Parade of Nations - Flag Bearers etc.

[A.H.Black]

First of all - could we possibly have a separate page for Olympic general conversation? If not, could we re-title the "Other Sports" page? Just a thought.

Wikipedia Parade of Nations Page - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Winter_Olympics_Parade_of_Nations

Other than Virtue/Moir, I'm not familiar with any of the other flag bearers. I'm really interested in the order of nations. USA marches in about in the middle, but Canada and Japan are toward the end. The Olympic Athletes for Russia are second to last - just before Korea. I'm not sure if the page is completely accurate but it's someplace to start.

 

[karne]

Australia and Austria coming out one after the other isn't going to help the people who get them muddled up

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

NORI'S THE FLAG BEARER FOR JAPAN!!!!!!



Well deserved!!!

This will be his 8[SUP]th[/SUP] Olympics, which by my reckoning (using Wikipedia's statistics) will make him the undisputed most experienced Winter Olympian ever (he is currently tied on 7 Olympics with Luge racer Albert Demtschenko, who will not be adding to his tally as he is one of the Russian athletes given a life ban for doping).

Delighted for him to be getting this recognition.

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Australia and Austria coming out one after the other isn't going to help the people who get them muddled up

Nobody's going to get them mixed up now that it's been announced that Fenni's carrying the flag for Austria!



(I know I shouldn't be including that many hearts in a comment about a married woman...)

CaroLiza_fan

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

NORI'S THE FLAG BEARER FOR JAPAN!!!!!!

Just looked up the Wikipedia page, and it appears that Noriaki Kasai has been replaced by Sara Takanashi.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports...ai-flag-bearer-opening-ceremony/#.Wmje2nnLi1t

The story says that Nori "will be abroad and unable to attend the opening ceremony". But, the qualifying for the Men's Normal Hill competition is the day before the Opening ceremony. So, does that mean he is not taking part in that competition?!

Well, at least the flag is staying with ski jumping. And with the success Sara has had over the years, she is a worthy substitute.

Still would have preferred Nori, though!

CaroLiza_fan

 

[TontoK]

That guy from Tonga who caused such a stir in Rio has qualified for the Olympics in cross country skiing, believe it or not.

He qualified on his final opportunity. I cannot imagine he won't be their flag bearer again.

 

[rikaquegira]

That guy from Tonga who caused such a stir in Rio has qualified for the Olympics in cross country skiing, believe it or not.

He qualified on his final opportunity. I cannot imagine he won't be their flag bearer again.

Omg, I had know idea what you were talking about, so I googled "guy from Tonga" laughand I found this article and now I have a smile on my face.
What a great story! I recommend the article to everyone here. You won't regret it. :thumbsup:

 

[TontoK]

I know it can be viewed as unsophisticated and corny, but I love the Parade of Nations.

I really like it when some countries march in national tradition... Bermuda will march in after USA in the first third of the parade; I wonder it they'll wear the shorts again?

In many cases, the Parade of Nations is all we'll hear from many of these countries and athletes - I always think about how much this moment must mean to them. And Greece - it must be a moment of national pride to march first every time!

It will be fun to see what sports a non-winter country is participating in. Are the people from Togo skiers? Luge?

And... if you're waiting on "that guy from Tonga"... they'll be about 3/4 through the parade. I hope his oil doesn't freeze.

 

[el henry]

I looove :luv17:the parade of nations, I love the corny outfits, I love hearing the flag bearers’ stories, it is just what the Olympics is all about to me. Medals, not so much, although I loooove :luv17: when someone comes from out of nowhere to medal.

Guy from Tonga was great, but he better be using hot oil.....

 

[yude]

Just looked up the Wikipedia page, and it appears that Noriaki Kasai has been replaced by Sara Takanashi.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports...ai-flag-bearer-opening-ceremony/#.Wmje2nnLi1t

The story says that Nori "will be abroad and unable to attend the opening ceremony". But, the qualifying for the Men's Normal Hill competition is the day before the Opening ceremony. So, does that mean he is not taking part in that competition?!

Well, at least the flag is staying with ski jumping. And with the success Sara has had over the years, she is a worthy substitute.

Still would have preferred Nori, though!

CaroLiza_fan

Thank you for posting about Noriaki Kasai! It seems the Japan times meant about the inauguration ceremony of team Japan for the Olympics held yesterday. Sara hold the flag on behalf of Kasai there because he was out of country. Kasai is still the official flag bearer
Sara was moved to tears watching the kids supported team Japan in the ceremony, I wish her the best!

And now I've completely lost the trust in the Japan times (and English kyodo article), they are having false information again and again They probably translated this kind of article (https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/201801230000655.html), but 結団式 is not "opening ceremony".

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Thank you for posting about Noriaki Kasai! It seems the Japan times meant about the inauguration ceremony of team Japan for the Olympics held yesterday. Sara hold the flag on behalf of Kasai there because he was out of country. Kasai is still the official flag bearer
Sara was moved to tears watching the kids supported team Japan in the ceremony, I wish her the best!

