The Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games from Vancouver will take place this evening, kicking off two weeks of skating, sledding and schussing. SportsLetter knows what you're thinking right about now: the heck with Lindsey Vonn’s ankle, where are the mascots?!
We’re here to serve; and perhaps a reader can help by answering a question that has been baffling us: is Mukmuk an official mascot, or an Olympic mascot tourist?
Enjoy!
Chip
Way back in March 2008 SportsLetter reported on the surprising loss of Michigan State’s Sparty to Tennessee’s Smokey at the 2008 Universal Cheerleading Association National Championships.
Well, with the January excitement of the BCS Bowl Games, the Australian Open and the beginning of college basketball’s regular season, SportsLetter just plumb forgot to report the results of the 2009 contest. Consider that oversight rectified.
The 2009 Universal Cheerleading Association/Universal Dance Association College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championships were held in January at Walt Disney World's Wide World of Sports Complex (soon to be the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex). In the Division 1A Mascot competition, former champs Sparty and Smokey placed 4th and 5th respectively. Second and third place went to Aubie (Auburn) and Goldy Golpher (Minnesota). And, your 2009 mascot champion, from the University of Colorado: Chip!
YoUDee, from the University of Delaware, took the Open Mascot competition.
Finally, SportsLetter wasn’t there to judge, but … really, Sparty? What’s up with the Captain America underpants?
The 2010 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship will be held on January 15 - 18, 2010. SportsLetter won’t let you down.
Well, probably not.
But, if your cheerleading competition Jones can’t wait, maybe a trip to Bremen, Germany is in your near future. The International Federation of Cheerleading’s 5th Cheerleading World Championships will be held in that historic German city November 28th and 29th.
According to IFC President Setsuo Nakamura: “IFC and the local organizing committees expect upwards of 20 countries from all corners of the globe to participate and create a unique opportunity for cultural exchange and further cement the reputation of cheerleading as a serious global sport.”
Rah!
Zakumi
People keep asking SportsLetter, “Where did the mascots go?” OK, OK …
Next June South Africa will host the men’s FIFA World Cup. While teams across the globe currently are in the midst of qualifying tournaments, we know for sure who one of the attendees will be.
We could tell you what makes him so special, but Zakumi’s people have provided us with a video.
Xama
July is a big sports month in Europe. You got your Wimbledon and your Henley Royal Regatta; the Summer Universiade in Belgrade and the Tour de France. And, of course, the British Open; or simply The Open Championship if you're not reading this from the United States. For us at SportsLetter, though, nothing says summer like the Lusophone Games. The 2nd Lusophone Games, to be held in Lisbon, is a multi-sport event for athletes from Portuguese-speaking countries. And nothing says Lusophone Games like Xama.
As described by organizers, "just like all the participants in this competition, [Xama radiates] energy and vivacity, giving body and soul in every heat. It supports the sporting spirit: at each stage, just like the athletes, it wants to exceed its own limits, to jump hurdles, cut finishing lines, overcome frontiers and, of course, celebrate victories!"
Lake Placid revisited
In February, the world championships in luge, bobsleigh and skeleton will be held in Lake Placid, New York. It isn't the first time Lake Placid has played host to an international event. The 1932 Olympic Winter Games saw 1920 Olympic boxing gold medalist Eddie Eagan (United States) pick up a gold medal as a member of the four-man bobsleigh. He remains the only Olympian to earn gold medals in summer and winter Olympic Games. And in 1980, of course, Lake Placid was the site of the amazing accomplishments of Eric Heiden and the "Do You Believe in Miracles?" US Olympic hockey team.
Olympic Games fans also were introduced to Roni Raccoon who, according to the International Olympic Committee website, was "the first mascot to appear in sporting poses on various products."
Roni won't be around Lake Placid this month to help luge, skeleton and bobsleigh fans enjoy the world championships, but SportsLetter has learned that Bobby the Bobsledder and Larry the Luger are ready to slide into their roles as hosts.
Holo Kohola
If a bipedal whale is what comes to mind when contemplating a nice weekend run, then the good folks at the Maui Paradise Marathon have an event for you. Meet Holo Kohola, which means fast whale in the Hawaiian language.
Per organizers of the January 11 run, “by using Holo as our race mascot we hope to raise awareness to the world's fragile eco system through the eyes of our most majestic sea creature - the whale. By making him fast, we will encourage you to train hard and run with Holo, improving your own health and fitness and enhancing your awareness of the beauty and fragility of the Hawaiian Islands."
Dong Dong
Think snow. It may be hot and humid in Beijing right now, but the World University Winter Games will be a different story, in February 2009, in Harbin, China.
Organizers are expecting a lot from the official mascot. Dong Dong "manifests strong local features of North China and gives prominence to the special characteristics of the host city and winter sporting events by personifying the basic element of the snowflake. As a carrier of Winter Universiade vision and the Olympic Spirit, the mascot, with an angelic smile and pure, innocent, lively and adorable image, will spread passion and joy, health and wisdom, luck and happiness, together with wonderful blessings, to the youth and peoples around the world … The mascot inherits and carries forward the tradition, culture and humanism of the host city."
Flix and Trix
Meet Flix and Trix, the mascots of the recently completed 2008 European Football Championship. Swiss and Austrian fans voted on the names, with Flix and Trix beating out rival monikers Flitz and Blitz, and Zagi and Zigi. Hans and Franz was not an option, although the fans at Euro 2008 still seemed pretty pumped up.
