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ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Curious to know if they are covering the Olympics in Saudi, and how they (the television channels in Saudi) deal with the spectacle of scantily clad gymnasts and swimmers etc...and volley players? Do they simply not show all the games?

The Bahrain female star (Yusuf Jamal, originally from Ethiopia) will be covered from head to toes in materials (athletic wear) specially designed to respect muslim standards of dress and modesty.

Is there interest in the Olympics in Saudi? I know they will have two world class long jumpers (over 8 metres) in the athletics events, but otherwise, I think the Saudi delegation is small - I did not catch them in the opening ceremony.

Ghost

007 · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:58 pm Post subject:

Of course, there is an interest in the Olympics in the magic kingdom, at least in athletics, shooting, weightlifting, and equestrian (using Uncle bandar's horses! Laughing

).
The majority of saudis watch Olympics games through satellite TV, in which they can see all games without restrictions.

The problem with the participation of the magic kingdom in Olympics is that they send only male athletes representatives!! And the International Olympic Committee is not happy at all with this!

So, are we going to see any Saudi female athlete in the 2012 Olympics?
Only God knows.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

No great interest in the Olympics here. As the Numerical has pointed out satellite TV is common here, but not much popular interest in Olympics. Big interest in Saudi in FOOTBALL ( ie Soccer, not that poncy game they play in N. America).

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

In her latest races, Jamal was seen covered entirely in specially designed (dry fit gear) covering all her body. Although the fitting is rather tight, and might upset some.

I thought Bahrain was supposed to be more 'liberal' with standards of dress and allowances in the region?

Credit to Saudi for producing their own champions without resorting to the cheap practice of giving quick citizenship to athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia and Morocco.

The medals from Qatar are all from former Kenyans who have also had name changes (to muslim names) from their former names, which may add to the confusion. For example - the world class steeplechaser from Kenya - Stephen Cherono - has now become Saeed Shaheen - under Qatar colors, and his citizenship was given in a matter of months, which really makes the whole aura of being truly representative of a nation - a farce.

The Kenyan athletes who compete for Qatar have been promised $1000 dollars a month for life - which may seem like a fortune for a Kenyan, living in a country where per capita income is little more than $350 per year - but that $1000 may seem less attractive in a few years when inflation rears its ugly head, and the real buying power for those dollars diminishes significantly.

Ghost

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

What percentage of the world population have an income below US$1000 a month?

I would hazard a guess that the figure is significant.

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

One of the top swimmers from Croatia was offered a signing bonus of $1 million dollars to switch to Qatar, but after mulling it over for a few months - turned down the offer.

Abeygellesse (Turkey) and former Ethiopia national, has just one the silver medal in the women's 10,000 behind Dibaba of Ethiopia, in the fabulous time of just under 30:00 minutes for the distance.

Abeygellesse was given the red carpet treatment to sign on with Turkey, but their methods have always raised eyebrows, especially with the conviction of their former world champion runner Sureyah Ayhan.

She may be clean, but it is difficult to know who is and who is not, as the doctors and scientists are always a step ahead of the people who control illicit enhancement in sports.

Ghost

trapezius · Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:15 pm Post subject:

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Trapezius
You have a touching faith in the level of knowledge amongst Homo Sapiens.

sheikh radlinrol · Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 1222 Location: Spain

johnslat · Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:18 pm Post subject: To an athlete, winning young

Dear sheikh,

While it is true that one must be 15 to compete in gymnastics, one needs to be 10 or 11 in order to WIN.

And, after all, isn't WINNING what it's all about?

Regards,
John

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

johnslat · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 5:15 pm Post subject:

Dear ghost,
"Is discussing sports in the classroom a viable way to stimulate the students in Saudi?"

If you confine it to football (and maybe wrestling - American (fake) wresting
was always a crowd-pleasure when I was there, but don't ever tell them it's all staged), you'll get discussion. Considering how fanatic some fans can be, you might get more than just discussion.
Regards,
John

ghost · Joined: 30 Jan 2003 Posts: 1693 Location: Saudi Arabia

Thank you, John. Yes, football (soccer) is a predictable subject which wins a lot of votes.

I was wondering how the Saudi t.v. deals with some of the athletics events?

I am not a prude, by any stretch, but looking at some of the females who wear next to nothing in the running and track and field events, might be problematic for the viewers in Saudi, one imagines.

The female Morrocan athlete (Benhassi) who won a magnificent bronze in the women's 800m (1:56) was prudent enough to wear soccer style shorts, which gave her a much more modest and tasteful appearance, compared with the other girls who wear bikini style shorts in the athletics events. Of course, this subject is rather subjective.

At the end of the day, marketing plays a big part, and one suspects that many ''fans'' are attracted to some of the sports for reasons which are extraneous to the sports result itself.

Back to the original subject - discussing sports. In many locales, the only time I could get my male students motivated was to discuss sports, so it is a good default neutral subject, which is safe, and you can also get tons of mileage from it, including projects and profiles which students are willing to invest time in.

Ghost

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

Soccer. That is it. Soccer. No interest in anything else. More soccer. And sleep.

globalnomad2 · Joined: 23 Jul 2005 Posts: 562

Enjoying two channels of separate, virtually all-day coverage of Olympics here in HD (on NBC and MSNBC network). I noticed a Bahraini woman won a preliminary heat (200 m., I think) all properly covered up from head to toe--not a stray strand of hair to be seen. Consequently, the 45,000 male spectators (give or take) in the Bird's Nest did not LOSE CONTROL and scramble down to rape her.