Job Discussion Forums

[MixtecaMike]

I watched half a ping-pong game between a Korean and a Singaporean woman and the coverage was fine. Both modestly dressed, too. As I can't stand the olympics or the country in which they are currently being held that was quite enough. BTW isn't this year's olympics almost as fake as WWW?
In the classroom only soccer. Majed Abdullah and Sami Jaber especially.

[scot47]

The total absence of interest in the Olympics reminds me what a sensible lot the Saudis are !

[globalnomad2]

[johnslat]

Dear globalnomad2,
With reference to scot47's remark, perhaps it would be wise to remember that even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Regards,
John

[sheikh radlinrol]

[007]

[scot47]

I will be far away. As for Boris I want no dealings with a man whose grandfather was the last Interior Minister of the Ottoman Empire.

[sheikh radlinrol]

Ghost seems to be an avid sports fan and he appears to have followed the Olympics religiously. Maybe he knows why 16 is the age barrier for gymnasts,yet a 14 year-old English boy took part in the diving competition. Do the age rules differ depending on the sport and, if so, ''why?''.

[007]

[veiledsentiments]

Another ridiculous uninformed post from the numbered one. Try some research before posting slander against the diver.

They raised the age of gymnasts because of the effect of aging on the body of gymnasts as related to skills. Those under 14 - in particular for women - have an unfair advantage over older, more experienced gymnasts. Bella Karoli explained it very well in interviews during the Olympics.

Skills required for different sports require different rules.

VS

[007]

Well, I think Bela Karolyi is arrogant because he said that the Chinese team is using "half-people" and that China is arrogant!!!
Tha't why Karolyi said in his interview that the age restriction in Olympics should be eliminated because totalitarian countries, like China, can lie and democracies can't!!! (Well, I know for sure that the democracy of Uncle Sam has lied more than once in sport!!). His argument was that the Chinese people are not a different species, and you can tell how old they are not.
The same problem of age falsification happended in the 1996 Olympics.

"The minimum age requirement is arguably one of the most contentious rules in artistic gymnastics, and is frequently debated by coaches, gymnasts and other members of the gymnastics community. Those in favor of the age limits argue that they promote the participation of older athletes in the sport, and that they spare younger gymnasts from the stress of competition and training at a high level. Opponents of the rule point out that junior gymnasts are scored under the exact same Code of Points as the seniors, and train, mostly, the same skills. They also feel that younger gymnasts need the experience of participating in major meets in order to become better athletes; and that if a junior has the skills and maturity to be competitive with seniors, he or she should be allowed that opportunity.

Another point that frequently arises in this debate is the issue of age falsification. Since stricter age limit rules were first adopted in the early 1980s, there have been several well-documented, and many more suspected, cases of juniors with falsified documents competing as seniors. In only one case -- that of Kim Gwang Suk of North Korea, who competed at the 1989 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the approximate age of eleven -- has the FIG taken any disciplinary action."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artistic_Gymnastics

[johnslat]

Dear 007,
And what about this claim:

"Well, I guess the 14 year-old English boy did compete under a forged passport or birth certificate provided to him by the British federation!"

Any truth to that?

Regards,
John

[veiledsentiments]

[ghost]

Divers and gymnasts have sports which are very similar and require skills which are transferable. In fact many divers are former gymnasts.

Divers spend a lot of time on trampolines and also the gym, performing many exercises similar to the gymnasts. Flexibility, timing, courage and similar talents are needed in both sports. It helps to be short in stature, as a lower centre of gravity is much more efficient when doing those moves. That is one reason younger people have an advantage, as the height is lower. Also the younger girls think less about the dangers compared to older people, mention the coaches. They can be programmed to perform any moves.

It is true about age falsification in China, but there are other countries which are also guilty of the same.

The cuban Tae Kwan Do specialist who was `robbed` of a medal by the referee and gave a face kick as a result of this decision has been banned to compete for life. The cuban has been supported, though, by Fidel Castro, who is a big sports fan. Castro believes the refs. are corrupt and racist.

Ghost

[ghost]

Slowly getting used to the torrid temps here which average around 45 degrees during the day and around 32 at night. Al Khobar and Dammam are quite a bit hotter than other areas in the Kingdom, and the humidity present here makes it worse.

Power walking at around 7.30 pm is the exercise I do, as running, I feel, would be too strenous with these temps.

The word this year at the ELC is that there will be a considerably larger number of students, and that classes of 35 students or more might be the norm.

This will not be an easy task, and even veterans at this University are not too happy with the increase in numbers.

Ghost