It's A Christmas Knockout 1973

Festive Jeux Sans Frontières Special

Entrants 1973: Belgium (B) • Great Britain (GB) • Italy (I) • Netherlands (NL) 

Presenters:
Michel Lemaire (RTB - B)
Stuart Hall (BBC - GB)
Giulio Marchetti and Rosanna Vaudetti (RAI - I)
Barend Barendse and Dick Passchier (NCRV - NL)

International Referees:
Gennaro Olivieri
Guido Pancaldi

National Referees:
Marcel LeFavre (B)
Franco Crameri (CH)
Livio Orvani (I)
Ben Bril (NL)

Scoregirls:
Lydia
Franca

Production Credits:

National Producers: Diane Lange (B), Barney Colehan (GB), Dick van 't Sant (NL); Games Designer: Adolfo 'Popi' Perani; Producer: Luciano Gigante; Director: Gian Maria Tabarelli (I)

Produced by RAI (I)
in association with RTB-BRT (B), BBC Manchester (GB), NCRV (NL)

I

It's A Christmas Knockout 1973

Christmas Special

Event Staged: Saturday 8th December 1973
Venue: Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio (Olympic Ice Stadium), Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Monday 24th December 1973, 8.25-9.15pm (La veille de noël)
RAI Uno (I): Tuesday 25th December 1973, 8.45-9.55pm (Il Natale)
BBC1 (GB): Wednesday 26th December 1973, 2.35-3.25pm (Boxing Day)
Nederland 2 (NL): Monday 31st December 1973, 7.10-8.00pm (Oudejaarsavond)

Weather Conditions: Light Snow

Theme: Festive Fun

Teams: Pepinster (B) v. Aviemore (GB) v.
Cortina d’Ampezzo (I) v. The Dutch Sports Stars (NL)

Team Members included:
Aviemore (GB) - Hughie Clarke, Kenny Dixon, Jacqui Driver, Stewart Forbes, Marilyn Hemingway, Mary MacKenzie, Arthur MacLean, Iain McDonald, Bill McKenna, Lorna McKenna, Iain Malcolm, Jill Patterson, Malcolm Wilkie;
The Dutch Sports Stars (NL) - Ad van Ommen (Team Captain), Nico Chiotakis, Ingrid Dusseldorf, Piet van Eijsden, Keetie Hage, Jan Janssen, Arie Klein, Ada Kok, Paul Litjens, Rudi Lubbers, Egbert Nijstrad, Eddy Pieters Graafland, Erica Terpstra, Charles Urbanus Jr., Ria Rietveld-van Velzen, Els Veentjer-Spruit, Ineke van der Veldt, Eddy Verheyen.

Games: The Christmas Tree Star, Comet in the Sky, The Flying Doves, The Christmas Presents, Bears and Stockings, Giant Mono-Skiing Snowmen, The Ostrich Eggs and Caramels on the Tree.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th

 I • Cortina d'Ampezzo ●
 NL • The Dutch Sports Stars
 GB • Aviemore
 B • Pepinster

28
23
16
14

The Host Town

Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

Cortina d’Ampezzo is a town and winter sport resort with a permanent population of around 6,200 inhabitants in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is located in an alpine valley in the heart of the Dolomites mountain range, 124km (77 miles) north of Venezia, 257km (159 miles) north-east of Milano and 120km (75 miles) east of Rateče and the Slovenian border. It is referred to as the ‘Queen of the Dolomites’ and is known for its ski-ranges, scenery, accommodation, shops, après-ski scene and its jet-set and European aristocracy crowd.

Situated at the top of the Valle del Boite, Cortina d’Ampezzo is encircled 360° by the Dolomites. The town centre is located at an elevation of 1,224m (4,015ft), although the highest point is that of the Tofana di Mezzo which towers at 3,244m (10,643ft). There is a significant water presence in the territory in the form of torrents, streams and little lakes, which fill particularly during the summer snow-melt season. Fauna include marmots, roe deer chamoises and hares.

