The Irony of Skijoring

Skijoring articles have been jumping out at me this week. I don’t mean that they are literally jumping off the page at me, just that I have read a couple of skijoring articles. I am using irony.

According to M and E’s Algebra book,

The principles of Algebra explained through the eyes of Fred.

they are using “Life of Fred’ curriculum “Beginning Algebra, as serious as it needs to be” the definition of irony is:

 “Virtually all great writers use irony in their writing. Irony means saying one thing, but implying something quite different. If you are in the middle of a hurricane and say, “Isn’t this a lovely day!“ you are using irony.   Your ironic statement about the weather really means quite the opposite of the literal words.  Readers often get into trouble when they take an author’s words literally and miss the irony.” 

When I read the following comment in the paper about the upcoming equestrian skijoring event in Whitefish, I saw some irony. It said, “If you haven’t seen skijoring, it’s something you will remember for the rest of your life.” I’m sure this was unintentional. Nor do I believe it was meant to be funny. Undoubtedly, the message was, if you haven’t seen skijoring, you should, it’s something you will remember. I agree with that. If you have the opportunity to see a skijoring competition, check it out. It’s a fun family outing.

A competitor makes a jump at last years equestrian skijoring event.

Now for some cool facts about skijoring.

  • Skijoring is a competitive winter sport where a person on skis is pulled by horse, dog, or motor vehicle.
  • Five U.S. states hold skijoring competitions – Montana, Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
  • Whitefish, MT has the biggest skijoring event in North America.
  • Leadville, Colorado hosts the oldest skijoring competition in the U.S.
  • Skijoring began several hundred years ago in Scandinavian countries as a means of winter travel.
  • Laplander’s skied on Nordic skies while holding reins which were attached to reindeer.
  • Skijoring comes from the Norwegian word skikjoring which means ski driving.
  • Skijoring was a demonstration sport at the 1928 Olympics held in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

For more information, visit the North American Skijoring Association website or Wikipedia.

To check out Stanley Schmidt’s Math curriculum, click here.

To see our Skijoring Championship album on Facebook, click here.

Now I’ve really got to run,

Marlene

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