Topic: Unfair playing field

[tet]

The latest episode of Amazing Race 15  in Amsterdam provided a challenge most women are physically incapable of completing:ringing the carney bell and/or shoe golf in less that 8 strokes. So the only team without a man, loses. Why not have the next challenge giving birth, that should eliminate all the double men teams. It's not a fair playing field. 

[River]

I think you are partially right tet, although Tiffany was very close with the bell, and they almost were able to do the golf, I think however that a good amount of women would be able to do the tasks, I just think M/T were too tired by the time they had gotten to the detour.

[mswood]

I think almost any female team in the shows history could have done one or the other.  Its just the ladies didn't have the technique to do so.

It reminds me of the rowing task in season 10 in Vietnam and everyone (racers including) talking about how tough or impossible the task was.  Yet we see 60 plus year old women who are native to the area having absolutely no problem with it.  But they knew how to row properly.  Something most of the racers (including the majority of the men) didn't.

[Jobby]

What i don't understand is, why do they friggin' need to have a bell thingy before the dance detour? It was completely pointless and resulted in the girl's elimination.

[theschnauzers]

I get the impression that ir made the detour choices pretty near to even in difficuley.  But I also expect Tiffany and Maria to stick with the golf once they started. Given that Meghan said she had never played folf and managed to get through it, I figured Tiffany and Maria should have been able to as well.

It wasn't much different that the lawn game croquet.

[tet]

I don't know how tired they really were since they tried a combined 71 times at the bell and swam across the river four times. No woman in the contest was able to ring the bell or complete the shoe golf. Clearly, physical strength was a major advantage in both detours.

[georgiapeach]

I think this challenge would have been fine without the ring the bell part, someone in production didn't think this through IMO. But then, I am still bitter about the Bowling Moms and the ascender...

And to RFF tet!!

[Caelestor]

I don't know how tired they really were since they tried a combined 71 times at the bell and swam across the river four times. No woman in the contest was able to ring the bell or complete the shoe golf. Clearly, physical strength was a major advantage in both detours.

You see Tiffany in the jacket at the end of the episode? SHE HAD HYPOTHERMIA. 
I do agree that the Test your Strength was unnecessary. However, it wasn't impossible: the team was also to blame for their incorrect technique (esp. on Maria's part). I think Tiffany wore herself out and thus they were unable to complete the detour.

[ImANewUser]

I think almost any female team in the shows history could have done one or the other.  Its just the ladies didn't have the technique to do so.

It reminds me of the rowing task in season 10 in Vietnam and everyone (racers including) talking about how tough or impossible the task was.  Yet we see 60 plus year old women who are native to the area having absolutely no problem with it.  But they knew how to row properly.  Something most of the racers (including the majority of the men) didn't.

Bama being the only team to complete the Over Detour <3<3<3.

[puddin]

They said in their tvguide interview that the winds were too strong at the golf and in hindsight might have stuck with the carnival bell and what we weren't shown is some of the men had to hit the bell more than once  .. you can read it here

http://www.seattlepi.com/tvguide/411776_tvgif2.html

[2old4tech]

I think almost any female team in the shows history could have done one or the other.  Its just the ladies didn't have the technique to do so.

Oh, I dunno...Gutzy Grannies? Glamazons?

But I'm not convinced it wasn't fair, at least historically.  A little person and a skinny lawyer carried meat and a woman with one leg climbed the Great Wall.

[supergoten]

I don't think it was physically impossible for them to complete the Test Your Strength detour... I'm sure production had some women of their size test it out to make sure it could be done. I'm sorry but that one woman (I can't remember which) wasnt' even really trying, she just barely tapped it.