 Poster: A snowHead
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...just awaiting FIS approval as forerunner at Garmish on New Years day.
Worst thing that happened to British Winter Olympians.
After his debacle at Calgary... the authorities tightened qualification to represent Britain way too tightly...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| spud wrote: |
Worst thing that happened to British Winter Olympians. |
Sorry, can't agree. Eddie was an inspiration.
The stupid qualification rules introduced by BSS are an insult to all our athlete's hard work, dedication and commitment.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| spud wrote: |
...just awaiting FIS approval as forerunner at Garmish on New Years day.
Worst thing that happened to British Winter Olympians.
After his debacle at Calgary... the authorities tightened qualification to represent Britain way too tightly...
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While the Bell brothers may not agree, due to the distraction it provided from their own efforts I think he did a sterling job in representing Britain and British wintersports - courage, plucky amateurism, humility and Olympic spirit. Not his fault the British wintersports bodies tend to be up their own back bottoms.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The Germans fell in love with Eddie, after losing the Battle of Britain (1940).
He represents the rise and fall of nationalism, their admiration of the Royal Air Force (or Farce, in his case), and other things they can have a good belly laugh about.
The only time I met Eddie (the opening of Tamworth Snowdome), he was taking a break from opening German supermarkets.
This event in Garmisch is another triumph for Britain.
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The Canadians fell in love with him too. This week on the TV they were interviewing some young female jumpers prior to a Calgary world cup and they talked about jumping on their home hill and following all the greats- of which Eddie was one! A friend of mine remembers watching him live and its one of his most prominent memories of the 88 olympics
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LEG END
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| snowskisnow wrote: |
I can't agree either. Anyone who has met and talked with Eddie, as I have, will be aware of his boundless enthusiasm for winter sports....and that enthusiasm is infectious. And hes a bloody nice bloke as well 
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Absolutely agreed.
I've met him too, and skied with him in the fridge at Tamworth, which was great fun.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Wow.. I didn't say he wasn't any of the positives mentioned in the above reply's... and yes, I've met him on numerous occasions, and he is a lovely bloke... but their is no denying, it was because of his 'performance' in Calgary, that it was the main cause of the tightening of restrictions.
So because of that 'performance', it was the worst thing that could have happened for inspired British Winter Olympic hopefuls.... the authorities reacted to it... way too harshly.
No doubting his courage, bravery or spirit... or the fact he 'inspired' others. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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spud, you can't blame him for the snobbery and exclusiveness of the powers that be in skiing at that time. I knew "Eddie" at that time as we both were members of the Gloucester Ski Club. He really wanted to be in the Alpine team and worked damned hard to make the grade. But the snobs in London were not having it and kept moving the goal posts to ensure exclusivity. His goal from very young was to take part in the Olympics and in the end he saw that the only chance he would have would be to qualify as a jumper.
To me he epitomises the power to turn dreams into reality as well as embodying the Olympic ideal of taking part being the main criteria. Nobody moans about the Jamaican Bob team do they, or the 52 year old German baron who skis for Mexico these days on the World Cup circuit? I think Eddie opened the doors for those people and many others, but in his own country he is still treated as a comedy turn and gets little or no respect for what he has achieved.
The fact that the British Snowsports (spoilsports) organisers tightened up the regulations so hard that no-one could even attempt to do this again was not his fault.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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IIRC, Calgary gave Eddie the key to the city, and his tee-shirts outsold the Jamacian Bobsleigh team ones 2 to 1.
But I get spuds point, Eddie is like the Jaguar E-type. Inspired, iconic and loved by many, but his actions mean we have the limits we see today.
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My son met the FIS criteria for moguls in 2006 but was not allowed to compete because the powers that be (BOA) said they didn't want another Eddie the Eagle. That was the only Olympics without any GBR freestyle competitors. He did it without a GBR coach or support and everyone on world cup expected him to be allowed to compete but the BOA answer was no.
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You know it makes sense.
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that must have been utterly galling mogulski. Very sorry to hear that.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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jesus you'll be attacking the jamaican bobsled team next!! 
