Croquet, Frisbee Golf, and The Gates
I’ve seen opinions across the spectrum on the artistic merit of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Gates. For my part, I wonder why nobody has looked at this installation as anything other than artwork. Why haven’t they asked themselves the question: What does The Gates mean for sports in Central Park?
The Gates provide a perfect venue for Olympic and other sports. Add a mallet, and you’ve got croquet. Add a frisbee, and you have a wicked frisbee golf course. For the winter games, there is potential as part of a slalom course. (Achieving a great enough elevation drop would be a challenge. Empty the Resevoir?). Similarly, summer sports such as mountain bike slaloms seem made for The Gates. Tell the artists what you think of this idea, or just go out there and try a sport today. Remember — they’re your gates too.
February 23rd, 2005 at 19:36
i think it would make croquet too easy, and it might make mountain biking too hard. you would have to swerve around one to the left and one to the right, presumably. But what if you got confused? (I’m assuming no modification is allowed to the art.) Plus, the turns would be very very tight.
I do think frisbee golf is an inspired idea.
February 23rd, 2005 at 21:56
I agree on croquet, though who knows what size ball and mallet the Queen of Hearts would use?
For the slalom sports, only use one of the uprights, so it’d be more similar to having a line of flags that you need to zigzag around. That should solve the turning radius issue.