OlympicIRL

Britain will vote this day next week (Thursday, 23rd June) on a referendum on whether to "Leave" or "Remain" in the EU. It's a very complex situation and the country and indeed the governing Conservative party is split over the issue. Since the date was set for the referendum, polls regularly showed the "Remain" side with a comfortable lead. The "Leave" side has gathered momentum, slowly chipping away at the lead and in the most recent 2 weeks, polls are indicating a sizeable swing in favour of "Brexit"... i.e. in favour of Britain leaving the E.U. The Conservative party are in chaos, ministers attacking ministers, leading members undermining the Prime Minister and rubbishing claims and so called "scare-mongering" from the Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister). Boris Johnson who is leading the "Leave" campaign is also widely considered as a candidate to replace David Cameron as the next Conservative leader and potential Prime Minister, so to see them go head to head and resort to mud-slinging in a very public way is quite astonishing to see play out. The Labour party too is in chaos, with many of their traditional supporters indicating they intend to vote to "Leave" the EU, which would be a devastating blow for the Labour parliamentary party and indeed the "Remain" side who are fundamentally relying on those Labour supporters to get them across the line. The British population is deeply divided on the issue also with a comfortable majority of under-35s in favour of "Remain" and on the other hand, a huge majority of the older population are in favour of a "Brexit". Crucuially, the older population are more likely to get out and use their vote than the younger population and that could prove to be a decisive factor. There are also contrasting opinions from the different countries in the UK, with a comfortable majority in Scotland in favour of "Remain" while recent polls have shown a much closer situation in the other countries (England, Wales and Northern Ireland), and in fact some polls have shown those populations in favour of "Leave". This also gives rise to another potentially intriguing scenario whereby the Scottish Nationalist Party, which holds power in the Scottish Parliament and a huge presence in Westminster, threatening to call another independence referendum if Scotland votes to "Remain" but is dragged out of the EU by an overall "Leave" vote in the other 3 regions. The nationalists are very confident about winning any potential independence referendum this time also. So the prospect of the break-up of the United Kingdom is also looming large in the backdrop of this referendum. At the moment, the polls are indicating that the referendum will be too close to call.... "Brexit" is beginning to forge a lead and gain momentum but some would say that they need to be a bit further ahead in order to secure victory....the consensus is that as the referendum day gets closer, those undecided or even just a little bit swayed by the "Leave" option would revert back to voting for the status quo, usually out of fear of the unknown.... choosing to stick instead of change. But it is striking so far that the so called "Project Fear" adopted by Cameron and the "Remain" side is not cutting through with voters this time and there is a more stubborn attitude among the electorate this time that they won't be won over by fear from either side of the argument. Immigration concerns are proving to be the main talking point and of course that overwhelmingly benefits the "Leave" side of the argument as it's a strong point for them..... the economy which is the strong point for the "Remain" side is not gathering the same tract as immigration, with many voters indicating they will still vote to leave even if it means they will be worse off economically in the short-term. The "Brexit" side are arguing that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to win back democracy for the UK and that argument is winning over voters. It's going to be one heck of a week ahead!!

50 days to go..... ------------------50--------------------------------------25--------------------------------------02----- --------49-----------------48------------------27-----------------24-------------------04----------------01- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --47----------------------------46-------29-----------------------------22-------06----------------------------03 --------------------------------------36--------------------------------------16------------------------------- --45-----------------------38--43-------30--33-------------------18--21-------08--13------------------------05 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------44-----------40---41------------------28--31-------20--23-------------------10--11------------07--- ------------------42--------------------------------------26--------------------------------------09------------- ----------------------39-----------------------------32-------19----------------------------12----------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------37-----------------34-------------------17----------------14------------- --------------------------------------35--------------------------------------15-----------------

As we come to the 50 days to go milestone until the Games of the XXXIst Olympiad in Rio, it's time to open our official countdown thread here on Totallympics. Members can post here on the thread day-by-day to help build the excitement in the coming weeks as we countdown to the big event. This thread can be used to mark any milestones on the way, such as the opening of the Olympic village, tracking the arrival of delegations, the raising of our national flags in the Olympic village, news and details about the Opening Ceremony and so on. To help us countdown the days ahead, I have created an Olympic Countdown Clock, consisting of the numbers 1-50 which represent the 5 Olympic rings. As each day passes, another piece of the Olympic ring is shaded in colour until the 1 day to go milestone, after which the 5 coloured rings will be depicted in their complete form. Also, it is intended that this thread could be used to post fun facts or trivia about Olympic Games and athletes, past and present, anything users think would be of interest, perhaps even incorporating the number of days to go in their item of trivia: for example, on the 22 days to go milestone, a fun fact might point out that 22 is the number of medals that the most decorated Olympian of all-time, Michael Phelps, has won in his career. I am sure users can be even more creative than me in this aspect . So without further ado, let the countdown to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games begin 2016 Olympic Countdown Clock ------------------50--------------------------------------25--------------------------------------02----- --------49-----------------48------------------27-----------------24-------------------04----------------01- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --47----------------------------46-------29-----------------------------22-------06----------------------------03 --------------------------------------36--------------------------------------16------------------------------- --45-----------------------38--43-------30--33-------------------18--21-------08--13------------------------05 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------44-----------40---41------------------28--31-------20--23-------------------10--11------------07--- ------------------42--------------------------------------26--------------------------------------09------------- ----------------------39-----------------------------32-------19----------------------------12----------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------37-----------------34-------------------17----------------14------------- --------------------------------------35--------------------------------------15-----------------

