The Sentinel Amsterdam vol. 6 #5 by Consultancy Market Media

vol. 6 #5 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 15 January 2013

The Sentinel Amsterdam

Integrity, heart, humour

feature

trends

2013 is glitter!

the end

in this issue

travel - p.20

travel - p. 34

Feature: - 2013 is glitter

New Amsterdam (New York)

A winter’s stroll through Vilnius

‘Across the champagne and date threshold’

‘A place to party!’

amsterdam city life - p. 50

sport - p. 70

sport - p. 82

Bring back (Special)

On The Volley – Freezing Point

The Gold Room

‘Keep the old vibe alive’

‘We know the underlying causes of violence are various’

feature - p.04

more city gems - p. 44

star beer guide - p. 58

film review - p. 61

Zest

Gouden Carolus

Room 2C

spotted - p. 64

trends - p. 66

health & well-being - p. 68

Where is this in Amsterdam?

The End

Labelling Nature

sport - p. 74

White Out

The Sentinel Amsterdam

E-mail: sentinelpost@gmail.com Website: www.thesentinel.eu Contributors: Leonie Hoijtink, David King, Dirkje Bakker-Pierre, Evelina Kvartunaite, Simon Joseph and Ananda Welij

Editors: Gary Rudland & Denson Pierre Design, realisation and form: Andrei Barburas & No-Office.nl Webmaster: www.sio-bytes.tumblr.com Webhost: Amsterjammin.com

The Sentinel Amsterdam does not intentionally include unaccredited photos/illustrations that are subject to copyright. If you consider your copyright to have been infringed, please contact us at sentinelpost@gmail.com.

feature

‘‘What you see is what you hear’’

By Denson Pierre

There are many ways to bring in a New Year but this time just past, Paradiso (Amsterdam) and partners went for a huge party themed around glitter. With the increasingly exciting Smoke Eaters taking the crowd across the champagne and date threshold with thumping beats and their refined, artistically driven ‘what you see is what you hear’ live-set, the result was a really friendly and boogie filled smile-off. Glitter appeals directly to female sensibilities so there was no shortage of tight-fitting, shiny numbers adorning the bodies of those present who, as it turned out, must have comprised 70% of the throng. Just the sort of party to show Amsterdam in its very best light even while considering the couple of slightly outrageous pop acts also on the programme who had no problem showing all ‘legally tolerated’ body parts during their supporting dance performances. It is never extreme if you are relaxed and with the non-stop rain outside, a generally calm atmosphere on the streets around the venue and Dan Murphy’s Irish Bar-turned-disco across the square, it was a nicely intoxicating and typical Amsterdam welcome to 2013.

2013 is GLITTER!

feature

‘Amsterdam in its very best light’

feature

‘Outrageous pop acts’

feature

‘Showing all ‘legally tolerated’ body parts’

feature

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;A nicely intoxicating and typical Amsterdam welcome to 2013â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

feature

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travel

New Amsterdam (New York),

New Year! 21

By Leonie Hoijtink

Celebrating New Yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Eve in New York: an experience most Dutch people would jump at, if they had the chance, as I did.

travel

– ‘First and foremost a group of party people’

–

My best friend and her boyfriend are currently both working at Yale University and live a mere two hours from the Big Apple. An excellent opportunity to make friends and family envious and ring in 2013 Yankee style. The ingredients necessary for a successful end of year party include, first and foremost, a group of party people. As it happens, my friends are not the only Dutch people working at Yale and, apparently, Dutch people like to hang out together even or perhaps especially when abroad. That’s how we became a group of eight, ready to hit the city. Secondly, one needs a place to stay. Hotels are super expensive and totally booked up at this time of year. The advantage of being with a bigger group is that it becomes affordable to rent an apartment. For US$ 80 a pop we stayed in East Village, Manhattan. Although we’ve all travelled to different places around the world, we found ourselves to be typical Achterhoekers when the owner told us a key to the apartment could be found outside. As we looked underneath a trashed Christmas tree, moved the mail and checked the welcome mat, we kept thinking how naïve it is to leave a key outside in the big city. But how wrong we were! The key was locked to a bicycle (love it!) and could be retrieved with a special code. The third ingredient is food and drinks to get started. Heading for New York with one suitcase full of beer and one with food, we were pretty well covered. Of course, if you’re not limited to a budget, you could save yourself

