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Oatsandbeans View Drop Down
Far too distracted from work
Far too distracted from work


Joined: 19 Sep 05
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Posts: 382 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Oatsandbeans Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Olympic Commentators
    Posted: 07 Aug 12 at 11:59am
My favourite Simmonds quote must be when he was doing the Americas Cup race between The cat and the tri. On the first beat we had just seen the Oracle wing masted tri sail from 200 m. behind and dead to leeward of Alinghi, to 50m. abrest and to windward of Alinghi. Simmonds then says " its neck and neck between the 2 boats its going to be a great race". He must have been really surprised when Oracle did a horizon job on Alinghi! I can't work out if he is clueless or just trying to hype it up! - I suspect the former.
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mongrel View Drop Down
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Posts: 304 		Post Options Post Options   Quote mongrel Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 12 at 3:39pm
Originally posted by Bootscooter

Simmons - dumbing it down way too far (Joker????) and misses too much. 4/10

Leigh McMillan - started really well but as the regatta has gone on its as if hes been told to stop being so well informed about what's happening, and has started following the banal platitudes of Simmonds. 6.5/10

Shirley - not too bad on observations, but even my kids are taking the pish out of the apparent contractual obligation to to mention her medals every time she comes on; ".... and now over to double gold medal winner Shirley...", "... When I won my medals in......".... etc. look out for this - it'll drive you nuts in very short order. 5/10

Rob Walker - please! Is this guy a real journalist, or a comedy reporter from "The Day Today"? I saw him interview BA after the medal race on the water and it was totally crIngy - he was literally hanging off Ben (who was obviously in lots of pain) and the body language was screaming "get the f**k off me!". Horrible to watch, as are the knobish over- enthusiastic interviews with people on the Nothe. 1/10

Simon Bornhoft - breath of fresh air and has provided intelligent, educational and interesting comentary on the RSXs. Pitched his level just right for all levels of knowledge and very eloquent. 9/10

So who should we have instead? Not heard her myself, but my brother saw something recently with Sarah Ayton commentating - apparently she was excellent, and very funny.


 
Agree with all of that, spot on!
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Teamvmg View Drop Down
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Posts: 99 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Teamvmg Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 12 at 8:55pm
How many times must he say "From a British perspective........"  What does he think the first B in BBC stands for!!!!
 
That said, we are all experts in what we know and will always spot stuff that the commentators miss, but they have to sit there for hours on end and have been charged with trying to make sailing exciting for everyone.
 
It would have ben great if BA had done a Cavendish on gropper Rob tho!
 
Turn the sound off and read the Y+Y live feed - we seem to be able to get away with quite a lot on there!
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Xpletive View Drop Down
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Posts: 320 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Xpletive Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 12 at 9:16pm
Originally posted by Oatsandbeans

Richard Simmonds is starting to really annoy me. I don't care for his style and he makes some real clangers. eg. He is surprisingly uninformed about how they race lasers......
Odd really.....he used to work for Performance Sailcraft, at Banbury, selling them!
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Roger View Drop Down
Really should get out more
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Posts: 524 		Post Options Post Options   Quote Roger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 Aug 12 at 10:21pm
Originally posted by Xpletive

Originally posted by Oatsandbeans

Richard Simmonds is starting to really annoy me. I don't care for his style and he makes some real clangers. eg. He is surprisingly uninformed about how they race lasers......
Odd really.....he used to work for Performance Sailcraft, at Banbury, selling them!
 
 
Work for them... he was....
 
Managing Director 1992-1998
Head of Development 1987-1992
 
ref: http://www.sunsetvine.co.uk/ where Richard Simmonds is currently Joint MD.
 
According to this http://sport-onthebox.com/london2012/bbcolympics/richardsimmonds/ he still competes in a Laser.
 
For all the criticism he has got here, commentating is a very difficult job, producers will have issued instructions and I guess a commentator has to follow those.
All the top commentators in other more widely broadcast sports say that the key is research and preparation, every time you refer to your notes it comes over in the commentary, so commit to memory all you can, plan what you'll say in the breaks and have something to say about every competitor should the need arise.
 
The real question for me is why it's all been dumbed down on the live broadcasts, I can't see too many non sailors spending several hours in an afternoon watching live, I would guess (and it is a guess) that 90% plus of the audience are very knowledgable about sailing.
 
Much as I'd like to think I could do it, I doubt very much I could, maybe worth turning the sound down, record yourself commentating for an hour or two from the pictures, then play it back and see if your worth listening to,
 
I chatted online to the guys commentating on the medal races at Sail4Gold a couple of years ago, they had come from covering AC and other events, but said that commentating on just 10 boats in a Medal Race was far harder than they had anticipated and way more difficult than any big boat stuff they had done.
 
 
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GybeFunny View Drop Down
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Posts: 403 		Post Options Post Options   Quote GybeFunny Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 12 at 7:00am
Simon Bornhoft has been great for the RSX commentary, the others didnt give him much of an opportunity to chat during the medal races but when he did he gave good insights, explaining the holding the uphaul technique and in the womens race about the centreboard up/down decision. I agree with getting class specific experts such as the training partners, afterall they will be there in the background so why not get Giles Scott for the Finns, etc?
in Beijing Ben Ainslie commentated on the Star medal race, that was good, maybe he could do a few of the medal races this time?
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nutonthetiller View Drop Down
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Posts: 30 		Post Options Post Options   Quote nutonthetiller Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 12 at 8:04am
Roger, thanks for the biog of Simmonds. 

If he ever knew anything about sailing he seems to have forgotten it now. I wonder where he sails a laser? Can anyone help us there?

Rob Walker was having his first sailing lesson at the last olympics. 

I doubt he knows any more now!  Thumbs Down
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DiscoBall View Drop Down
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Posts: 305 		Post Options Post Options   Quote DiscoBall Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 12 at 9:35am
Originally posted by Roger

 
 
Work for them... he was....
 
Managing Director 1992-1998
Head of Development 1987-1992
 

Thought that was the case - he seems to be unable to leave his desire to sell lasers behind too, really labouring it in the commentary.
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ColH View Drop Down
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Posts: 242 		Post Options Post Options   Quote ColH Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 12 at 2:25pm
Yep, Simmonds is really doing my head in by now - screaming every time he repeats how the scoring system works, or what "left hand side of the course" means. I can appreciate a desire (by him and/or BBC) to educate/inform non-sailors, but does he have to trot out the same things several times in every race??  As Roger says, it's doubtful whether many of the viewers need this; and even so there's plenty of places people can go to find out the terminology etc if they're puzzled.
Much prefer it when Leigh is speaking - at least he comes out with relevant-to-the-moment info and explanations, without excessive 'dumbing down', and commentates on what is happening.
Please Mr. Simmonds - find, or fight to use, a better style!
 
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bustinben View Drop Down
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Posts: 288 		Post Options Post Options   Quote bustinben Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Aug 12 at 3:18pm
Complaint filed  Clap

I'm not judging whether he knows what he's talking about but has been told to dumb it down to a 10-15 IQ level, or whether he actually doesn't have a clue (I find that hard to believe), but it doesn't matter.  The commentary is awful and needs to be sorted out.
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