Hondero wrote on Aug 15^th, 2004 at 3:23am:

I was reading this old topic and just wanted to say that I use the style shown one the coins. You just bring the sling back around your head till it's pointing straight back then whipit forward over your head trying to keep your arm straight as possible

Well horse riding is tiring and requires a lot of skill. Training a horse is an art as well. But you are right, it doesn't depend on the athlete entirely but a lot on which horse he could afford to buy (perhaps even a pre-trained horse).

PS: Everybody on the same horse?!

well obviously everybody using the same horse would do it individually :-) Otherwise you'd need a really big horse and it would be even more pointless than it is now :-)
it would take more time as the horse would have to have a full days rest between each competitor.

But the point is that every other event uses standardised equipment, so the difference is the athelete. In horse riding it's the horse that's doing all the work and the rich stuck up ponce on top who gets the medal (I REALLY don't like olympic horse riding :-)

Being new to the forum, I'm pleased that this topic has once again surfaced.  Many thanks to all for their contributions, past and present.

More to the point, how do we go about generating enough interest in this fascinating sport and bringing it to the attentions of an olympic committee?  So far, the Spanish are leading the way with their organized events, (excellent photos!)

This entire site is ripe with the seeds of broadening interest.  Being retired, I can no longer bring my hobbies to the work place; but now, I find myself carrying a sling with me everywhere I go.  A recent sojourn to St. Pete beach, Fl., caused a crowd to gather watching me enjoy a second childhood, slinging coughed up stones back at the sea.  Either I was good enough to warrant the attention or those white faced Canadians were starving for entertainment 

Seriously, we collectively need to start an olympic movement.

Cheers,

Don

That's OK. Back in the late 70's, there was a movement to put Disco dancing in the Olympics. Denny Terio lives!!

I always thought range depends on how fast you can move your hand rather than on how tall you are. Else I should be able to throw a lot further: I am 185 cm tall.

Doesn't accuracy always depend on your skill? The utilities at the bow or at the guns might help a bit but in the end it is still you. Actually I would prefer having only a low tech device that mainly depends on your skill.

A problem I see with getting slinging into the olympics is that only very few people master this sport. I'd expect that Spain (because of the Balearics) always wins.

as long as the sling is a standard sling and the ammo is standardised, then the rest is down to the individual - as it is with most olympic sports.

loh-ka-hoe - do you actually think before you type your answers ?

There is a possible element of height involved in most throwing events. But it is not always the tallest person who wins. It's the person who can impart the most velocity to the thing being thrown. That is a combination of skill, training and strength. I can throw and sling further than most people taller than me because I'm usually stronger and faster than they are and that imparts greater velocity to the missile.

The important thing is that everybody uses the same kit.

I suppose I ought to add bike riding to horse riding as the kit cyclists use is not standard either.