the trouble of trying to manoeuvre heavy suitcases through metro entrances and just fill up on US$ 6 beers at a club. Our supplies, however, ensured affordable toasts to the New Year in the Netherlands, England, Iceland and Brazil, before we hit the town to celebrate our own. Which brings us to ingredient number four: a place to party! Although thousands of people opt to stand in line and freeze to see the famous ball descend at Times Square, we decided to stay warm and get a complimentary glass of champagne at The Fat Black Pussycat. This club is just off Washington Square and has everything you could want: not too expensive to get in, extensive decorations, good music, nice people and affordable drinks. Of course, not everyone could handle the latter. The club website urged people not to become too intoxicated and to keep the atmosphere friendly, but several highly inebriated people saw their evening cut short as they were quietly escorted to the exit. Not the Dutch, though! We made some new friends and once again proved that the world is extremely small, as we bumped into some acquaintances from Islamabad. So, there you have the ingredients for a great party in NYC, which actually turn out to be essentially the same things wherever you are. I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Don’t let the unlucky number put you off: we had ourselves a free train ride on New Year’s Day, thanks to a defective train and a one hour delay, saving us US$ 15 each. If that’s not a good sign for a fortunate 2013, I don’t know what is!

travel

– ‘For $80 a pop we stayed in East Village, Manhattan’ –

travel

– ‘Fill up on $6 beers at the club’ –

travel

–

‘Get a complimentary glass of champagne at The Fat Black Pussycat’ –

travel

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travel

A WINTER’S STROLL IN VILNIUS, LITHUANIA.

By Evelina Kvartunaite

travel

city gems

‘Sometimes in life and business it really is all about timing’

Zest By Denson Pierre

City Gem Club Zest Bilderdijkstraat 188, Amsterdam

Club Zest is a family partnership business which takes the form of a rather tasty restaurant, bar and high-ceilinged space which makes for fresh-aired bar dancing when the hours touch the deep darkness. Being ideally situated at the junction of three tram lines (3, 7 and 17) means it is utterly accessible for those not on bicycles or confusingly wishing to drive around this city. Its size means that it is on the easily cosy scale and there is just something about the place that turns everyone there into ‘old-fashioned’ chatty, embracing types. This and the overall ambiance leading to an event feeling when there that is aided by a lay-out which sees the lower level having an attractive

DJing area. And they clearly have a sense of music programming that is interesting and not at all wallpapered by the bubble-gummed emptiness of house, techno or trance music DJs (Thursdays to Sundays). With the solid walls of an older Amsterdam central building the acoustic sounds of guest artistes are also regularly held in. A truly refreshing concept restaurant/bar and party space. It is one which has simply combined the best of the ‘Amsterdam style’ of easy out going. Quietly, and in good timing near-West continues to have a few ‘bests’ of Amsterdam. Go meet the family (Vasil, Teodora, Nicolay and Boryana) and do stay on for the music as that alone ensures their tag as a (new) city gem.

‘A rather tasty restaurant, bar and high-ceilinged space, which makes for fresh-aired bar dancing’

First of all, it is not a club in any of the recognisable senses. It is really a very friendly and city appropriate new venture which rolls out super service and favourites. Sometimes in life and business it really is all about timing. Just at the point at which I was about to write a Bring back piece on the disappearance of the (good) DJ cafes in Amsterdam these entrepreneurs come along and better the idea.

city gems

‘The place that turns everyone into ‘old-fashioned’ chatty, embracing types’

city gems

‘One which simply combines the best of easy-going ‘Amsterdam-style’ nightlife’

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Authentic and full of surprises. That’s Mechelen. Hospitable and honourable. That’s the people of Mechelen. Come and experience the city’s urban charms for yourself.