During the Middle Ages, Ampezzo fell under the jurisdiction of the Holy Roman Empire, but in 1420, the village was conquered by the Republic of Venice. In 1508, it was conquered by Austria and by 1511, the people of Ampezzo swore loyalty to Emperor Maximilian I (1459-1519). Following Italy's victory in World War I, Ampezzo was finally given to Italy and, although remaining a Habsburg possession until 1920 and being home to an ethnic German minority, Ampezzo never became a teutophonic (German-speaking) territory. Instead it conserved its original language of Ladin, which is similar to the Swiss Romansch language, but one that is only spoken in the Dolomitic area.

After the War, the town was renamed Cortina d'Ampezzo (Curtain of the Ampezzo Valley), adopting the name of one of the six villages that made up the territory of Ampezzo, located in the middle of the Ampezzo valley.

Already an elite destination for the first British tourists from the late 18th century up to the early twentieth, Cortina d'Ampezzo also became a favourite resort for upper-class Italians after World War I. On the announcement that the town had been chosen to host the VIIth Winter Olympic Games of 1956, a new airport was constructed, which today is no longer in use.

After playing host to the Games, it became a world-renowned resort, experiencing increased mass tourism and as a result, the town and surroundings have found themselves being utilised for various world cup events and motion pictures. Much of 1963 classic The Pink Panther, the progenitor of the film series starring Peter Sellers (1925-1980), was filmed in Cortina d’Ampezzo. One of the most memorable James Bond stunt sequences in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only, where Bond has to escape a crew of assassins on spike-wheeled motorcycles was filmed there, with his route taking them all onto the resort’s bobsleigh run. The scene of the first attack on Bond (portrayed by British actor Roger Moore (1927-2017)) and his partner Melina Havelock (portrayed by French actor Carole Bouquet), in which two motorcyclists attempt to run them over only for Bond to eliminate them both, was set in the actual town centre. Since it was not snowing in Cortina d'Ampezzo by the time of filming, the producers had to pay for trucks to bring snow from nearby mountains, which was then dumped in the city's streets! Also filmed on its slopes were several scenes in the 1993 film Cliffhanger starring Sylvester Stallone as well as some in the 1983 film Krull starring Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony.

Following a 70-year hiatus, Cortina d’Ampezzo will again play host to the Winter Olympics when it shares the honours with Milano in 2026.

The Visiting Towns / Teams

Pepinster is a town with a population of around 11,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) province of Liège and is located 647km (402 miles) north-west of Cortina d’Ampezzo.

Aviemore is a town with a population of around 3,000 inhabitants in the Scottish council area of Highland and is located 1,606km (998 miles) north-west of Cortina d’Ampezzo.

The Dutch Sports Stars were a team from Netherlands comprised of famous names associated with the world of sport.

The Venue

Stadio Olimpico del Ghiaccio (Olympic Ice Stadium)

The games were played at the Olympic Ice Stadium which was constructed between 1952 and 1954, primarily as an open-air figure skating arena after the town was awarded the honour of hosting the 1956 Winter Olympic Games.

The venue was inaugurated on 26th October 1955 and was designed to hold between 7-8,000 spectators, with the possibility of making temporary arrangements to accommodate 12-15,000 spectators for the period of the Olympics. During the Games, the arena held the opening and closing ceremonies, the figure skating events and selected ice hockey games. Although originally open-air, a roof was added to the structure sometime after 1981.

Akin with the town, the stadium was also utilised in the 1981 film For Your Eyes Only, where Bond met with the villainous Aris Kristatos (portrayed by British actor Julian Glover) wherein Kristatos (the real villain) tries to trick Bond into pursuing and killing his rival Milos Columbo (portrayed by Israeli actor Chaim Topol (1935-2023)).

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Christmas Tree Star

The first game - ‘The Christmas Tree Star’ - was introduced by RAI co-presenter Giulio Marchetti and played in unison over 3 minutes 30 seconds duration. It featured a male competitor from each team dressed as a Santa Claus and a 10m (32ft 9¾in) high Christmas tree. Adjacent to the tree was a small podium resting on four legs each comprising two blocks. On the whistle, the competitor had to stand on the podium and raise a large golden star up the front of the tree by means of small metal rods (located in a container at the base of the tree) which had to be added one-by-one under the star. Contemporaneously, an opposing female team member crouched on a curling stone and equipped with a ball and chain had to be pushed down the ice rink by a male team-mate in order to knock the blocks from under the podium and hinder the competitor’s progress. The stone was attached to an elasticated rope and would return to the opposition area once at full stretch. If the competitor was knocked off the podium, he would need to rebuild it before continuing to play. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

This was a very straightforward game which saw Italy and Netherlands in opposition against each other and likewise with Belgium and Great Britain. It ended with Italy completing the game in just 47 seconds followed by Netherlands in 2nd place in 1 minute 20 seconds and Great Britain in 3rd place in 1 minute 21 seconds. Belgium, having failed to complete the game in the permitted time, were deemed to have finished in 4th place.

