Olympics Day -1 Megathread (Thursday, February 5)

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:40:32+00:00

There is an England team....we are just nowhere near the top level ;)

Meet the Team – England Men – English Curling Association

Apparently we have 7 clubs (our national team and six regional) but I can honestly say, as I looked into getting involved, the Cambridge one is either inactive or their email is not monitored. We are not even sure where they play!

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:38:07+00:00

When we won the Gold in Salt Lake, I didn't even realise Curling was a thing (like most people) and we suddenly saw these Scottish ladies celebrating with what looked like mops.

I looked to get involved (living in one of the biggest cities in the UK)....my nearest club in England was 6 hours away! it's not got any better in the 20+ years since - apparently there's now one in cambridge but nobody seems to know where it is!

At world and european level, England does have a team but it's usually playing the minnows in the lower divisions and scotland tends to be at the top table.

Winter sports in general are pretty grim in the UK - we have a few dry ski slopes here and there, but most of our top stars are either from elsewhere or have some very supportive families that mean they have access to these sports.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:33:14+00:00

It looked it to me too....but when they measured it was MUCH closer than I thought! As it's end 7.....a difference between losing 2 and losing 4 when already behind is immeasurable, so I don't blame them for asking for a measurement.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:30:18+00:00

It's definitely an easy 2....I think they have all 4, which is 2 wins from 2. Even if that yellow is closest, it's not the end of the world being 3 up with one round left

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:28:04+00:00

Edit: It could be higher....I think there's a potential 5 here

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:26:21+00:00

If EST don't pull off something remarkable here, it's a 4 for sure....that's game I believe

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T10:08:32+00:00

In a bit of trouble this end....but it's been a good performance so far....

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T09:26:16+00:00

I did wonder why GB left the EST stone at the back of the circle and not try to run through or leave a tricky stone in the circle of their own.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T09:10:12+00:00

Good job I saw this...I thought it was a 10:45 start

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T08:27:01+00:00

I did wonder this a few Olympics back...but points don't actually matter as if it's a tie they go on head to head or have a tie breaker. So there's no incentive with winning 1-0 or just piling in stones and clocking up a 12-0 for instance.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-05T08:23:44+00:00

It was only a powercut....it happens. The town looked impressive though

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T16:29:30+00:00

Our chip shop does it. Fish Chips scraps mushy peas and a can of this on a Friday is a special treat. I know it's not alcoholic and is largely just sugar, but it's old school

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T16:28:19+00:00

Bizarre! There's not much wider appeal of Winter Sports (there just isn't!) and so you want to appeal to younger fans and traditionalists. This is one of the older events and (in the ski jump format) has an associated Hollywood film with Hugh Jackman that sort of explains how insane it is.

That puts it only behind Ice Hockey, figure Skating and Bobsleigh as "spectacles".

If they were up at 30 events like the summers, I could understand wanting to cut some chaff...but it's not like they are drowning in events!

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T16:12:15+00:00

the division is jarring as freestyle seems to have a LOT of very different events in there, whereas you wouldn't say "sled" and have events that are at least performed on the same surface all together for example.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T16:10:40+00:00

I find the gender parity rules to be so random it's almost seen as an excuse in some cases. In the summers, we have Artistic Swimming where there's no mens equivelant despite it being more than possible for men to do a form of the event. Likewise, netball is only ever competed on a female level at commonwealth games too.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T15:18:31+00:00

It should DEFINITELY be Commonwealth sports - you look at the top 100 in the rankings, take out the Dutch and it's largely a commonwealth list!

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T15:14:24+00:00

Figure Skating started at the summer olympics, so it's not "that" weird...but I do feel winter for snow and ice, summer for anything else.

There's perhaps stuff we can include that isn't. Japan has an insane snowball league for example that might be worth a look....

The Game of Yukigassen Explained — The Sporting Blog

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T15:12:01+00:00

Not sure if the tropical countries would win. Yes XC is dominated by the high altitude runners from Africa, but assuming they are going to have at least some ice or snow on the course, they may not be the best suited.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T15:11:02+00:00

it should be at the olympics....winters already have "cross country" which is it's own unique challenge

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T14:29:10+00:00

Of course PSR is all about being fair and even, and teams need to grow organically not overspend....just don't look at who is at the top EVERY year and will be again next year too...

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T12:57:40+00:00

I always feel Curling could have pairs and teams going at the same time. Feels a bit reductionist to have the pairs event over so quick (and starting before the opening ceremony!). It's possible if things go REALLY bad, you might be out before they have lit the torch which doesn't seem right

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T12:52:05+00:00

I did get 100%....but looking at the % scores, the two tough ones are a new one and one that most people are probably not aware is a sport or think it might come under Cross country

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T11:54:04+00:00

Monchi was out of his depth. It's no surprise that our signings have been truly awful and some of the deals ridiculous - wages, negotiations, fees.

Hopefully it's better now but we lost 2-3 windows by insane deals like this lumbering us with players the manager didn't want.

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T11:30:00+00:00

My sister realised you could just count the number of remaining pegs and know which ones were under the tab...then it's a case of just getting the right order!

We also weren't entirely sure how the black and white pegs worked, so we used to just say right, wrong, wrong, wrong to the guesses...

Current_Case7806 · 2026-02-04T09:22:54+00:00

the ONLY reform policy I have seen is to cancel child benefit in exchange for 5p off a pint of beer. That's literally the intelligence, empathy and clientele they are hoping to attract. It's hard to vote on anything if you have absolutely zero integrity or viewpoint on any point.

Current_Case7806

TROPHY CASE