# Free diving as an Olympic "Sport"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 14, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133 "2015-07-14T12:34:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/1 "2015-07-14T12:34:49Z")
I am trying to understand how the IOC selects sports to be a part of the Olympics. take baseball-it was removed from the lineup, even though it is played in huge areas of the world (N. America, Cuba, Venezuela, Japan). Yet, very obscure sports like white water kayaking make the cut. So, would a “sport” like free diving qualify? It has the requisite features: -dangerous -fairly easy to stage -international appeal -and, cheap to host . What would the IOC have to say about including this sport? I admit i don’t understand the appeal-but people do risk their lives to do it, so I suppose it is just as valid a sport as racewalking. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/2 "2015-07-14T13:36:39Z")
[http://kids.britannica.com/olympics/reflections/article-277355](http://kids.britannica.com/olympics/reflections/article-277355) Sports must have [ul] [li]International non-governmental governing agency[/li][li]Enforce the IOC anti-doping policy[/li][li] a sport must be widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in no fewer than 40 countries and on three continents[/li][li]The sport must also increase the ‘‘value and appeal’’ of the Olympic Games and retain and reflect its modern traditions.[/li][li]There are numerous other rules, including bans on purely ‘‘mind sports’’ and sports dependent on mechanical propulsion[/li][/ul] So, there are plenty of reasons to exclude free diving, but if it was included it would probably be a new discipline of aquatics. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/3 "2015-07-16T14:05:08Z")
Is “Whitewater kayacking” practiced in 4 continents? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/4 "2015-07-16T14:19:17Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Is “Whitewater kayacking” practiced in 4 continents? Of course it is. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/5 "2015-07-16T15:23:40Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Is “Whitewater kayacking” practiced in 4 continents? It’s practiced everywhere there are rivers. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/6 "2015-07-16T15:41:41Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It’s practiced everywhere there are rivers. Yeah but how do we know that there are rivers on four continents? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/7 "2015-07-16T16:59:48Z")
To further illustrate: > **[International Canoe Federation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Canoe_Federation)** > > The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated with the ICF after seven national federations were added at the 2008 ICF Congress in Rome. > In light of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ICF suspended athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing at any International Canoe Federation events,... The ICF has 5 continental associations that look like they cover all 6 populated continents. The European association lists 44 national associations that all run events. The Pan American association lists 31 national associations. The African association list 15 national associations. So yes, there’s a geographically varied, large, non-governmental network of canoe and kayaking that runs events, training, anti-doping operations, and education programs. Therefore they qualify as an Olympic candidate sport. Note that only two events out of the many recognized events under the ICF umbrella are Olympic sports. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/8 "2015-07-16T18:28:15Z")
This thread is probably better suited to The Game Room. I have relocated it. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/9 "2015-07-16T20:24:37Z")
I thought removing baseball revealed some European bias from the IOC. Baseball is popular in North America, South America, Asia and Australia. The reasons to exclude freediving seem like they could be addressed. There are governing bodies for the sport today. I was most excited recently to see that [roller derby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_derby)was considered for the Olympics. That would be amazing. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/10 "2015-07-16T20:44:54Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Is “Whitewater kayacking” practiced in 4 continents? Whitewater kayaking is not considered a separate sport any more than synchronized diving (or solo diving, for that matter), BMX biking, or rhythmic gymnastics is - it’s a discipline of another sport that is already in the Olympics. As for free diving, I think it was an Olympic event once, back in something like 1900. I think was scored something like, 1 point for every 50cm depth + 1 point for every second submerged. > [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I was most excited recently to see that [roller derby](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roller_derby)was considered for the Olympics. That would be amazing. Are you sure it was Roller Derby? I know Roller Skating made a “short list” at one point, but that was either speed skating or artistic skating. The main problem I can see with it is, too many people would be expected to see inline roller hockey, which I don’t think is considered the “standard” style of roller hockey, and if they did include the standard style, too many people with tickets to see it would watch it and go, “What was that?” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/11 "2015-07-16T21:33:03Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I thought removing baseball revealed some European bias from the IOC. Baseball is popular in North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Baseball is popular in particular countries on those continents, just as cricket is, but I suppose the other countries couldn’t care less about the sport. New sports not yet dismissed by a large portion of the world may have a better chance at getting a try out. I’m waiting for pole dancing to get added to the women’s gymnastics events. They can take the vault away, or it least eliminate the vault part and just have girls jump off a ladder to show how they can stick the landing with a broken ankle. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/12 "2015-07-17T13:52:33Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I thought removing baseball revealed some European bias from the IOC. Baseball is popular in North America, South America, Asia and Australia. Baseball lacked top players and was, at the time of its exclusion, in the midst of a massive doping scandal, two things that did not endear it to the IOC, to say the least. It may be back in 2020. A thing to bear in mind is that the number of events is fixed; it’s gone up over time, but at any given point the IOC wants X number of events in the games to take place in year Y, and so if one sport is added another must be removed. The number of sports that have a reasonable claim to be in the Olympics is greatest than the number of sports the Olympics has, so there will always be someone on the outside looking in. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/13 "2015-07-17T13:56:44Z")
The IOC insists that the Olympics be at least the equal of the highest and most prestigious competition in any sport. Baseball would not and cannot do that, despite its wide popularity in the world. The best players weren’t there and couldn’t be, and the Olympics could never be as prestigious in baseball as the World Series. So yeah, it isn’t just TV income, it’s ego too. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/14 "2015-07-17T14:50:44Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > The IOC insists that the Olympics be at least the equal of the highest and most prestigious competition in any sport. So that explains the limitation on professional players older than 23 in soccer and the outright ban on professionals in boxing in what way, exactly? I was under the impression that one of the main problems with baseball and (especially) softball was, what do you do with the stadiums when you’re finished? Remember, a softball field is pretty much a 200’ x 200’ square. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/15 "2015-07-17T15:53:50Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > So that explains the limitation on professional players older than 23 in soccer and the outright ban on professionals in boxing in what way, exactly? That’s where other IOC policies, those of hypocrisy and bribery, come into it. > [@](#): > > I was under the impression that one of the main problems with baseball and (especially) softball was, what do you do with the stadiums when you’re finished? Remember, a softball field is pretty much a 200’ x 200’ square. Cover story. What do you do with a used velodrome? ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/16 "2015-07-17T16:20:06Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Are you sure it was Roller Derby? I know Roller Skating made a “short list” at one point, but that was either speed skating or artistic skating. The main problem I can see with it is, too many people would be expected to see inline roller hockey, which I don’t think is considered the “standard” style of roller hockey, and if they did include the standard style, too many people with tickets to see it would watch it and go, “What was that?” Check the roller derby wiki entry that I linked. It was considered for 2012. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/17 "2015-07-18T00:17:50Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > -fairly easy to stage Well, it does require rather deep water. But the IOC’s #1 question for any candidate sport is “How would this appeal to a TV audience?” which translates as “How much money is in it for us?” I’m guessing that free diving advocates would have a tough time selling the notion of its big-time TV appeal. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2015, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/18 "2015-07-18T00:49:13Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Well, it does require rather deep water. > > But the IOC’s #1 question for any candidate sport is “How would this appeal to a TV audience?” which translates as “How much money is in it for us?” I’m guessing that free diving advocates would have a tough time selling the notion of its big-time TV appeal. Unless there were sharks. I’d watch that. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/19 "2015-07-20T19:36:04Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Unless there were sharks. I’d watch that. Do the sharks get medals too? ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2015, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-diving-as-an-olympic-sport/725133/20 "2015-07-20T20:22:14Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Cover story. What do you do with a used velodrome? If you’re Los Angeles and it’s 1984, you make a veoldrome that can be moved, and move it to Colorado Springs. > [@Xema](#): > > But the IOC’s #1 question for any candidate sport is “How would this appeal to a TV audience?” which translates as “How much money is in it for us?” I’m guessing that free diving advocates would have a tough time selling the notion of its big-time TV appeal. While there’s some truth to that - otherwise there wouldn’t be any “extreme” sports in the Olympics - it’s not just based on that. The IOC could have chosen baseball (and softball) or karate over bringing back wrestling for 2020; karate would have an audience if only for “USA’s next Daniel-san.”