photography © Layla Aerts

Mechelen Mechelen

amsterdam city life

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Local survivors doing their best to be normalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

amsterdam city life

: K C A B G N I BR By Denson Pierre

special: edel

Over the past 15 years, in particular, there has been a particularly schizophrenic response by most of the hospitality industry aimed at making some quick money through the brutal art of overcharging, particularly to tourists. This, of course, leads to locals having to cope with the same price tags when the tourist hordes follow the sunshine and warmth away from Amsterdam. It is rare to find establishments practicing good old acts of generosity to their customers, whatever the season. When did a bar/ restaurant/café you patronise decently throughout the year or your life here last openly invite you to come along and sample what they offer or their new decor at their expense? This does not entail giving away profits as, in the Netherlands, a good accountant will make sure such an act bring in greater profits. It actually works as the most efficient means of keeping an establishment in favour with its most likely and regular customers – the ‘very-locals’. It is also a tax write off. As a special ‘bring back’ call from The Sentinel, we

would like to ask more establishments to take a look at themselves and return to the ‘old Amsterdam’ spirit by using such friendly approaches as a customer-retention tool. It would also show the other mean-minded, money-obsessed proprietors that, apart from being a nice touch in keeping your ‘very-locals’ happy and feeling appreciated, it will significantly benefit an establishment’s long-term business plan and dispel the idea that almost criminal one-off price hits are sustainable. Amsterdam near-West is fighting hard to keep the old vibe alive and it came as no surprise, at the end of last year, to find Café Restaurant Edel posting professionally developed flyers through the letterboxes of households and businesses within a 400 metre radius of the establishment, inviting us to come along, meet them and check out what they are doing and serving for a couple hours at their cost. What a nice evening it turned out to be, as the people interested did come along, have a few drinks, fresh Dutch snacks, listen to the music and even make new friends and laugh with old ones, some of whom they did not even know lived nearby. The majority also stayed on for hours afterwards, spending. While this is scalable, Edel wins my vote for the nicest hospitality act of proper Amsterdamness of 2012. For most of the people who turned up, it surely makes Edel a strong and easy option to visit and spend from the reduced pool of expendable income over the course of the next year. The Sentinel says bring back more establishments properly connecting with their regulars and neighbourhoods.

‘Return to the ‘old Amsterdam’ spirit and use such friendly approaches’

As I often say, beneath the veneer and masquerade of being a leading global city, Amsterdam is really a village city. A place where, once the tourist weight shifts or winter descends, you find yourself confronted by the same group of local survivors doing their best to live normal lives and keep themselves, their families and aspirations ticking along in the face of universal challenges.

amsterdam city life

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Edel wins my vote for the nicest hospitality act of proper Amsterdamness of 2012â&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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JC Tours

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star beer guide

The Sentinel Star beer guide By Denson Pierre

Gouden carolus

(8.5 % A.B.V.)

‘One to savour over a glass, or two’ 59

The pride of Mechelen, in liquid form. A spicy and full-tasting beer that shows off the high art of Belgian beer making in most of its glory. This is a richly coloured and serious beer – not one to attempt spreeing on but one to savour over a glass, or two, before moving back on to dryer and lighter samples. A star beer long before this section was created, further testing during the height of summer and the recent depths of winter confirms that this totally distinguished brew is becoming more available around Amsterdam on tap, as well as being easily found in bottles in specialist shops. Gouden Carolus is brewed by Brouwerij Het Anker, Mechelen, Belgium.

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room2c

Room 2c film Amsterdamned (1988)

By David King

A serial killer lurks in the canals of Amsterdam, ready to kill anyone who gets too close to the water’s edge; good twist! Director Dick Maas and cameraman Marc Felperlaan, in particular, capture many of the fascinating sights of this great city. The film becomes a ‘where will he strike next’ chase, while also prompting many an “oh, my gosh, I’ve been there!” exclamation. 61

Cat People (1982) Natassja Kinski excels in fine feline form in this classic remake. A young woman comes of age and realises her lineage is connected to an ancient pride of deadly, great cats. Her brother kills some birds and sheds some skin while exciting New Orleans on the prowl. The music of Hansjorg ‘Giorgio’ Moroder (of I Feel Love fame) shares the love and David Bowie’s voice perfectly captures the mood of this slightly erotic tale. Not for minors with pet cats.

By dpmotions

recommended

Gollemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Proeflokaal, 21/12/12

ended Recomm

We find the best, most fun, most typical, exciting, or local favourite restaurants etcetera in Amsterdam and bring them to you; an easy way to feel like a local.

g 9 3812 SZ Amersfoort

recommended

35 75To- Be Fax 033 - 454 35 79Connoisseurs Delight Seen and Tasted filmproef@eurogifts.nl te: www.eurogifts.nl

Fun, Drinking & Music

ORDERNUMMER: 6 ARTIKELNUMMER: 6

Opera Prima Patisserie Bistro Traiteur The best place in town for lunch, exquisite high teas or brunches and all of your luxury catering, both private and corporate!