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Poster: A snowHead
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I think he should get a knighthood for jumping of those hills. It took a lot more guts than playing football. Can you imagine the first time he was up there and then released.......... .........and then he climbed those stairs again. Good on him, there should be more. It could make the Olympics more interesting instead of all those preened prima donnas.
Go Eddie the eagle. Go Eric the eel. Go the Jamaican bob sleigh team.
These are Olympians I most admire, sport is to be played, to encourage others. If we make things so difficult, just to save face of boards and organisers , then we kill sport and have generations playing on Xbox.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Richard_Sideways wrote: |
IIRC, Calgary gave Eddie the key to the city, and his tee-shirts outsold the Jamacian Bobsleigh team ones 2 to 1.
But I get spuds point, Eddie is like the Jaguar E-type. Inspired, iconic and loved by many, but his actions mean we have the limits we see today. |
Blaming his action sounds a bit like blaming women for rape. It is the actions of the selectors that is responsible for the current situation.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| Quote: |
After his debacle at Calgary... the authorities tightened qualification to represent Britain way too tightly...
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Indeed the the BOA qualification standard for XC is much tighter than even the IOC A standard for Sochi
The BOA quali standard for men is a mean FIS point score from 5 races equal to or below 104 sprint or 87 distance and the ladies is a ludicrously hard quali standards of below 91 sprint or 97 distance.
The IOC A Qualification Standard is a much easier to make FIS score of below 100 in any single distance race or below 120 in any single sprint race. See below for details:
Competitors are eligible to participate in the distance and/or sprint events who have a maximum of 100 distance FIS points. Competitors who have a maximum of 120 sprint FIS points shall be allowed to participate in the sprint events and 10 km (ladies)/15 km (men) distance event if she/he has less than 300 FIS distance points.
We have three men and one lady who meet the IOC A standard as of today, but only two men who meet the BOA standard at the moment, though two more skiers have started the season with some results that if repeated would bring them in under the BOA standard
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T Bar, wow, thats the comparison you want to run with? No middle gears with you are there...
I've a great deal of time for Eddie, and a lot of respect for what he achieved, but you can't disassociate him and BOAs tightening of the selection criteria, one led to another, and we are now in the situation where the qualification targets are overly strict. Yes there do have to be standards, but I think Eddie and those who've tried to come after him have been unfairly dismissed by overly paranoid officials, who are over focussed on winning medals, rather than competition.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Richard_Sideways,
Sounds like we are in agreement, my point is that blaming Eddie is blaming the victim not the perpetrator.
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If you asked the majority of people to name 3 ski jumpers their answers would be:
1. Eddie the Eagle
2. errrm
3. hmmm
If it werent for Eddie the majority of people in the UK wouldnt even know the sport existed
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And in case its not clear, I'm complaining on the excesive tightening of the quali standards I've nothing against Eddie Edwards he met the quali standards set at the time and succesfully completed the jumps so good on him. Not sure why BOA want minimum quali standards harder than the IOC A standard though.
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My thoughts too. I guess it means that by raising the bar to unnecessary levels, there is little likelihood of needing to provide funding
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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I often wonder what Eddie might have achieved if he had some proper support instead of being blanked by the wonderful blazer brigade. (not that theyve actually gone away either),
The Jamaican Bobsled team actually posted some decent results and contrary to the film were well funded 
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| iskar wrote: |
| I often wonder what Eddie might have achieved if he had some proper support instead of being blanked by the wonderful blazer brigade. |
Who knows....but you can be absolutely certain he would have given it his all. It is well known he won the respect of many of his fellow competitors. What he lacked in technical ability was outshone by his blood and guts attitude. I would want a medal just for standing on the top of the jump
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Eddie is a true British sporting hero.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
Eddie is a true British sporting hero.
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Yup!
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He lived in my home town for a while. Lovely bloke, we used to rotate between Eddie and Luton Town players to give out the trophies at the football club end of season awards. Never charged a bean.
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You know it makes sense.
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| kat.ryb wrote: |
| Quote: |
Eddie is a true British sporting hero.
