As the mercury climbs towards forty degrees across much of Australia, columnist Nat Locke confesses she finds her only sanctuary indoors with the air-conditioner on full blast. Her outdoor excursions are limited to brief, essential trips like taking her dog for a quick soak in the river before retreating to the cool comfort of home, where she indulges in icy treats like Frosty Fruits.
The Ironic Comfort of Winter Sports in Summer
Locke argues there is a peculiar, almost poetic, blessing in experiencing a severe heatwave while the Winter Olympics are broadcast globally. She describes the act of watching athletes compete in snowy landscapes as profoundly refreshing, a stark and welcome contrast to sweating through another blistering Australian day.
"There is nothing more refreshing to me than watching people frolic in the snow whilst I’m sweating from every pore in my body," she writes, highlighting the unique seasonal juxtaposition enjoyed by Southern Hemisphere viewers.
A Self-Proclaimed Expert Every Four Years
While openly admitting her knowledge of summer Olympic sports is far greater, Locke embraces the Winter Games with enthusiastic, if not entirely informed, vigour. For a fortnight every quadrennial, she transforms into a vocal commentator on events like snowboarding, confidently discussing complex manoeuvres despite never having set foot on a snowboard or in a half-pipe herself.
Her fascination extends to the minutiae of winter sports. She finds herself studying ski jumpers' techniques and pondering the specific equipment used in the biathlon. This temporary expertise is a cherished ritual, born more from passion for international competition than from personal athletic experience.
Nostalgia and Cultural Observations on Ice
Locke's winter sports fandom is tinged with nostalgia, particularly for figure skating. She recalls iconic moments from skating history, such as Surya Bonaly's legendary one-bladed backflip and the timeless performances of Torvill and Dean. A visit to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, left her most impressed by the purple costume from their famous Bolero routine.
This devotion is somewhat ironic given her own limited skating prowess. Weekly lessons at Mirrabooka ice rink during Year 9 never progressed beyond clinging to the rink's edge. Similarly, a trip to the ski resort of Zermatt saw her prioritising apres-ski refreshments over downhill adventures, coping with any feelings of being an outsider among real skiers with Aperol spritzes.
The Dream of Curling Glory and Global Appreciation
Locke muses that her proficiency with a broom might theoretically translate to curling success, if only she had the opportunity. She recounts meeting Canadian retirees for whom curling is a social staple, akin to lawn bowls in Australia, though she sceptically notes that "barefoot curling" sounds considerably less appealing than its barefoot bowls counterpart.
Ultimately, she asserts that one doesn't need to be skilled at a sport to appreciate it. She eagerly anticipates watching a diverse array of athletes, from Norwegian speed skaters and Finnish ski jumpers to the returning Jamaican bobsled team—a real-life qualification, not just a Cool Runnings reference.
The Ultimate Summer Viewing Pleasure
For Locke, the ability to immerse herself in the frosty world of the Winter Olympics while enduring an interminable heatwave is the perfect scenario. She finds genuine solace in the visual contrast: watching athletes' breath condense in the cold air, spotting icicles on their eyelashes, and seeing vast expanses of snow.
In her view, this wintry televised escape offers a form of relief that even the best air-conditioning cannot match. As she settles in to watch events like the luge, her prescription for beating the heat remains simple: another Frosty Fruits and the thrilling spectacle of winter sports from the comfort of her couch.