And now I've completely lost the trust in the Japan times (and English kiyodo article), they are having false information again and again They probably translated this kind of article (https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/201801230000655.html), but 結団式 is not "opening ceremony".

Phew! I found the story from the link on the Wikipedia page, so it seems that one of the editors on there got caught out too.

Right, I'm going to go and fix the page myself right now.

Thank you so much for putting things straight.



CaroLiza_fan

 

[yude]

There was an article about opening ceremony of the Olympics in Yomiuri newspaper I read today. Pyeongchang Olympic stadium has no roof and the lowest temperature on Feb. 9 last year was 12.2 degrees below zero. The ceremony is from 8 pm to 10 pm and Organizing Committee will prepare the blankets and hats for the audience, and they will also place about 40 heaters and 5 medical stations near the stadium.

I'm worried about the weather but hope it will be a great event!

 

[A.H.Black]

So that's why the US opening ceremonies uniforms are equipped with heating technology.

 

[TontoK]

While I've never been to this city, I have been to South Korea in the wintertime. It can be cold, really COLD, especially in the winter.

If the wind kicks up just a little bit... oh man.

 

[ivanja]

Moris will carry Georgian flag (as things stand). :hap57:

If he can't attend the ceremony at the end then he'll be replaced by Abramashvili (alpine skier).

 

[Spirals for Miles]

Pardon me for my ignorance, but why does Puerto Rico go as its own country?

 

[ivanja]

Pardon me for my ignorance, but why does Puerto Rico go as its own country?

It's because of the historic IOC rules. It used to be possible for non-UN member territories to become IOC members, so that's why we still see Puerto Rico at the Games (and some other non-independent territories like Cayman Islands and Hong Kong).

That was changed in the late 80s/early 90s after the end of colonialism. Nowadays a country needs to be a full UN member to become an IOC member (Kosovo was an exception though, but it was still recognized by most UN members before becoming IOC member).

 

[SnowWhite]

Pardon me for my ignorance, but why does Puerto Rico go as its own country?

From this article: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...2004/08/why_puerto_rico_has_its_own_team.html

Puerto Rico can send athletes to Greece because the International Olympic Committee, the governing body that makes all decisions about the administration and operation of the games, has recognized the island's National Olympic Committee.

The Olympic Charter explains that "the expression 'country' means an independent State recognized by the international community," and the IOC recognized Puerto Rico as such an entity in 1948. Although the United States granted the island the right to elect its own governor in the same year, that power is nothing like full independence. The U.S. Department of the Interior still classifies Puerto Rico as an "insular area" of the United States—a "jurisdiction that is neither a part of one of the several States nor a Federal district." But apparently the IOC considers insular areas sufficiently independent to participate in the games; the committee recognized the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1967, Guam in 1986, and American Samoa in 1987.

And this one: https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/08/06/olympics-puerto-rico-united-states-ioc

Even though Puerto Rico is not an independent country and even though data suggests that most Puerto Ricans do not seek independence, Puerto Rico is classified as a “country” under Article 30 of the Olympic Charter. Article 30 defines a country as “an independent State recognized by the international community.” Notice that the IOC’s definition of “country” does not demand the traditional requirements of a nation state, such as a single government or defined geographic borders. The IOC’s test is merely that the state be “independent,” which is an imprecise adjective, and that it be “recognized” by an undefined “international community.”

The IOC has deemed Puerto Rico’s Olympic Committee as representing a “country” for the last 64 years. The IOC has been convinced that Puerto Rico possesses the requisite level of autonomy. Puerto Rico is also viewed as having a national identity that is unique and different from that of the U.S. The IOC’s reasoning is consistent with the views of many legal scholars who have studied the relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S. While Puerto Rico legally belongs to the U.S., it acts as a mostly separate and sovereign entity. The IOC’s recognition of Puerto Rico as a country is also consistent with its identical recognition of other U.S. territories, including Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as countries.

OT, but frankly, I think the whole 'being American citizens, yet not being able to vote for the President or the House/Senate' thing is really weird.

 

[CaroLiza_fan]

Pardon me for my ignorance, but why does Puerto Rico go as its own country?

Because it has not been incorporated into the US. It still has it's own NOC.

Same as Hong Kong and Macau. They have not been incorporated into China, and still have their own NOC's.

The Netherlands Antilles also used to appear in their own right. But, in 2010 the islands were incorporated into the Netherlands, and their NOC was subsequently disbanded. So, since 2012, athletes from there have had to represent either Aruba (which left the Netherlands Antilles in the 80's), or the Netherlands. (In the 2012 Summer Games, they competed as Independent Athletes)

Hope this sheds a little light

CaroLiza_fan

 

[Spirals for Miles]

From this article: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...2004/08/why_puerto_rico_has_its_own_team.html



And this one: https://www.si.com/olympics/2016/08/06/olympics-puerto-rico-united-states-ioc
I agree, yeah, it's weird


OT, but frankly, I think the whole 'being American citizens, yet not being able to vote for the President or the House/Senate' thing is really weird.

I don't support it, I just didn't know the rules. so thanks everyone!