2010 Winter Olympics: Rules are Rules, Except When They Go too Far

How can a person be overweight without actually being overweight? Well, the answer to that riddle is also the reason why luger Aya Yasuda was disqualified from the women's luge event Tuesday.

At 132 pounds, Aya is a small woman, yet it's her equipment that was too heavy.

According to Yahoo.com, "Yasuda brought too much ballast with her to weigh-ins for Tuesday's competition. Lugers are allowed 13.1 kg of 'additional weight.' Yasuda brought 13.3." 

Before you say well, rules are rules, know that Yasuda missed weight by less than half a pound.

Yes, you read that correctly: A woman in her first ever Olympics was denied entry due to what amounts to a technicality. I mean, come on, why can't that be simply rounded down? Or considered mathematically insignificant.

We're talking about the weight of a hot dog here. I'm sure she could have removed some lint from her backpack and made weight.

But no, the IOC sticks to its rule that women who weigh less than 75 kg (Yasuda weighs roughly 60 kg) may make up 75 percent of that difference without going over the limit.

And there is no give or take in that rule. Period. End of story.

So that's the end of Yasuda's dreams, at least this time. While she wasn't expected to compete for a medal, it's really a shame that someone could get disqualified for a rule that depends on a formula. 

Look, she obviously miscalculated and in my opinion should have been allowed to remove the extra weight. If there was a difference of say, one or more pounds, well, then, one could make an argument that an attempt to cheat may have been involved.

I understand that a line has to be drawn somewhere, or people will keep adding a half pound here, a half pound there and suddenly the rule means absolutely nothing.

Now, the formula for this rule is 165 lbs - body weight x .75 has to be = or < 22 pounds (the extra weight a woman can carry). And while I'm no math whiz, 165 - 132 x .75 = 24.75.

Ah, but there's a catch. In addition, both men and women competitors may wear up to 4 kg (about 9 lb) of race gear, which includes a lightweight stretchsuit and a helmet, usually with a face shield.

For when you add up Yasuda's race gear, the difference was only 0.2 kg of "additional weight."

But the rules don't allow her to shed that weight.

Here's another stupid rule: guys going around and covering up nonsponsor logos with masking tape. Yep, no corruption in these games, we've got it covered up.

According to Boingboing.net, "In media centers, dormitories and arena bathrooms, pieces of tape cover logos of fire extinguishers, light switches, thermostats, bedroom night tables, soap dispensers, and urinals."

U.S. goaltender Ryan Miller was told to remove the "Miller Time" from the back of his helmet, when it clearly wasn't aimed at the beer company.

Even worse, fellow netminder Jonathan Quick was asked to remove "Support Our Troops'' from his mask.

There are social media rules, as well.

Athletes must keep their posts confined to their personal experiences. There is also a ban on references to sponsors or advertisers who aren’t official Olympic partners.

Further, athletes can post photos of themselves only if they don’t show any of the actual sporting action during the Games.

Over the years, the growth of the Olympics has created numerous challenges, including boycotts, doping, bribery of officials, and terrorism.

Meanwhile, the IOC concerns itself with logos. Epic fail.