Mulligans Irish Music Bar Amsterdam’s best address for live Irish music: Five (5) nights a week! Check our agenda for upcoming sessions.

St. Antoniebreestraat 142 Amsterdam www.tisfris.nl

Kinkerstraat 228 Amsterdam www.operaprima.nl

Amstel 100 1017 AC Amsterdam www.mulligans.nl

To Be Seen and Tasted

Connoisseurs Delight

To Be Seen and Tasted

Cafe restaurant Edel Cafe restaurant Edel is the perfect place for lunch, dinner or to simply enjoy a drink. Edel is a unique place in Amsterdam.

Café Kostverloren Café Kostverloren is a contemporary cafe offering the cosiness of a saloon, an open kitchen and the intimacy of a living room. During summer there is a large, sunny terrace and during winter, an open ﬁreplace!

Postjesweg 1 1057 DT Amsterdam www.edelamsterdam.nl

Incanto Incanto is a restaurant with a classic Italian kitchen. Venetian chef Simone Ambrosin is known for his pure and simple style of cooking with feeling for nuance. The wine list contains over 150 Italian wines. Amstel 2 Amsterdam www.restaurant-incanto.nl

Fun, Drinking & Music

Connoisseurs Delight

Neighbourhood cosy

Café Oporto Café Oporto is a traditional Amsterdam ‘brown cafe’. Welcoming tourists and regular customers alike, they offer televised sports, wireless internet connection and a wide range of reasonably priced beers and spirits.

Planet Rose Planet Rose is the ﬁrst Caribbean restaurant in the Netherlands, which specializes in Jamaican cuisine. The menu features a daily changing selection of Jamaican/ Caribbean dishes and they ensure that you enjoy the whole experience while dining with them!

Zest Zest is ﬁne food, warm atmosphere and classy drinks with regular semi-acoustic (live) music and DJs (Thursday to Sunday). Amsterdam’s newest and freshest!

Zoutsteeg 1 1012 LX Amsterdam www.cafeoporto.net/home

Nicolaas Beetsstraat 47 Amsterdam www.planetrose.info

Bilderdijkstraat 188 Amsterdam www.facebook.com/clubzest.nl

2e Kostverlorenkade 70 Amsterdam www.cafekostverloren.nl

Cafe Tisfris Cafe Tisfris is recognisable for its landmarks, funky pillars and terrace. Tisfris offers a friendly service and is a great pit stop for “yummy” refreshments.

spotted

Where is this in Amsterdam?

Answer to: sentinelpost@gmail.com

ÂŠ Stephen Pereira

spotted

trends

The End ‘So much food stocked in private homes that it could resolve all of the world’s food problems’ 67

By Dirkje Bakker-Pierre

The year has drawn to a close and a particularly great year it was, seeing as we all survived the end of days. Survived it just like that! I mean, that just gives me a great feeling. We didn’t even have to do anything for it; it just happened, well, actually it didn’t happen and we are all still here. Because of this end of the world phenomenon, two of the most persistent trends of 2012 have to be the doomsday prediction and doomsday prepping. Countless new jobs and disciplines were created in connection with Mayan prediction interpretation, ultimate backpack designing, reverse historical expertise, survival handbook writing, food freezedrying, water purification, selling seeds and bombshelter development. I am actually quite surprised that this whole new range of activities and products hasn’t led to a rebound of the economy. Many Americans have bought at least double, or more, the amount of food they would usually buy

and stocked their attics, cellars and garden sheds with years and years’ supply of food, water, toilet paper, bullets, guns, face masks, medicines and much, much more. There must be so much food stocked in private homes that it could resolve all of the world’s food problems if it were ever redistributed. It must have been so exciting for all the preppers to think that their moment had arrived on 21 December. All of their hard work and investment would finally pay off. At last, they could tuck into their freeze-dried ham and eggs, and make use of their contraptions that turn pee into drinking water. I wonder how many of them are still festering in their shelters, imagining that they are the sole survivors in a devastated world.

health & well-being

– ‘Be more conscious about what ends up in our shopping carts’

