Best Olympic Sport to take up...

**pete** · 07/07/2005, 9:10 PM

...if you want to represent Ireland.

Its bit of a pub discussion but what sport is the easiest one to qualify for partake in the Olympics...?

Requirements would be low cost & low participation to improve chances.

**Sheridan** · 07/07/2005, 9:15 PM

Archery? Geena Davis almost qualified for the Olympics FFS.

**pete** · 07/07/2005, 9:42 PM

Originally Posted by Sheridan

Archery? Geena Davis almost qualified for the Olympics FFS.

Didn't know about Geena Davis but Yes you got it.

Almost no one plays it & i would think relatively easy to take as equipment is minimal & facilities or fitness not required.

**hamish** · 07/07/2005, 11:40 PM

Fencing???

**carrickharp** · 08/07/2005, 7:34 AM

Pity they woulden't make darts on Olympic sport

**Macy** · 08/07/2005, 7:43 AM

Originally Posted by pete

Almost no one plays it & i would think relatively easy to take as equipment is minimal & facilities or fitness not required.

Steady hand though, which given the drunkeness of eL fans rules most of us out...

Gotta be a sport with cooler performance enhancing drugs than beta blockers though...

**patsh** · 08/07/2005, 8:37 AM

Originally Posted by pete

Almost no one plays it & i would think relatively easy to take as equipment is minimal & facilities or fitness not required.

Yeah but you still have to be able to hit the target, AND achieve a consistent scoring ratio over a period of time in high class competitions to be allowed onto the team by the Fuehrer Hickey.

Surely Softball is easy enough?
It's being dropped after Beijing, but that must have been fairly easy to get into if a group of people made a determined effort.....

**Metrostars** · 08/07/2005, 3:10 PM

Olympics Softball is a girls only sport plus the team would have to play other countries to qualify.

I would suggest Curling for the Winter Olympics and either Shooting or Archery for the Summer Olympics.

Curling: http://chronicle.augusta.com/images/...S_CURLING2.jpg

Shooting: http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Ban...ATHENS2004.jpg

Archery: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...archers203.jpg

**Metrostars** · 08/07/2005, 3:11 PM

Originally Posted by sirhamish

Fencing???

Fencing is actually a very difficult sport to get the hang of. Also everyone likes to joke about the Synchronised Swimming but I met a girl over here a while back and she was telling me about how it works. The breathing and not touching the bottom of the pool the most important aspects of getting it right. Gave me more of an appreciation for the sport.

**Jim Smith** · 08/07/2005, 3:49 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

I would suggest Curling for the Winter Olympics...

Lack of an ice-rink in the Republic might be an obstacle but if you can have Caribbean Winter Olympic Teams and that guy who slid down the ice on a tea-tray (Luge? one of the craziest things I've ever seen) for Ireland I don't see why not. Curling might be harder than it looks though...

**Superhoops** · 08/07/2005, 5:27 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

Fencing is actually a very difficult sport to get the hang of.....

Yeah, trying to make sure you don't get caught up in the barbed wire while driving in a staple with a hammer into a wobbly post, needs good hand/eye co-ordination.

I'm just leaving!!!!!!

**liam88** · 08/07/2005, 6:04 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

Lack of an ice-rink in the Republic might be an obstacle

Are there really no Ice Rinks in the Republic?

**hamish** · 08/07/2005, 6:17 PM

Originally Posted by Superhoops

Yeah, trying to make sure you don't get caught up in the barbed wire while driving in a staple with a hammer into a wobbly post, needs good hand/eye co-ordination.

I'm just leaving!!!!!!

That's the reply I just knew would come.LOL

**Metrostars** · 08/07/2005, 6:48 PM

Originally Posted by Superhoops

Yeah, trying to make sure you don't get caught up in the barbed wire while driving in a staple with a hammer into a wobbly post, needs good hand/eye co-ordination.

I'm just leaving!!!!!!

Good one. I expect a Gold Medal to be heading Cork's way in the next Olympics. And steroids-free.

**hamish** · 08/07/2005, 8:08 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

Good one. I expect a Gold Medal to be heading Cork's way in the next Olympics. And steroids-free.

Agree with what you said about Fencing above. I do enjoy it when it's on TV. Fascinating sport.
Glad I resisted the temptation to add the barbed wire etc because Superhoops did a vastly superior - and funnier - version than I could have even dreamed doing.
One can always rely on other Footiepersons to come up with the goods.

**crc** · 08/07/2005, 9:51 PM

Originally Posted by Jim Smith

that guy who slid down the ice on a tea-tray (Luge? one of the craziest things I've ever seen) for Ireland I don't see why not.

If you've got the balls, I think luge would be easy to get into. It probably is expensive to get time on a real track, and you really need to have balls the size of watermellons (not literally - wind resistance

), but apart from that, yeah why not?

**monutdfc** · 12/07/2005, 12:42 PM

Originally Posted by Metrostars

Also everyone likes to joke about the Synchronised Swimming but I met a girl over here a while back and she was telling me about how it works. The breathing and not touching the bottom of the pool the most important aspects of getting it right. Gave me more of an appreciation for the sport.

Agree with that 100%. The height they get out of the water is amazing (I've played water polo (badly), so I know how difficult and strenuous it is), and they keep smiling all the time!