Aussies Aussie Watch - Paris 2024 - Paralympics 28 Aug - 8 Sep

[basashi]

I hope that people aren't judging breaking based on just seeing Raygun's performance (they probably are), cos the other competitors were a million times better than her.

In all seriousness, there needs to be an investigation into how that happened. No disrespect but it is not in the interests of anyone for that to have occurred. I trust she wasn't doing this as a joke.

Selection is a huge process. With every sport you (theoretically) start with 26 million people. Without doing anything, you automatically cut out those that are the wrong age, those that are not involved in the sport. Then those that are just hobbyists, have no talent, no training, no time. This all happens naturally and it is kind of the starting point for most sports. Then you look at the best practitioners. You make them compete. you focus on your top 10 and your top 5. It is at THIS point that issues usually arise. It is possible to choose the wrong member of the top five. Sometimes justifiably and sometimes not.

But what we have here is a competitor nowhere near the pointy end of the selection funnel.

This wasn't a mistake in choosing the wrong member of our top ten. This was plucking someone from nowhere. Someone probably (but certainly not guraranteed) to be in the best quarter of a million breakdancers in the country ... but someone who would be unlikely to make it through any proper selection process that brought you down to your best hundred thousand. I ask you, how many high schools in Australia would NOT be able to nominate a clearly, obviously superior breakdancer?

It is for this reason that this needs a very good look.

 

[Crankyhawk]

In all seriousness, there needs to be an investigation into how that happened. No disrespect but it is not in the interests of anyone for that to have occurred. I trust she wasn't doing this as a joke.

Selection is a huge process. With every sport you (theoretically) start with 26 million people. Without doing anything, you automatically cut out those that are the wrong age, those that are not involved in the sport. Then those that are just hobbyists, have no talent, no training, no time. This all happens naturally and it is kind of the starting point for most sports. Then you look at the best practitioners. You make them compete. you focus on your top 10 and your top 5. It is at THIS point that issues usually arise. It is possible to choose the wrong member of the top five. Sometimes justifiably and sometimes not.

But what we have here is a competitor nowhere near the pointy end of the selection funnel.

This wasn't a mistake in choosing the wrong member of our top ten. This was plucking someone from nowhere. Someone probably (but certainly not guraranteed) to be in the best quarter of a million breakdancers in the country ... but someone who would be unlikely to make it through any proper selection process that brought you down to your best hundred thousand. I ask you, how many high schools in Australia would NOT be able to nominate a clearly, obviously superior breakdancer?

It is for this reason that this needs a very good look.

She won a qualifier for Oceania. It may be that there is not a large pool of competition in Australia in breaking.

 

[catstorm]

In all seriousness, there needs to be an investigation into how that happened. No disrespect but it is not in the interests of anyone for that to have occurred. I trust she wasn't doing this as a joke.

Selection is a huge process. With every sport you (theoretically) start with 26 million people. Without doing anything, you automatically cut out those that are the wrong age, those that are not involved in the sport. Then those that are just hobbyists, have no talent, no training, no time. This all happens naturally and it is kind of the starting point for most sports. Then you look at the best practitioners. You make them compete. you focus on your top 10 and your top 5. It is at THIS point that issues usually arise. It is possible to choose the wrong member of the top five. Sometimes justifiably and sometimes not.

But what we have here is a competitor nowhere near the pointy end of the selection funnel.

This wasn't a mistake in choosing the wrong member of our top ten. This was plucking someone from nowhere. Someone probably (but certainly not guraranteed) to be in the best quarter of a million breakdancers in the country ... but someone who would be unlikely to make it through any proper selection process that brought you down to your best hundred thousand. I ask you, how many high schools in Australia would NOT be able to nominate a clearly, obviously superior breakdancer?

It is for this reason that this needs a very good look.

Except she wasn't selected, she won qualification.

So the question you need to ask is why these better breakers or whatever they are called decided to pass on the competition to go to the Olympics.

But I digress we don't need to do shit about breaking qualification, this will never be in the Olympics again.

 

[JP Sauce]

She got in, wore some cricket gear and took the piss. Olympic hero!

 

[myblueroan]

She got in, wore some cricket gear and took the piss. Olympic hero!

I thought it was an inciteful political satire performance piece on the Reagan years. Just brilliant heady stuff.

 

[juice t]

Raygun competed at the Olympics and met Snoop, that's still a win haha

Raygun didn't meet Snoop

Snoop met Raygun

 

[GreyCrow]

Raygun didn't meet Snoop

Snoop met Raygun

Raygun didnt break - the world broke

 

[Babylove]

I can't say I'm unhappy with Breaking being one and done. I wasn't looking forward to it to begin with, and after watching half a match I guess you could call it I was done. It also says something when not even a US based Olympics wants it. Apparently Boxing may also not continue in LA, as apparently they haven't committed to the event being run again, and it's no longer a core sport. On a more positive Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing have been upgraded from optional to core sports on the Olympic program. For LA we'll be getting Flag Football and Squash as completely new sports, while Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse and Cricket (presumably the 20/20 format) will be returning to the Olympics.

 

[Fire]

I can't say I'm unhappy with Breaking being one and done. I wasn't looking forward to it to begin with, and after watching half a match I guess you could call it I was done. It also says something when not even a US based Olympics wants it. Apparently Boxing may also not continue in LA, as apparently they haven't committed to the event being run again, and it's no longer a core sport. On a more positive Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing have been upgraded from optional to core sports on the Olympic program. For LA we'll be getting Flag Football and Squash as completely new sports, while Baseball, Softball, Lacrosse and Cricket (presumably the 20/20 format) will be returning to the Olympics.