–

Labelling nature 68

By Evelina Kvartunaite

Once all the seasonal holidays are past and all the celebration dinners have been consumed, we all look into more healthy choices, perhaps even go with a New Year resolution to have a more balanced diet and certainly be more conscious about what ends up in our shopping carts or how it is prepared later on. I must admit, I was always a bit more curious about how it became so cool to buy organic, biotic and all those other fancy words presented on labels. What does it mean and what is the difference between one and the other? I decided therefore to embrace the world of the unknown and do some research which I am so happy to share with you. So let’s enter the world of healthy (or at least healthier). Organic

Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilisers. Organic foods are also not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives. However, it doesn’t mean that they don’t contain or use them at all. There exists a list of approved products which ‘organic’ farmers are allowed to use. Up to 20% of

chicken feed and 10% of cattle feed can be non-organic for instance. Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders. In the context of these regulations, organic food is food produced in a way that complies with organic standards set by national governments and international organisations. Does this mean it is healthier for you? Unfortunately, according to the British Nutrition Foundation, there is no scientific proof of any extra health benefits. Apparently with organic it’s absolutely not black and white, as there are way more shades of grey than one would think and on top of this is a cost issue. It seems that anything labelled ‘organic’ is more expensive. How come I wonder? It seems that cost comes from the following (just to mention few): - labour costs can be higher because of farming methods - yields are usually lower - organic feed for animals can be expensive - smaller quantities and longer distances raise the costs of distribution and marketing - when demand is high and supply is low, the price goes up

health & well-being

– ‘It seems that anything labelled ‘organic’ is more expensive’ –

Organic vs Natural

Yet another pickle in the path of us understanding how to navigate within the different marketing terms for organic and natural products. Everything from produce, to beauty supplies, to clothing carries labels that appeal to the health conscious or eco-friendly shopper. Whether or not these labels accurately define the products depends on regulations. The European organic food label has been mandatory throughout the EU since July 2010. The logo is a green rectangle that shows twelve stars (from the EU flag) placed in a way such that they form the shape of a leaf in the wind. Since the summer 2012 the agreement has been reached that signalled the end of years of negotiation between agricultural authorities across the Atlantic, in which each side had accused the other of not being rigorous enough. They now both concur that the organic standards in each market are more or less equivalent. In this case the difference with ‘natural’ foods is that they have no legal supervision at all, and are not defined by any law or criteria. Again, taking my above definition of ‘healthy’ into account, I don’t think foods labelled as natural are inherently better or healthier than foods not so labelled. rather, I think it depends on the individual, your habitual diet, and the extent to which you are consuming certain foods (regardless of whether they’re

labelled as natural or not) on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, I think it’s important to understand that just because a food is labelled as ‘natural’ doesn’t mean it’s inherently good for you. Foods labelled as ‘Natural’, ‘All Natural,’ and ‘100% Natural’ can be calorically dense, high in sugar, and undergo extreme processing measures. This being the case, when it comes to ‘natural’ foods, invest in what you feel most comfortable with. Stick to a diet largely consisting of fruits, vegetables, lean animal proteins, whole grains, and a mix of high quality fats. Whether or not these foods are labelled as ‘natural’ is (at least in my opinion), irrelevant.

– ‘The European organic food label has been mandatory throughout the EU since July 2010’ –

sport

On The Volley

By Simon Joseph

‘The rest of the world carried on regardless’

The Mayan calendar may have come to an end on 21 December last year, but the rest of the world carried on regardless. While some were waiting for the apocalypse, the day itself was uneventful. Not quite the end of the world for most, but certainly for some. A week, or so, beforehand the jazz musician Dave Brubeck died aged 91, followed by Oscar Niemeyer, the architect of Brazil’s modern capital, aged 92. I don’t usually pay much attention to the obituaries but without any sports news coming in, I’ve been forced to find other interests. Perhaps the Mayans’ decision to stop counting the years was their way of dealing with their own mortality, I decided in my morbid pursuit. Dealing with death at any time is difficult to bear but at this time of year, it brings about a heightened sense of loneliness for some people, some of whom will now count the years since Brubeck.

They say that bad news comes in threes, so I was waiting for something else to happen when the four riders of the apocalypse turned up in Almere. However much I’ve tried to avoid football-related stories, this one was impossible to ignore – the tragic story of Dutch referee’s assistant, Richard Nieuwenhuizen, who was punched and kicked to death on the pitch by a bunch of violent youths. While most would agree that Brubeck and Niemeyer had a good innings, poor Nieuwenhuizen, father of three and aged just 41, was in his prime.