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Yup! |
A real life Alf Tupper.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Kinnel... I'm sure half the people on here never read posts correctly, or read things they want to read.
In my initial post, I implied that his performance in Calgary was the worst thing that happened for future British Winter Olympians, because the authorities over reacted and made the future regulations too tight.
There is no denying because of his 'performance' the authorities reacted...like I implied... 'Over reacted'.
Never said he wasn't a hero or jolly chap or driven or brave or an inspiration... 
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Quote: |
Kinnel... I'm sure half the people on here never read posts correctly, or read things they want to read.
In my initial post, I implied that his performance in Calgary was the worst thing that happened for future British Winter Olympians, because the authorities over reacted and made the future regulations too tight.
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Yeah we read it properly, we just don't agree with you that Eddie was the worst thing… he was arguably the best thing...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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spud,
I got it. Your post was perfectly formed and made sense. No implied criticism of Eddie as far as I could see, but of the consequences.
Still there you go, Internet forum misunderstanding shocker.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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spud,
I think it might just be a little harsh to continue blaming him 25 years on?
There seems no understanding that competition is good for athletes, ie want them to do well in 2018, then they need entry and experience in 2014....... Want them to do well at world championships , then get one or two under their belt.....
Anyway internet forums are like school exams when you are 14, grab a word, seize onto it and write anything.
We can see the jump tower from our back yard; its big and its not used anymore as I believe they have made the jump towers smaller?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
Not sure why BOA want minimum quali standards harder than the IOC A standard though.
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Crazy isn't it. Keeping talented athletes, who typically have received no funding, out of the Olympics is their long term plan to create world class competitors in the sport they administer, bonkers
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Well if we can take a positive out of this thread perhaps it would be a good place to discuss why the 'Authorities' make it so hard for our Athletes to qualify to represent GB at the Olympics now...
What they don't seem to understand is that the Olympics are nothing like the World/Europa Cup Circuit or World Championships... Athletes need to experience it, as more often than not, good performances don't come from their first appearance.
As long as someone representing GB is not totally out of their depth and an embarrassment, surely it is better for that upcoming Athlete to gain that experience and knowledge at the Olympics than not?
Also not seeing anyone represent the Country at the Olympics in Ski Racing/Jumping is imho more damning to the Nation than having someone their, gaining experience and trying their best.
Plus you also have the benefit of that Athlete Inspiring others to do the same in the future... although in hindsight my memory is not so good these days... but did Eddie actually inspire anyone to actually take up jumping... or was it just a warm theory that people think he did?
From a personal perspective it was watching the Bell boys that got me hooked on Ski Racing... unfortunately I was too old when I took it up to become any good. But I always look back in fondness at the times I sat in front of the TV shouting my encouragement at them on the screen. I taped every Ski Sunday and Ski related programme to video back in the day... I literally had box's of them... sadly they got dumped when I moved house... What a muppet... aaarrrghhhhhh 
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Fri 6-12-13 17:55; edited 1 time in total
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I think the other flaw in the "not another Eddie" theory is that part of his fame came from ski-jumping being such a spectacular, TV-friendly sport.
If he'd finished last in, e.g XC skiing, would anyone even have noticed?
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| skimottaret wrote: |
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Not sure why BOA want minimum quali standards harder than the IOC A standard though.
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Crazy isn't it. Keeping talented athletes, who typically have received no funding, out of the Olympics is their long term plan to create world class competitors in the sport they administer, bonkers |
Better to have no competitors than someone who might embarrass the blazer squad though  Stupid stupid stupid. Part of the problem is that UK wintersports are never going to have a high profile with the public or bring significant medal winning kudos*. My view is that they might as well accept that and allow those that meet the standard to compete - rather that restricting access only to those that they think might "podium".
Funding is a different matter - if objectively the organisation doesn't have funds and the candidate can't demonstrate a realistic prospect of top 10( or whatever) finish I've got no problem with individuals having to raise their own funding. Sure they are talented athletes but if they aren't top level competitive in a minority sport then reality bites.
* though fingers crossed for Woodsy, JJ
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spud fatbob, ,
Agree with all you say. its bonkers
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