Are you serious? Flag football?
Why the **** wouldn't we include AFL then? Or even some form of RL. **** it, if the name of the game is to just rig medals then we can have multiple medal events. AFLX, markers up, kick over the yarra, mens and womans.

 

[Doggy]

Are you serious? Flag football?
Why the ** wouldn't we include AFL then? Or even some form of RL. ** it, if the name of the game is to just rig medals then we can have multiple medal events. AFLX, markers up, kick over the yarra, mens and womans.

Flag football, Lacrosse, Softball and Baseball are there merely to pad the yank coffers

 

[Fire]

Flag football, Lacrosse, Softball and Baseball are there merely to pad the yank coffers

at least the others have some sort of legitimate international presence.

 

[2 eazy]

Think Rugby League 9s decent shot of being in. If LA can have flag football surely Queensland most popular gets in

 

[BobbyMorri]

In all seriousness, there needs to be an investigation into how that happened. No disrespect but it is not in the interests of anyone for that to have occurred. I trust she wasn't doing this as a joke.

Selection is a huge process. With every sport you (theoretically) start with 26 million people. Without doing anything, you automatically cut out those that are the wrong age, those that are not involved in the sport. Then those that are just hobbyists, have no talent, no training, no time. This all happens naturally and it is kind of the starting point for most sports. Then you look at the best practitioners. You make them compete. you focus on your top 10 and your top 5. It is at THIS point that issues usually arise. It is possible to choose the wrong member of the top five. Sometimes justifiably and sometimes not.

But what we have here is a competitor nowhere near the pointy end of the selection funnel.

This wasn't a mistake in choosing the wrong member of our top ten. This was plucking someone from nowhere. Someone probably (but certainly not guraranteed) to be in the best quarter of a million breakdancers in the country ... but someone who would be unlikely to make it through any proper selection process that brought you down to your best hundred thousand. I ask you, how many high schools in Australia would NOT be able to nominate a clearly, obviously superior breakdancer?

It is for this reason that this needs a very good look.

I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Breaking is a very immature sport. It doesnt have a history of championships or nationals like Table Tennis or skateboarding. The first one was in 2023 and only hosted in 3 cities. It is very much like the AFLW's first season.

B-Gun was in the 2023 world champions and finished 64th/80. The other Aussie was 79th. She has been around. The reason why the 64th best breaker in the world made the top 16 in the Olympics is that we are Australia and the Olympics are all about having at least someone from one continent/region(ala Oceania) included in most events. If Breaking was going to continue as an Olympic sport, we might have lost that right or been merged with Asia, which has happened in a lot of sports. Or, we could have gotten a lot better very quickly.

This can happen to very new sports. In the women's Ski halfpipe, you had a Hungarian(really an American) who qualified for the Olympics by turning up to all the world champs and not crashing. She just used to ski down the slope and that's it. With the Quotas and everything, that was enough to qualify for the games, where she did this.

https://olympics.com/en/video/freestyle-skier-elizabeth-swaney-becomes-an-olympian-by-simply-not-falling

(all credit to the special commentator for talking crap the whole way through that run)

It is very much on the IOC to make sure sports are mature enough to be Olympic. I am personally not a fan of BMX/Surfing/3x3/Stakeboarding, but climbing is just so bloody awesome I think the whole process has been worth while.

 

[Doggy]

at least the others have some sort of legitimate international presence.

There's world rankings for flag football too ... we are 10th for men and 16th for women

I wonder who is at the top

 

[rocker_oz33]

Raygun competed at the Olympics and met Snoop, that's still a win haha

All dat for some insta action ..

Word .

 

[Doggy]

Our men's softball team was world number 1 until recently. They're now 2

 

[Sarcoidevo]

Raygun didnt break - the world broke

Now known as .... Braykgun

 

[Fire]

There's world rankings for flag football too ... we are 10th for men and 16th for women

I wonder who is at the top

It would be very trivial for the AFL to have a world ranking for their sport too. It doesn't mean it has a serious presence outside of Australia.

 

[Doggy]

It would be very trivial for the AFL to have a world ranking for their sport too. It doesn't mean it has a serious presence outside of Australia.

Yepthere are world rankings for AFL

 

[Underarm]

Think Rugby League 9s decent shot of being in. If LA can have flag football surely Queensland most popular gets in

There's no way they have 7s and 9s.

 

[Alfonz]

Our men's softball team was world number 1 until recently. They're now 2

Won't be men's softball. Baseball for men and softball for women.

As for lacrosse, it's not a given that the USA will win. Canada is ranked #1 for both men and women in the sixes format being used. Australia could be a chance for bronze as so few countries seem to play it.

 

[Doggy]

Won't be men's softball. Baseball for men and softball for women.

As for lacrosse, it's not a given that the USA will win. Canada is ranked #1 for both men and women in the sixes format being used. Australia could be a chance for bronze as so few countries seem to play it.

Still 4 years away, a lot can happen between now and then

 

[Dazza the Viking]

She won a qualifier for Oceania. It may be that there is not a large pool of competition in Australia in breaking.

Did she beat Jonah Takalua from Tonga in the final qualifier

 

[Drummond]

Hannah Green went -6 in yesterdays round of golf and is 4 strokes off a medal coming into todays last round. Super unlikely but if she repeats that, you never know.

 

[Doggy]

Hannah Green went -6 in yesterdays round of golf and is 4 strokes off a medal coming into todays last round. Super unlikely but if she repeats that, you never know.

Had such an awful first round