not negative enough??? This is just another CBC "empty seats" investigation ended without a hint when Peter promised to look deeper.

You tell the story like whole China is like that? What's so good about building misunderstanding between two countries? Please CBC just show me one positive report about China, from the report I feel the Chinese should be nuked asap.

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And on the last day, anything is possible. It's all about saying "Thank you" to the hosts of the Olympiad. Not.

[ 23 August 2008: Message edited by: N.Beltov ]

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Kas Roussy was based in Beijing ...

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Originally posted by Catchfire:
Or perhaps they were simply enunciating her qualifications?

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