Monday, 14 February, 2022
Silver rush at our most successful Winter Games; Switzerland’s sinking horse race; Ben 10 goes to Brooklyn; and Ouka the incredible flying dog.
LINKS
Switzerland’s frozen lake horse race: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzQHYZJm1F8
Ouka the flying dog: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60341236
Squiz Kids for Schools: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/
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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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There’s been a rush of silver medals for Australia at the Winter Olympics over the weekend as we storm towards our most successful winter games ever.
Snow-boarding half-pipe maestro, Scotty James led the charge on Friday in Beijing when he came in second to Japan’s Hirano Ayumu.
And late on Saturday night, Brisbane’s Jackie Narracott surprised the world when she slid her way to silver in the death-defying women’s skeleton event.
Skeleton is like an upside-down luge – with what looks suspiciously like a death wish thrown in for good measure. Participants slide head first down an ice-track on a sled, with no steering and no brakes at speeds of up to 130 km/h to see who can go the fastest.
Jackie – who began her sporting life in athletics in Brisbane, where there’s famously no snow – is the first Australian to win a sliding medal. Sliding at the Winter Olympics includes the luge, the bob sled and the skeleton.
With Scotty’s silver, snowboarder Jess Coady’s bronze and Jakara Anthony’s gold medal in women’s moguls – Jackie’s silver brings Australia’s medal tally to four … the most we have ever won at a single Winter Olympics.
Not bad for a nation that’s otherwise known as the sunburnt country.
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops … and today we’ve landed in Switzerland – where one of the most famous horse races in the world is in danger of sinking. Literally.
Every winter St Moritz – which is a famous ski resort in the Swiss Alps mountain range – stages a horse race on ice. The White Turf race sees horses race across a frozen lake in a spectacular mash-up of sport and scenery.
But with global warming- the layer of ice on the lake has become thinner with every year – making it more and more dangerous to ride horses over. This year, racers noticed water coming up from under the ice, with organisers restricting the number of horses on it at any one time.
The horse race that could become a swimming race … hmmm.
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to video of the frozen lake horse race.
SPORT TIME
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From now on Ben Simmons – one of Australia’s most successful basketballers in the all-important NBA in America – will be known as Ben 10.
Not Ben 10 the cartoon super-kid. But Ben 10 of Brooklyn – after he was traded on Friday from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Brooklyn Nets and chose to wear the number 10 jersey. The trade came right down to the wire, happening only hours before the trade deadline in the NBA expired – and Simmons said afterward he was relieved and thankful to the Nets for taking him.
Simmons was traded for Nets playmaker, James Harden. And now that he has a new home at the Nets – he also has a new team mate in the shape of Aussie all-star, the incredible Patty Mills. Now that’s what i call a dream team ..
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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Because it’s a Monday, and we all need a smile to kick off the week – we bring you the news of Ouka, the incredible flying dog … who has become an internet star since he started paragliding in the French Alps.
Wait, what? A flying dog? Yes indeed my friends. Ouka is a full grown Samoi – a big, white, furry dog – and his owner, who is a keen paraglider, noticed how unafraid Ouka was of heights. So he made him a special harness and took him for a test flight aboard his paraglider.
A paraglider is essentially a parachute with a harness you sit in – but instead of jumping out of a plane, you run off the side of a mountain to take flight.
Ouka loved the test flight so much, his owner has taken him again and again. And videos of Ouka paragliding have gone viral online – clocking up more than 150 million views.
And it’s easy to see why … check out the video of Ouka paragliding in today’s episode notes … Guaranteed to put a smile on your dial … You’re welcome …
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- In which country is a horse race held every year on a frozen lake?
- Name the Aussie basketballer who’s been traded to go to the Nets?
- What sort of flying sport does Ouka the dog do in the French Alps?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s February 14 .. It’s Valentine’s Day … a day for love and romance all over the world today .. don’t forget to tell that special someone in your life today how much you love them .. oh – and if you’re a Squiz Kids for Schools subscribing classroom or a Squiz Kids Subscriber on Apple podcast – be sure to check out our excellent Valentine’s Day shortcut – everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the origins of the international day of lurrrrve …
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Chelsea from Bicton, WA, Jack from Denmark (in WA) and Samantha from Carlingford.
A belated birthday shout out goes to Arya from Canberra.
Classroom shoutouts today go to …class 6W and Mr Watters at Livingstone Primary School in Vermont South, class 5/6 and Mr O’Keefe at Pacific Paradise State School, class 6A and Mrs Trewhella at Echuca Primary School and finally to class 5/6C and at North Ryde Public School and a happy birthday to their teacher Miss Chiddy for yesterday.
And finally a special shout out to Ben and Neru from Forest Lake in Brissie.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Switzerland
- Ben Simmons
- Paragliding