Sure, I'll try to get something up by tomorrow then

Well done Slovakia! Happy for you @hckosice Very close to the knock-out stages now

[hide] Knockout Round June 16th - June 26th, 2016 8 Nations, Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Bronze Medal Match and Gold Medal Match, winning Nation will become Men's Football CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Copa América Centenario 2016 champion Quarterfinals All times are Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -4) Date and Venue Team 1 T1 T2 Team 2 June 16th 2016, h. 21:30, CenturyLink Field, Seattle United States 1 2 Ecuador June 17th 2016, h. 20:00, MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford Peru 1 3 Colombia June 18th 2016, h. 19:00, Gillete Stadium, Foxborough Argentina 2 0 Venezuela June 18th 2016, h. 22:00, Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara Mexico 2 1 Chile [/hide]

Go Slovakia!!!

Wow, that is a really great achievement.... I love these longevity stories

Thanks for the info. I really hope it won't happen too.... injuries are just horrible, I wouldn't wish them on anyone or to ruin an Olympic dream.

Does that mean the line-up in terms of possible jumping re-allocations is pretty much closed now?... realistically I mean (I know last minute injuries could occur).

Ahh damn.... we played great for 50 minutes and then tried to defend a 1-0 lead.... disappointing in that aspect. In the bigger picture though it's not a disaster, lots for both teams still to play for in the rest of the group

Thanks man, that would be awesome

I love that! The atmosphere looks great and good to see the fans mingling and having a laugh which is what it's all about

Haha, nice! I'm sure Martin O'Neill and Erik Hamrén have taken all of those factors into consideration upon preparing for the big game

Let the battle commence

The big matchday is finally here! Getting all the work done as early as possible so I can stick on my shirt and support the boys in green!

I predicted 2-2.... go on Slovakia

Nuno Gomes in goal for Switzerland

OMG, that is just terrible news, I was just thinking about her this week. RIP

And we begin

Yeah it's true but a lot of those negative commenters probably don't know anything about showjumping.... the rankings aren't that important, current form is way more crucial in my opinion. Greg and Going Global were out for a little while with injury but always perfrom well at Nations Cup (they jumped double clear at last weekend's Nation Cup in St.Gallen and double clear again in the Grand Prix. It doesn't mean I think they will do much at the Olympics though.... they are untested at a major championships, but having said that, I think the Olympic format will suit them rather than a speed competition and accumulated score. The Irish showjumping federation are a joke though.... Robert Splaine has overseen 3 consecutive failed attempts at qualifying a showjumping team for the Olympics, and this time only qualified 1 individual.... that's an absolute disaster..... I cannot believe we have now missed 3 Olympics in a row in the team event, it's really shocking. And of course it's not his fault only, but if you want a professional set up, the federation must not allow someone to keep their job after overseeing this disaster. They really need to freshen things up. Horsesport Ireland in general are run very poorly..... for decades it has been obvious Ireland has real potential in eventing, and yet they do little to nothing to promote the dressage discipline. Also, I get angry every week reading their posts on their website and on Twitter cheering on how Irish show horses are winning big all over the world..... who cares? They aren't representing Ireland.... instead there should be a drive and programme where our breeders are encouraged (financially if needs be) to keep our horses at home.... then we really would be a force in equestrian. It's the same every Olympics, nothing much changes. The one very encouraging thing is how our underage eventing teams are performing in recent years, I hope this continues.... I see some improvement in our eventers dressage scores but God it's a very slow progress.

MHS stands for Mill House Stud so yeah it probably will be dropped for the Olympic competition.

Yeah it definitely is different than usual, but it's nice in a way since blue is the colour of our coat of arms.

Ireland The Team Ireland 2016 Olympic sportswear was showcased yesterday..... I like the shoes.....

Greg Broderick has been nominated by Horse Sport Ireland to represent Ireland in the individual showjumping in Rio. Bertram Allen won the quota place for Ireland but his top horse Molly Malone has not been in top form for a while now. Greg Broderick will ride MHS Going Global at the Olympics.