Game 2 - Comet in the Sky

The second game - ‘Comet in the Sky’ - was introduced by RTB commentator Michel Lemaire and played individually over 1 minute 15 seconds duration. It featured a large star hanging 10m (32ft 9¾in) above the arena and five female competitors from each team, four of whom were equipped with a large net inside which was a comet (in reality a large rubber ball with silver streamers attached). On the whistle, the four competitors had to toss the ‘comet’ up into the air and through the centre of the star for it to be caught cleaning by the fifth competitor to end the game. If the comet was not caught or it touched the ice, it had to be replaced in the net by the single competitor and the game then repeated. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Italy and following five unsuccessful attempts, the comet passed through the star and was caught by the female on the other side on their sixth. However, the ‘success’ was deemed null and void as she had permitted the comet to touch the ice. Despite this setback, she replaced the ball into the net and they achieved their goal with the very next attempt and completed the game in 58 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium and they were very inept in their execution of the game. However, after ten failed attempts, they finally achieved their goal with their eleventh and completed the game in limit time of exactly 1 minute 15 seconds.

The third and penultimate heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they showed the other teams how to play the game by tossing the comet through the star with their first attempt and completed the game in just 5 seconds.

The fourth and final heat featured Great Britain and, although they failed to achieve their goal on the first attempt, they completed the game in 16 seconds with their second.

Game 3 - The Flying Doves

The third game - ‘The Flying Doves’ - was introduced by NCRV commentator Dick Passchier and played in unison over four minutes duration. It featured a male competitor from each team dressed in a pantomime horse costume and equipped with a large butterfly net. Around the arena were four national referees sitting on raised tennis umpire seats with a small dovecotes attached. On the whistle, one of the referees had to release a dove from the dovecote and whilst it flew around the arena above the competitors’ heads, their task was to catch it in their net. Any doves that were caught had to be placed on small individual fir trees located at the edge of the rink. Any doves that flew out of the arena or landed on the ice before being caught were nullified and a replacement released. Competitors had to move quickly after catching a dove because whilst taking their captured bird to their respective tree, a replacement would be released immediately and without hesitation. The team collecting the greater number of doves would be declared the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

Although this was a straightforward game it was fought very competitively. At the end of permitted time, the results revealed that Italy had caught a total 5 doves, Great Britain had caught 4 doves and both Belgium and Netherlands had caught 3 doves each.

Game 4 - The Christmas Presents

The fourth game - ‘The Christmas Presents’ - was introduced by BBC commentator Stuart Hall and played individually over 1 minute 10 seconds duration. It featured eleven wrapped Christmas presents of varying sizes wrapped in silver, red, blue and green coloured metallic paper at one end of the rink and a male competitor from each team dressed as a Victorian chimney-sweep kneeling on a curling stone attached to an elasticated rope at the other. On the whistle, two male team-mates had to push the curling stone down the course to the podium where the presents were located. If the pushers were accurate and the competitor on the curling stone reached the podium, the competitor could decide how many of the presents to transport with him back to the start. However, he would not be permitted to stand up on the stone to reach them. The game then had to be repeated throughout. Any boxes that fell down onto the ice had to be retrieved by a female team-mate and placed back on the podium. Only boxes returned to the start would be counted. At the base of the podium, there were two small boxes wrapped in silver paper on top of which were four medium boxes wrapped in red. Above these were three large boxes wrapped in green and at the top of the pile were two extra-large boxes wrapped in blue paper. The team collecting the greater number of boxes would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Great Britain who made a complete shambles of the game. On the first run, their competitor knocked all the boxes off the podium, securing only two of them and taking them back to the start after 15 seconds of elapsed time. On the second run, he failed to reach the podium and collect any boxes at all. On his third run, although he removed five boxes from the podium, four tumbled to the ground and he returned to the start with just run after 58 seconds. With just twelve seconds remaining, the team attempted a fourth run, and whilst they reached the podium and removed three boxes, the competitor slipped from the curling stone. The score was confirmed as 3 boxes.

