Why the U.S. Olympic Committee Cracked Down on a Knitting Group
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-06-22/why-the-u-dot-s-dot-olympic-committee-cracked-down-on-a-knitting-groupAs it did for the 2008 and 2010 Olympic Games, the online knitting group Ravelry plans next month to host its own Ravelympics, in which thousands of knitters attempt to complete an ambitious project—such as knitting a hat for the first time, or finishing an entire blanket—during the two weeks the Games take place. They form teams and challenge each other to events such as “scarf hockey” and “sock put.” Often people knit their Ravelympic projects while watching the real Olympics on television. As long as a craft is completed, each Ravelete, as the participants call themselves, wins a virtual medal. “The idea was that these amazing events would inspire us and motivate us in our own projects,” says Kimberli Smith, 47, the Ravelry member who first conceived of the Ravelympics.
The first year the knitting games took place, more than 2,000 people completed close to 8,900 projects. This year, more than 7,500 people have signed up. On July 27, the 2012 Ravelympics kicks off with a marathon knit-off during the opening ceremonies of the 2012 London Games. At least, that was the plan. Earlier this week, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) sent the 2 million-member knitting group a cease-and-desist letter, asking them to stop.
“We believe using the name ‘Ravelympics’ for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games,” the USOC wrote in the letter. “It is disrespectful to our country’s finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.”
***taking one's self too seriously
= new reply since forum marked as read
I understand having to protect a trademark or losing it, but they're trying to protect part of a word. We didn't use the entire word, just "ympics," and I don't think that's enough for them.
So, they go after an international social networking site with 2 million members with all of that publicity and marking potential instead of seeing if they can get us to pay for licensing rights or paying to use the logo or do anything that would better their brand (what with judging scandals, doping scandals, people still ticked off over professionals being allowed to play).
Morons. They've apologizes twice, and one of the main guys went around on Twitter writing individual apology notes, but they're still telling our site's owners they have to change the name. The site owners are at TNNA (The National Needlework Association's huge June conference where all the fall yarn and pattern lines come out), but we're all hoping this will be settled by next week.
There's serious talk of a boycott, though most are saying they don't want to hurt the athletes. There's also talk of getting Colbert involved by sending him socks because the knitters are harming the Olympics. I might participate in that one. 
The IOC **demanded** that everything named "Olympic" be renamed.
I mean come on Horse Dancing! I don't see anything remotely sporty about it 
If they could promote the knitathon and call it a sport they certainly could benefit from it. They could even promote the events so that the finished projects could go to those less fortunate.