Freezing point

We know the underlying causes of violence are various, and social alienation could be one of those, but what drives someone to football-related violence? Maybe this, too, stems from feelings of isolation, particularly at this time of year. As I’ve previously mentioned, football is supposed to be something that brings people together but when the passion of sport turns to violence, the game’s over. That’s why, like most things, sport has to be governed by laws. However, on a frozen pitch in Almere, a handful of idiots decided to take those laws into their own hands – and feet. Similar incidents are becoming more and more frequent in amateur football, which is hardly surprising given their role models in the professional game. But is it really something new?

sport

‘Solitariness, it would seem, is part of the modern game’

Off the pitch, violence and hooliganism have traditionally been linked with disaffected youths. In the 1970s, watching football during the winter holidays was a family tradition. On Boxing Day, for example, or the first day of every New Year, three generations would get together on the terraces, hoping their team would get off to a flying start. The decline of this tradition has been posited as one of the major causes of football hooliganism. As the older generation’s interests broadened, they decided to spend their hard-earned money on different pastimes, such as going to musicals or the garden centre. Without their role models in the stadium with them, the younger generation was able to reinvent what it considered to be normal terrace activities. In other words, it was an opportunity to vent the anger and frustration of rising unemployment and rising prices on rival supporters. With obvious parallels to the current European situation and an increase in alienation between supporters and the rich kids that play the game, it’s small wonder that football-related violence featured heavily on the front pages in the final few weeks of 2012.

the Spurs match...” He didn’t give anything away this time and, so, staring forlornly out of the living room window, I hung up. From where I was I could see someone else watching a match on their telly. Were they also watching Tottenham, I wondered. A vast and empty feeling of being frozen out swept over me. But, then again, where is the ‘togetherness’, I thought I was craving to be found? In the garden centre? Besides my dad and the bloke across the road, there were probably thousands more watching the match alone at home, rather than in the stadium or even together down the pub. Solitariness, it would seem, is part of the modern game.

‘The four riders of the apocalypse turned up in Almere’

The last weeks of a year are sold to us as a time of togetherness and, these days perhaps more than ever before, the very idea of being alone, we’re told, is something nobody should have to endure. On the other hand, the commercialisation of Christmas means that the spirit of the season has become more and more difficult to recognise through the brightly coloured tinsel and glossy wrapping paper. Any attempt to ‘win us back to the delusions of our childhoods’ At the end of last year, I had been thinking of my seem remoter than ever before. Last year, this was family and, trying to put football aside, decided to ring accentuated by a group of doomsday enthusiasts home with something in the way of Xmas spirit. “Can waiting on top of a hill in the middle of Central you ring back later?” my dad asked. “Only, I’m watching America. Even if the apocalypse did fail to turn up on time, at least they were together.

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white out sport

Jetlag By Ananda van Welij

Just another girl from a country without mountains, addicted to snow.

I’m jetlagged. Ah well, just take a sleeping pill, set the alarm and you will be over it in a few days, you might think. But that’s the problem; I don’t think I will get over it, because it’s not just a time jetlag. It’s a life jetlag. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Netherlands and I love my family and friends here. But when I got on the plane that would take me back from the mountains to the flatlands, my heart was aching and my eyes were prickling with tears and frustration. I really didn’t want to go back, except to see my family. I’m home right now and seeing photos pass by online from friends who are still out there makes me feel worse. I’ve already checked flights to return there. Something about feeling like you were born in the wrong country. But as I said in my previous post, my mission this season is to stay positive and look ahead. So, in an effort to do this, I’m going to look back on the first competition of the season, which I got to experience up close: the Dew Tour.