Image © RAI, 1973

The second heat featured Netherlands and on his first run, their competitor failed to reach the podium and collect any boxes at all and returned to the start after 17 seconds of elapsed time. On his second run, although he attempted to collect the top seven boxes, he dropped most of them and ended up with just one being brought back to the start after 44 seconds. However, his third and final run was to prove more fruitful and he secured another four to give them a total of 5 boxes in 1 minute 8 seconds.

The third and penultimate heat saw the participation of Belgium and, despite their competitor being just 1.62m (5ft 4in) tall, he made the game look simple after securing the top five boxes on his first run after 29 seconds of elapsed time. His second run proved just as fruitful with another five boxes and on his third run he brought back his final box. Their score was confirmed as eleven boxes in 1 minute 9 seconds.

The fourth and final heat featured Italy and on his first run, their competitor brought five boxes back to the start. However, just before crossing the designated line, the two extra-large boxes tumbled from the pile after 22 seconds of elapsed time. Whilst his female team-mate skated up the ice to retrieve them, he started his second run and secured all six of the smaller-sized boxes and brought them back to the start after 51 seconds. With the two extra-large boxes back on the podium, he made his third run and although he lifted both of them off the podium, the backward pull of the rope caused the top box to tumble. Their score was confirmed as 10 boxes in 1 minute 8 seconds.

Game 5 - Bears and Stockings

The fifth game - ‘Bears and Stockings’ - was introduced by RAI co-presenter Rosanna Vaudetti and played in unison over four minutes duration. It featured a male competitor from each team dressed in a black bear costume (with a colour-coded head) kneeling on a curling stone attached to an elasticated rope. Above the rink there was a large circular wheel from which were hanging 35 Christmas stockings. On the whistle, a male team-mate had to push the curling stone up the ice and once underneath the wheel, the competitor had to stand up and grab a stocking from above and bring it back to the start. The game then had to be repeated throughout. The team collecting the greater number of stockings would be declared the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

This was a very straightforward game and ended with Great Britain and Italy collecting 10 stockings each whilst Netherlands collected 6 stockings and Belgium had collected 4 stockings.

Game 6 - Giant Mono-Skiing Snowmen

The sixth game - ‘Giant Mono-Skiing Snowmen’ - was introduced by RTB commentator Michel Lemaire and played over two heats of two minutes duration. It featured two male competitors from each team and a giant 4m (13ft 1½in) high snowman ‘standing’ on a mono-ski. The snowman comprised two parts, lower torso and head with upper body, the latter being held together by a giant scarf wrapped around the neck and crossed over at the front. On the whistle, the competitors had to ski with the snowman up the 15m (49ft 2½in) course, circumnavigate a small Christmas tree and then return to the start. This then had to be repeated on two more occasions and after all three runs had been completed the time would be taken. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

The first heat of this straightforward and uneventful game saw the participation of Belgium and Great Britain. Despite a fast start by Great Britain, Belgium had closed the deficit by the first return journey with both teams starting their second runs after 26 seconds of elapsed time. After the second return journey, Great Britain had a slight lead of just two seconds at the start of the third run. However, Belgium had closed the gap by the end of the final outward journey and eventually overtook their rivals. Belgium finished the game in 1 minute 20 seconds marginally ahead of Great Britain who crossed the line in 1 minute 21 seconds.

The second heat featured Italy and Netherlands and from the outset Italy took the lead. After completing their first return journey after 18 seconds of elapsed time and two seconds ahead of their rivals, they did not falter and completed the second run after 40 seconds followed by Netherlands in 43 seconds. Despite all their efforts, the Dutch competitors could not emulate their rivals and the game ended with Italy crossing the finish line in 1 minute 3 seconds followed by Netherlands in 1 minute 5 seconds.

