Professional Cycling is still recovering from all the doping scandals. But my hat is off to all the riders who continue. Stage 20 of the Tour de France, major climbs, rain with some of the best riding in a couple of years. Next up for me, the America's Cup World Series from Portsmouth. The new boats allow the crowds to enjoy the races up close.
Another one that used to be really big, especially out in the Pacific Northwest, is hydroplane racing. Each year, the City of Seattle hosts the Seattle Seafair, and one of the main features is the hydroplane races, which are spectacular to watch. Back in their heyday, it seems like hydroplanes were in the news a lot, and since I lived in the greater Seattle area back in much of the 1960's and 1970's; I remember reading about the races and seeing the pictures on the evening news. Miss Seattle, Miss Budweiser, and even the city of Spokane had a Miss Spokane entry to the races. Trying to actually watch the race was something else because of the tremendous crowds and traffic; so we never went to see the races on Lake Washington. Altough, it would have been great fun to do so, and I am sure we would have enjoyed that part, if not the driving through traffic to get there. They still have the races every year; but they are just not as advertised as they once were, I think. There were some bad crashes, too. Here is one of them.
In the olden days, we have the Tour of Luzon which is the primary sports activity during summer. The cyclists are grouped according to their province or region so there is a semblance of team competition. From what I remember, the tour has 15 laps that cover the entire Luzon island and the culmination is the oval of the Rizal Memorial stadium in Manila. But due to lack of sponsors, the tour had changed its name to Tour Ng Pilipinas and then slowly lost its popularity. Until now there is still a professional cycling competition but not that grand anymore. Again, lack of sponsors is the main problem.
We have a wife carrying race every year here in Maine. Only it's not a nice clear pool of water but a mud pit.
I miss roller derby. It was shown at times on TV years ago. Some of those ladies could get pretty nasty.
Out here in the L.A. area, Roller Derby was hosted by well-known announcer Dick Lane, who also hosted Wrestling, which was largely a farce. Hal
Ah, what a bunch of sissies. Participants used to wear canvas pants that tied tight at the waist and ankles (and no undies allowed).
There is an attempt to revive the sport, and there are roller derby leagues, but they won't gain much traction unless they get back on television.