‘Something about feeling like you were born in the wrong country’

When I arrived in the town of Breckenridge, there was barely any snow and only three slopes were open. On 1 December, I was walking around town without a jacket. The worst snow conditions I’ve seen in Breckenridge since I first went there, eight years ago. And then to think last season was the worst in more than 30 years. Rumours of snow patrol workers getting told to not come in for more than two days and ski/ snowboard teachers being cut were starting to spread, simply as the result of the lack of snow and, therefore, tourists. Snowstorms were dumping lots of fresh snow at the American coastal resorts but the skies in Colorado stayed clear, blue and sunny. Pretty surreal and frustrating. Is nature also suffering from jetlag? One thing is for sure: Mother Nature rules over all of us, messes with our heads. And Father Winter will show his face when he feels like it with results from the past definitely no longer a guarantee for the future. Up until the moment the first competition of the season was about to kick-off the weather remained good. On 7 December, temperatures dropped drastically and the first flurries of snow appeared. There’s something very weird about weather and ski competitions. For some reason, the weather always turns to shit, to put it bluntly, as soon as qualifications are on the schedule.

sport

‘Increasing interest in the sport showed their downsides for the first time this season at the Dew Tour’

The weather, changing snow conditions and increasing interest in the sport showed their downsides for the first time this season at the Dew Tour. This raised questions among the skiers, media and spectators about the competition’s priorities both now and in the future; safety or the broadcasting schedule, especially with the Olympics coming into play.

or when hitting you from the front, shorten your airtime and make you come up short. The latter is what happened to Emilia. While watching from the bottom of the course, holding our breath and hoping she would just make it down to us safely, we saw her flying through the air, coming up short and landing on the flat part of the final jump. Together with her scream of pain, we released cries of frustration. Because it was clear as soon as we saw her crash that her ACL was gone.

The discussion got started after one of the guys tore his ACL during the qualifications for slopestyle. A gust of wind caused him to miss the landing. The next day, during the finals, Emilia Wint had to do a re-run because one of the cameramen (from NBC) hadn’t been paying attention and missed two of her jumps. Because of this, the judges could not see what she did and score her run; a run that could have placed her first; a run she should never have had to do again because of someone else’s mistake. By the time she was back at the top and ready to go again, the weather had gone from bad to straight-up dangerous. But it was a live broadcast, the men were already waiting to start their final and the competition was behind schedule. Just before Emilia was told to start, she saw her friend Kaya Turski (who ended up taking first place) stopping in the middle of her run and pulling out of the final two jumps. The reason? She felt the gusty winds going up and down the course were too dangerous. They became so strong that one gust coming from behind could make you fly five metres further down the landing

Injuries and bad snow conditions are part of the sport. It’s something athletes learn to deal with. But the pressure of live broadcast, a tight schedule and an organisation which places those above the athletes’ safety makes you wonder what will happen next. You don’t go sailing when there is a storm, you don’t go ice skating if you’re not sure the ice is strong enough, right? You wait until it calms down, until it settles, until it’s safe. Am I pissed off? Yes, because I feel like Emilia’s injury was unnecessary. Is it solely the athletes’ responsibility to decide whether to go ahead in conditions like those, or is it the organisation’s responsibility too? I hope the athletes and organisations are able to sit down together and come up with a solution. Daily weather, time slots... Just something to prevent this from ever happening again.

‘Lots of fresh snow at the American coastal resorts but the skies in Colorado stayed clear’

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â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;The weather had gone from bad to straight-up dangerousâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

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‘Don’t go ice skating if you’re not sure the ice is strong enough’

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The Gold Room By Denson Pierre

Something that the Gold Room can lay claim to having reinforced, among fantasy football managers who either enter The Sentinel’s fantasy football competitions or those who simply peruse these lines out of interest, is the importance of having unique players. Unique players are an essential ingredient in making a good showing, provided they perform consistently at a high level, of course.

can review at: http://thesentinel.eu/ffg/Latest-FFG.htm Which of these players, considering the fact that non-unique players are, to all intents and purposes, matched out of significance, will help a manager make the difference? The following ‘uniques’ lead the point scoring (as of 28/12/12) and are likely to keep on hammering in big totals throughout the second half of the season. 1. Juan Mata (Chelsea) (Denson Pierre) 2. Luis Suarez (Liverpool) (Denson Pierre) 3. Robin van Persie (Manchester United) (Simon Owusu) 4. Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur) (Steven Fockema)

This season, we have so far seen pace-setters of the past decade and even those of just the past season fade away, It really is going to be exciting to see who eventually not even being considered or being substituted out prevails in 2013! of teams serious about making a challenge. No more Messrs Given, Friedel, Lampard, Terry, Downing or Papiss Cisse. We are left with a few managers in the FFG-CL already in a death-roll of a battle for the golden envelope, given the unique players currently in their teams, which you

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