Game 7 - The Ostrich Eggs

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘The Ostrich Eggs’ - was introduced by NCRV commentator Dick Passchier and played individually over 1 minute 30 seconds duration. It featured a female competitor from each team equipped with a small baton and a large ostrich egg (in reality a large white balloon) standing at one end of the 15m course and an opposition male team-member dressed as an ostrich at the other. On the whistle, the competitor had to skate down the course keeping the balloon aloft using the baton whilst the opposition had to prevent from doing so by bursting the balloon with a pin attached to the head of his ostrich costume or by forcing her to drop the balloon and permit it to fall onto the ice. If the balloon touched the ice, the competitor had to return to the start and repeat the game using a medium-sized baton. This would be increased to a long baton (something that would impair the competitors’ control of the balloon) if a third run had to be made. However, if the opposition ostrich fouled the competitor, he would be penalised by having to reposition himself 10m (32ft 9¾in) metres back whilst the competitor could recommence the game from the point of contact. This penalty would come to assist one of the competitors somewhat in the third of the four heats. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands with Belgium in opposition and, despite being fouled by the ostrich, they completed the task in 42 seconds.

The second heat featured Great Britain with Italy in opposition, and after just seven seconds of elapsed time their first balloon had been burst by the ostrich. Her second attempt did not fare much better with the balloon dropping to the ice. The third and final attempt ended in the same vein as the first, with the opposition bursting the balloon after 40 seconds of play and she was declared out of time and given 0:00.

The third and penultimate heat was a reverse of the second with Italy participating against Great Britain. On the first run, the competitor was very canny by sending the balloon forward and high into the air which appeared to discompose the opposition somewhat and also gave her time to position herself for its descent. However, Italy were deemed to have been fouled just 2m (6ft 6¾in) from the finish line, and with the opposition penalised and having to start 10m back, it was now a foregone conclusion that they would finish the game within the permitted time. With the game restarted, it took just two seconds for Italy to complete the game in 51 seconds.

The fourth and final heat was a reverse of the first with Belgium participating against Netherlands. Unfortunately their competitor had hardly got started before she permitted the balloon to fall onto the ice after just two seconds of elapsed time. After this, she made heavy weather of the game and permitted the other two balloons to suffer the same fate. As was the case in the second heat, Belgium were declared as failing to complete the game and were declared out-of-time.

Game 8 - Caramels on the Tree

The eighth and final game - ‘Caramels on the Tree’ - was introduced by BBC commentator Stuart Hall and played in unison over three minutes duration. It featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and the large Christmas tree utilised in the first game. However, on this occasion, the tree had a length of rope attached to its base which was wrapped in tinsel and had large Christmas ball decorations attached. On the whistle, the female had to skate down the 5m (16ft 5in) course with a large wrapped caramel sweet and then had to hang it from a hook attached to the bottom of the tree’s branches. Contemporaneously, the male competitor had to make a circumnavigation of the tree whilst holding onto the festive rope. Once this was completed, the female then had to repeat the game throughout until all 15 caramels had been attached to the tree. The team hanging all the caramels from the tree in the faster time would be the winners.

Image © RAI, 1973

This was a very straightforward and quickly executed game which saw Italy finishing in 1st place in 1 minute 23 seconds followed by Netherlands in 2nd place, Belgium in 3rd place and Great Britain in 4th place.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

The BBC chose not to send any officials to this event despite it being the norm to do so. To ensure parity, the broadcaster requested that Switzerland provide a referee on their behalf.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Ad van Ommen, team captain for The Dutch Sports Stars, had previously taken the same role with the highly successful team of Alphen aan den Rijn, when they participated in Zeskamp during its 1969-1970 and 1970-71 seasons and the 1971 series of Jeux Sans Frontières. He would again fulfil the same role for the Dutch team in the 1974 Christmas Jeux Sans Frontières from Aviemore, Scotland.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

JSFnetGB Series Guide pages researched by
Neil Storer and Alan Hayes
with Ischa Bijl, Julien Dessy, Sébastien Dias, David Hamilton, Denis Kirsanov, Paul Leaver, Philippe Minet,
Christos Moustakas, David Laich Ruiz, Marko Voštan and JSFnet Websites