# Hybrid Olympic events we'd like to see **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 19, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589 "2004-08-19T18:54:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/1 "2004-08-19T18:54:26Z")
What’s up with the decathalon? Ski a little, then shoot at stuff, then ski some more. Who the hell thought up that combination? Or curling – hey, let’s combine figure skating with shuffleboard. Great idea. :rolleyes: I’m sure that we could come up with a few hybrid sports that make far greater sense. What new events would you add? I’ll get you started: The Snowshoe Jump: Combines snowshoeing with the ski jump. Thing is, you have to run down the hill really fast. Weight Vaulting: The challenge is carrying the pole while holding 450 lbs over your head. Greco-Roman Figure Skating: 'nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/2 "2004-08-19T18:56:14Z")
Synchronized shot-put. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/3 "2004-08-19T18:56:48Z")
Downhill High Hurdles. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/4 "2004-08-19T18:58:45Z")
Volley Diskus ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/5 "2004-08-19T19:00:00Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > What’s up with the decathalon? Ski a little, then shoot at stuff, then ski some more. Who the hell thought up that combination? You misspelled “biathalon”. The decathalon has, unsurprisingly, _10_ events. > [@](#): > > Or curling – hey, let’s combine figure skating with shuffleboard. Great idea. :rolleyes: Huh? Curling doesn’t involve ice skates. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/6 "2004-08-19T19:02:56Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > You misspelled “biathalon”. The decathalon has, unsurprisingly, _10_ events. D’OH! > [@](#): > > Huh? Curling doesn’t involve ice skates. Yeah, well… it’s on ice. It does make me think of how fun it would be to combine curling with the high dive, though. ---
**Author:** ![ataraxy22](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ataraxy22/32/307_2.png) [@ataraxy22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ataraxy22)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/7 "2004-08-19T19:10:13Z")
Equestrian uneven bars 200-meter weightlifting Yacht fencing Bicycle throwing ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/8 "2004-08-19T19:11:54Z")
And to be an actual contributor to the thread, as well as pre-empt the inevitable “water polo should be played with actual horses”, I’m going to say that all equestrian events, in order to demonstrate equal athleticism on both components, will now be played in two rounds - one in which the rider rides the horse, one in which the horse rides the rider. Rythmic curling. Shotput + syncronized diving. Hockey + figure skating (all competitors at the same time). Figure skating + hockey (Gretsky on Ice). Marathon weightlifting. Greco Roman dressage. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/9 "2004-08-19T19:16:44Z")
Canoeing + Marathon = camping from hell Equestrian water polo ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/10 "2004-08-19T19:18:55Z")
Team downhill (like bobsled, only with four people on two really long skis). Combine freestyle skijumping with freestyle swimming, for freestyle freestyle. Get a bunch of babes in bikinis to jump in the water and frolic for two minutes. People would watch. Volleyputt. Speed curling (wait, that’s hockey…). One thing that’s always bothered me about ski jumping. They keep re-engineering the jumps and the hills because people keep figuring out how to jump farther and farther; they change the geometries so that people don’t fly past the sloping part of the hill and just pancake straight into the flat part. I notice that they don’t make such concessions to pole-vaulting, diving or gymnastics (people get to fling themselves as high into the air as they can, often with painful results upon a fumbled landing). I think they should give ski-jumping the same consideration they do all the other sports, and stop re-engineering the slopes. You’re so good at it you make a hard landing at the bottom? No pain, no gain. No guts, no glory. Make those last couple meters _count._ ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/11 "2004-08-19T19:24:49Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I think they should give ski-jumping the same consideration they do all the other sports, and stop re-engineering the slopes. You’re so good at it you make a hard landing at the bottom? No pain, no gain. No guts, no glory. Make those last couple meters _count._ And I’ve said it before, but there’s absolutely no reason for a judge to enter into the equation of who wins gold in ski jumping. You flap your arms and spread your legs all the way out, and still go farther? You win. I can’t think of an easier way to determine the winner. Mike went 150, Joe went 160? How could Mike possibly win? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_The\_Younger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d9b06d/32.png) [@Paul\_The\_Younger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_The_Younger)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/12 "2004-08-19T19:31:51Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > Combine freestyle skijumping with freestyle swimming, for freestyle freestyle. Get a bunch of babes in bikinis to jump in the water and frolic for two minutes. People would watch. > _count._ Only two minutes?!? Let’s throw in the marathon with that idea…at least a couple hours, right? 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/13 "2004-08-19T19:35:07Z")
Putball - Just like baseball, but with a shotput… weight… thingy as the ball. Clay pigeon javelin - Just like shooting clay pigeons with a shotgun, except you try to spear them instead. Marathon fencing - Give marathon runners each a rapier and let 'em slash at each other as they run. Highdive weightlifting - Leap off a platform, pulling twists, turns, flips, loops, dips, flops, and such, carrying as much weight as they can carry. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/14 "2004-08-19T19:36:35Z")
“Women’s” gymnastics and basketball. Better yet, a game of basketball between the American basketball team and the Romanian women’s gymnastic team. The Luge and Sumo Wrestling Sumo Speed Skating The Luge and Dressage ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/15 "2004-08-19T19:38:09Z")
There are just too many in the summer alone. Badminton with fencing foils. Handball using the shot put shot. Discus and shooting. Pole vaulting and javelin. 100m Beach IM. And during the closing ceremonies, all of the weightlifters will perform one 10m platform dive, for money. Splash for cash, you will. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/16 "2004-08-19T19:39:47Z")
> [@SPOOFE](#): > > Clay pigeon javelin - Just like shooting clay pigeons with a shotgun, except you try to spear them instead. Launch the pigeons off of the ski jump, and instead of pigeons, use commentators. Now there’s a game! ---
**Author:** ![Thirty-Nine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@Thirty-Nine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thirty-Nine)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/17 "2004-08-19T20:37:33Z")
I’ve always thought that the various forms of Freediving (basically “how deep can you get without scuba gear”) adhere well to the olympic spirit, being regulated and atheletic, but of completely novel compared to other events. Nonetheless, the problems are very obvious: it is potentially very dangerous, with many freedivers shunning the record setters Furthermore, it may not work in certain host countrys, choppy water, and could be difficult to cover. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/18 "2004-08-19T23:20:31Z")
Combine team freestyle gymnastics with sabre fencing. It’d be like an Olympic John Woo movie. 🆒 Or combine the Discus throw with the Trap Shoot. One country throws, another tries to intercept. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/19 "2004-08-19T23:41:25Z")
Synchronized pommel horse 100m javelin dash (“Missed him by this much!”) Diagonally parallel bars (not a hybrid, but would be more interesting to watch: boths bars at a 45 degree angle or the bars could be at opposite angles) ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2004, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589/20 "2004-08-19T23:44:14Z")
Anything involving booze. Quarter!!! _hic_😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hybrid-olympic-events-wed-like-to-see/260589.md?page=2)