Barrel Jumping

Everything looks set for my summer employment, the job was offered to me, and now it just has to be processed through the system on monday. The job is going to be good for me on a number of levels, not the least of which is a nice bump in pay from what I'd been earning my past few work terms. I'll also be inheriting a minivan, mostly for use at work, but for whatever I want so long as I find a way to afford to keep it on the road after 4 months of using it to travel to, between and across field sites. I could get into all the intrinsic benefits and how it will be great experience, but I used all that kiss-ass stuff up in the interview, and no-one cares about that anyways.

ManU is up 3-0 over Portsmouth; Ronaldo after sucking it up for a while there has scored 4 goals in 2 weeks, and so is the hottest player in the Premiership right now.
Canada just won its first medal of the Winter Games; a gold courtesy of Jennifer Heil in women's moguls. It should be the first of many more to come, including victories in both men's and women's puck. The women's team is always a force, and on the men's side, players like Burnaby Joe and Martin Brodeur are heating up just in time to get it on like donkey kong...you know if DK strapped on a pair of skates. Does anyone know if anyone actually participates in barrel jumping as a winter event anymore?

UPDATE: Apparently they do, but not so much as a competitive thing.

Long jumping on ice skates appears to have been an informal sport in the 19th century among the Dutch. It may have grown out of obstacle races, in which speed skaters had to jump over fences, walls, and man-made barriers.

Never have I been more proud of my Dutch heritage...or the Canadian one that keeps things rolling...

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.

So, who wants to help me save a sport?