Mike Dojc

SPORTS

2/18/2006

Some were demonstrated and then died, others enjoyed full medal status before going cold, and one was even resurrected. You never know, the IOC just might dig one of these up in the future.
[Published in Bell T.V. Magazine]

Military Patrol- This shoot-and-ski combo race was part of the first Winter Games in Chamonix, France in 1924. A lot less thrilling then James Bond hitting the slopes with poles that double as AK47s, subsequent demonstrations in 1928, 1936, and 1948 failed to captivate audiences. The war game name was dropped in 1955, the rules were tweaked and the sport was reborn as the biathlon at the 1960 Olympics.

Bridge- The tricky card game was the curtain raiser of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. In the finals Canada trumped Poland 76-64 1/2 to claim gold.

Bandy: Played on ice surfaces the size of soccer fields, this Scandinavian sport resembles hockey, only goalies don’t get sticks and there are 10 skaters per side who wear long blades like speed skaters. Bandy was a demonstration sport at the 1952 Oslo Olympics.

Sled Dog Racing: Dog drivers hitched to a team of galloping huskies mushed their way across postcard pretty Lake Placid N.Y at the 1932 Olympics. Races were also staged before the start of the 1992 games. With the success of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, an annual 1,100-mile Alaskan marathon, this sport looks ripe for resuscitation.

Speed Skiing: Racers hurtle down the mountain in a tuck position reaching speeds in excess of 200 km/h. When it debuted as a demonstration sport at the Albertville Olympics. Nicolas Bochatay, a Swiss skier, collided head-on with a snow-grooming during a warm up run on a public slope and was killed.

Skijoring: A hybrid between skiing and horse racing where competitors are pulled behind a jockey driven horse who gallops across snow and ice at a breakneck pace. It was demonstrated at the 1928 Winter Olyhmpics in St. Moritz.

Freestyle Ballet Skiing: An acrobatic ski dance where competitors perform a series of slides and jumps to the music of their choice and are scored by judges based on technical difficulty and style. The sport failed to crack the Olympic lineup after being demonstrated in 1988 and 1992.

--Mike Dojc