Foo - Whatever happened to BARREL JUMPING?

I used to go watch this ice event at Grossingers Hotel in the Catskills when I was a kid (in the 70's)- then it would be on the Wild World of Sports about a month later. Did someone realize it was stupid, or did the eternal "they" just replace it with ice dancing?

ESPN did a story on this a couple of months ago. I quess there are only two or three barrel jumpers left that are still trying to keep the sport alive. I rather see barrell jumping than that stupid Ice dancing that's on every night now.

"Barrel jumping got considerable exposure in movie newsreels during the 1950s and the sport was often featured on ABC's Wide World of Sports during the next two decades. However, it's declined greatly since about 1980. The major reason is probably that speed skaters have become so dedicated to their primary sport that they refuse to waste time on a sport that is both dangerous and essentially frivolous for their purposes.
Occasional competitions are still held in the Province of Quebec, most notably as part of the Quebec and Montreal winter carnivals, and barrel jumping exhibitions are sometimes included in ice shows. But the sport is definitely on the decline.
The Canadian Barrel Jumping Federation at one time had hopes that barrel jumping could become an Olympic sport. However, Federation President Gilles Leclerc has given up on that idea.
"We cannot do it," Leclerc said in a recent interview with Outing magazine. "Now there are fewer countries, and the people are discouraged. When you are refused all the time, all the good jumpers stop training. Instead of going forward, we are going back."

My mom used to barrel jump when she was a teenager in Ohio. All that athleticism as a teen and later in life she dies after tripping over my sisters stupid little dog. . . how ironic is that?

Her brothers used to race canoes. Not kayaks but actual run what ya brung aluminum canoes. Do they even race canoes anymore?

Like many fun things in life, it was probably banned by men wearing safety glasses.

Could we revive it at our next get-together and call it fooster jumping?

My mom used to barrel jump when she was a teenager in Ohio. All that athleticism as a teen and later in life she dies after tripping over my sisters stupid little dog. . . how ironic is that?

Her brothers used to race canoes. Not kayaks but actual run what ya brung aluminum canoes. Do they even race canoes anymore?

Olympic canoe racing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canoeing_and_kayaking_at_the_Summer_Olympics

It was popular in skateboarding back in the seventies as well...no more though. :(

Ok. Obviously, the remnants of the barrel jumpers need to steal the curling association's PR people and stage a comeback. They could even combine the sports, having a jump between ends.

No body uses barrels any more.

PEBA shut it down. Apparently barrel jumping is cruel to barrels, esp. if you do not remove the monkeys first.

I always thought that chattering sound was the from the skates. There were monkeys in those barrels?!?

Barrel jumping was replaced in 1972 in America by Dwarf Bowling mainly because they recieved so much support from the beer industry and negativity from the ACLU.
To get the best exposure in a sport you must be endorsed by a car manufacturer,beer brewer,or male enhancement product.

Barrel jumping was replaced in 1972 in America by Dwarf Bowling mainly because they recieved so much support from the beer industry and negativity from the ACLU.
To get the best exposure in a sport you must be endorsed by a car manufacturer,beer brewer,or male enhancement product.

So lets all try to slam a beer and jump over ModoVincere in a Toyota....................

They removed Barrel Jumping? Epyx software begs to differ!

http://www.c64.com/games/screenshots/w/world_games_06.gif

(I think my record was 14 barrels)