Gustave on a surfin' safari Olympians,   After a late summer break, Our Olympics is back with a very special competition! Coming up Next: 30N3 BASKETBALL C opying yet another new event in the Olympic Games this year, Our Olympics will foray into 3x3 basketball on Saturday, November 13th from 4pm-6pm at the Miller Center in Burlington. RSVP by adding yourself to a team  here ! All skill levels are welcome (full disclosure: I haven't made a basket since 2019 and never played for school), and we can make teams from individuals and pairs if you don't already know who your two BFFs are. If you're unfamiliar with the rules, consult Wikipedia  for the full rundown, but here's an overview: Played on a half-court with one basket 1 point for baskets made within the arc 2 points for baskets made outside the arc The game ends when one team scores 21 points or 10 minutes of play have passed Otherwise similar to standard 5-a-side basketball Ongoing Event: SURFING I: INDIVUDAL ...

  From left to right: Kate and Greg Nigon on a break mid-match in Croquet IV, Luke Yarnall getting gnarly in Skateboarding I Olympians,   With the Tokyo Olympic Games starting this week, it's no wonder that Our Olympics is charging forward, full steam ahead. July began with mountain biking, shifted to croquet, and wrapped up with skateboarding. Just Finished: SKATEBOARDING I: STREET N ew to the Olympics this year is Skateboarding, both park and street. To match the Games, Our Games held a skateboarding competition in Williston, VT on the same day the Olympics started in Tokyo. Luke Yarnall flew in from San Diego just for the event and came prepared with a board to share. After about 20 minutes of warming up, the 45 second sessions were jump started by a thunder clap. Gustave Sexauer laid down the first run of five tricks, followed by Yarnall, Maddy Suender, and Katrina Sexauer. After incredible stunts including attempted kick flips, attempted ollies, attempted ground-to-hand b...

  Dan Nigon-Kirgis, David Nigon, and Gustave Sexauer at Cycling V Olympians,   After a grueling eleven year wait, Greg Nigon finally got his wish: a mountain bike Olympic event. It  was indeed overdue, as it's our fifth cycling event, but the first since 2013. With a stacked field of six determined bikers and 2.5 mountain bikes, today's event was turning heads at Upper Hixon in La Crosse, WI. Just finished: CYCLING V: CROSS-COUNTRY MOUNTAIN BIKING T he best weren't saved for last, as we sent them out in the first wave of our 1.5mi time trial course. Wave one saw Dan Nigon-Kirgis on a borrowed Specialized, David Nigon on his own mountain bike, and Renee Nigon on a "mountain bike" with no suspension, standard brakes, and a ripped up seat. Offset by a minute at the start, Dan led the way and avoided being passed as he projected himself across the finish line and his breakfast into a trash can. David sped past turn one, blaming the course setters' signage, but som...

  Stasa Arnold in the First Round Olympians,   It's been some time since the last update, but fear not! Athletes were kicking and punching their way through the karate event right up to the final last Saturday. Didn't catch it on ESPN8? See the summary below. Next, we gear up for the long awaited, much anticipated: mountain biking event! And don't forget to wax your board for surfing! Next Up: CYCLING: CROSS-COUNTRY MOUNTAIN BIKE I n honor of Greg Nigon's big accomplishment (getting married), we're finally answering his repeated requests for a mountain biking event. Join us at 10:30am on July 9th at the Human Powered Trails in La Crosse, WI. More details to follow for those who are interested. Just finished: KARATE I: KATA O ver the past three months, the kata tournament has slowly played out. It began with a seeding round to place the eight competitors in a ranked bracket. After that it was one-on-one matches and single elimination. Kate Nigon showed early promise,...

Olympians,   We've got our eyes set on Japan. Both karate and surfing are having their Olympic debut this summer, but we're beating Tokyo 2020 to the punch. I'm pleased to announce our next two events, but first I must say that I don't know whether to be proud of such a convincing April Fool's joke in Extreme Ironing, or if I should be checking my sanity since no one thought this goofiness was out of my norm. KARATE I: KATA A lison Nigon-Kirgis is to thank for helping usher in our first Karate event: Kata. While Kumite style Karate involves physically sparring with an opponent, Kata does not require actual fighting . It's an event where two competitors demonstrate their moves and techniques against an imaginary opponent. For our event, we will place the willing participants in a March Madness style single elimination bracket. Alison (a black-belt herself) will develop routines that get progressively harder by round. Competitors will film themselves doing the ro...

  Olympians, The next Olympic event will be... EXTREME IRONING I: SINGLES After experimenting with the varied and technical event of Figure Skating, our success has led us to up our game. Although not yet in the Olympics, there's a strong chance that Extreme Ironing will one day be included as it has both a broad following around the world given the modern fashion of pressed shirts, and a powerful international governing body based in Paris, LIE (L é gion Irones Extr ê me). Format: First, submit your video of extreme ironing in the wildest place you can find. Second, use a macro lens to get a closeup of the fibers of your garment to highlight the lack of wrinkles. Additional points will be given for other sporting equipment used, best focused facial expression, percent organic cotton, and energy efficiency of the iron. Please submit your video and photos by tonight at 11:59 pm, April 1st. -Gustave No, I don't know him.

Olympians, I'm trying something new: blog updates for Our Olympic events. If you have any feedback on this format for updates, let me know. The site is currently in a state of flux as Google is discontinuing the old "Sites" and forcing a move over to the new Google Sites which means that every page will have to be reformatted. The site will be revamped when I can throw more time at it. But without further ado: RECAP - FIGURE SKATING I: SINGLES I t was one of the most technical and ambitious events we have ever attempted. Guided by our resident expert figure skater and eventual event judge, Raphaëlle Siemers, the format was laid out for a figure skating event filled with tricks attainable by even beginner skaters. But c'mon, a waltz jump!? By the end of February, six athletes had braved the cold, icy flatness and sent in their videos from wherever they could find ice time. Just days ago, the short and long routines were brought before the Honorable Judge Siemers as ...