Seriously, is there any sport on the winter olympic list that doesn't require $500+ in equipment and access to a $1,000/year specialty facility? What's the deal. Most summer sports participation can be funded by a lemonade stand.
Seriously, is there any sport on the winter olympic list that doesn't require $500+ in equipment and access to a $1,000/year specialty facility? What's the deal. Most summer sports participation can be funded by a lemonade stand.
Curling has to be pretty cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYcYaUBaEeI
Seems like throwing last is a big advantage.
Star wrote:
Curling has to be pretty cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYcYaUBaEeISeems like throwing last is a big advantage.
is it tho? Where do you get those $1K looking rocks? Rojo's Saturday flea market?
20x400SOLO wrote:
Star wrote:Curling has to be pretty cheap.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYcYaUBaEeISeems like throwing last is a big advantage.
is it tho? Where do you get those $1K looking rocks? Rojo's Saturday flea market?
Not to mention ice time is expensive.
That's why they need Cross-Country running in the Winter Olympics- make it a "people's Olympics.
Sno-MartisSnowSMART wrote:
Seriously, is there any sport on the winter olympic list that doesn't require $500+ in equipment and access to a $1,000/year specialty facility? What's the deal. Most summer sports participation can be funded by a lemonade stand.
Huh?
I grew up in Ely, MN. My father was a mechanic that worked on anything from cars to snowmobiles. My mother was a cashier at the grocery store (no longer there). What we weren't was "rich". As a member of my high school Nordic ski team, I earned a scholarship to a small college in Minnesota, and was able to get my degree (first ever in my family). The old skis our hs provided with and the forests were both free. Go away with your silly post.
So, you could have said:
To answer the question -
One sport - cross country skiing.
starf wrote:
So, you could have said:
To answer the question -
One sport - cross country skiing.
Speed skating.
Nordic can get very expensive. You need two pairs of race skis with boots/bindings for each and poles. In high school you can get by with hand me downs and hard work and maybe make a college team. But to get to Junior Nationals and be competitive there (and that's usually where you get noticed/recruited), you'll need good equipment, which will cost about $2000 for a decent set of everything, and up to $4000 or $5000 if you have warm/cold skis and a pair of Zeros for classic technique when it's right at freezing and no waxes work. And travel to JNs is about $2000 or $3000, not to mention 3-6 qualifier races to get there.
Cost isn't so much the issue. There's gear for most all summer Olympic sports too.
The bigger factor here is snow and cold weather for ice, or indoor ice arenas. Northern Hemisphere, done.
Southern Hemisphere, not so much.
Yes, there ARE snowy mountains in the Southern Hemisphere, but population and economy of the nearby areas make it prohibitive to nearly all.
Throw old shoes anywhere in Africa, and we know what will likely happen - guys will come out of nowhere and beat Rupp. Try and find a luge racer from below the equator, not so much.
I prefer "15 different ways of sliding".
Nort wrote:
Sno-MartisSnowSMART wrote:Seriously, is there any sport on the winter olympic list that doesn't require $500+ in equipment and access to a $1,000/year specialty facility? What's the deal. Most summer sports participation can be funded by a lemonade stand.
Huh?
I grew up in Ely, MN. My father was a mechanic that worked on anything from cars to snowmobiles. My mother was a cashier at the grocery store (no longer there). What we weren't was "rich". As a member of my high school Nordic ski team, I earned a scholarship to a small college in Minnesota, and was able to get my degree (first ever in my family). The old skis our hs provided with and the forests were both free. Go away with your silly post.
Not a silly post at all. You identified the one sport that can be done on the absolute cheap provided you live in a region that gets sufficient snow. Maybe biathlon too but I suspect the gun and targeting makes it not so cheap.
As far as I can tell every other sport requires big money for equipment, ice time, mountain time, or pipe time. Compared to the summer olympics, it is a pretty small pool of competitors due to geographic and monetary constraints.
But there are plenty of summer sports that are members only too. Like the equestrian events and sailing. And sadly, parents of gymnasts and swimmers have spent small fortunes getting their kids molested on the way to the olympics.
Sno-MartisSnowSMART wrote:
Seriously, is there any sport on the winter olympic list that doesn't require $500+ in equipment and access to a $1,000/year specialty facility? What's the deal. Most summer sports participation can be funded by a lemonade stand.
x-country skiing is relatively cheap to get into. A pair of skis are a couple hundred dollars...then most trails are free. And although maybe more expensive now, I did speed skating when i was younger and it was quite reasonable (similar to indoor track) in costs
I'd agree in general summer is more accessible and track & field is a cheap sport but their are expensive summer sports as well
Swimming (any pool related)
cycling
rowing
I feel like hockey is relatively blue collar if you're in the north and your high school has a team. Maybe work your ass off at a part time job and get great skates, high school provides the rest.
This all depends where you are from. Canada, northern rural US, Russia, the side of a mountain anywhere - a lot of these sports are also poor-kid hobbies.
Because the cost of running at a high level is so much cheaper? Spikes aren't cheap, plus the nutrition and coaching. A good track is pricey to construct , hard to find and 99.999% of them are publicly funded, so you can thank the taxpayers for helping to eat the cost of your track workout. The roads may always be open and free to run on, but you'll bitch if maintenance is not done on them properly
MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:
Because the cost of running at a high level is so much cheaper? Spikes aren't cheap, plus the nutrition and coaching. A good track is pricey to construct , hard to find and 99.999% of them are publicly funded, so you can thank the taxpayers for helping to eat the cost of your track workout. The roads may always be open and free to run on, but you'll bitch if maintenance is not done on them properly
Only bitches bitch. Shut up and run.
you are writing from a US perspective. I can only tell you that e.g. in Austria/Switzerland (presumably also the Nordic countries), almost every kid is skiing. Not competitively of course, but for fun. When I went to middle school, the whole class went on a week-long skiing trip, it was maybe 300EUR per kid total, incl lodging and the skiing pass. you could even ask for financial assistance.
equipment can be quite cheap if you buy it used, which is what my parents did for me. what you might not know, also, is that skiing clubs, just like most other sports, are almost free for kids in those countries. I think my parents paid 30EUR a year membership fee for me in the local soccer club.
things are changing a little bit now, skiing is getting more expensive as they build fancier resorts, but it's not comparable to the US.
Only if they add cross country.
Only in the USA. Other countries give all citizens the possibility. Not our fault that you get exploited by your politicians and companies
Harambe wrote:
Only if they add cross country.
They already have it.
Most of the events in the Winter games aren't even sports. They're things you'd dare your buddies to do.
"becha won't go down that hill real fast."
"becha can't do a flip on ice skates."
"becha won't lay down on that sled and go down that big hill."