In a separate thread I said I’d happily eliminate any events where victory rests on subjective judgements, and I wondered if anyone would agree. I’m pleased to see that I’m not entirely alone, although we all know it’s never gonna happen.
To drop: sailing. Nobody except the participants themselves have a CLUE what’s going on or cares; spectators actually in attendance can’t see anything much; it makes for achingly dull and untidy what-the-heck’s-happening TV; the names of the different classes are both opaque and silly; and they can’t even agree on the rules (judging from the current dispute between a Brit and a French guy).
To add: I’m tempted to suggest flippant things like staring. There was a British TV show years ago (‘Big Train’) that featured excerpts from the World Staring Championships, and they were laugh out loud funny. For those who remember and love the Monty Python sketch of ‘novel writing from Wolverhampton’, that’s another good idea just for the commentary alone. Or how about catching the javelin? That would be unmissable telly. I’d be happy to see pole dancing introduced.
Okay, I don’t have any serious suggestions about sports to add, I guess because I think the Games are already too big, and stuffed with too many sports and too many events. I think the whole thing would be vastly improved by not beng so bloated.
What is rink-hockey and how is it different from other, more well-known forms of hockey?
And what is pelote basque? Sounds like basketball in a Latin language (French?) to me. Is this different from basketball as we know it today, and how so?
Drop: equestrian (because it’s the horse that’s the real athlete), sailing, and tennis. If we must have an Olympic event involving a horse, I say let it be Renaissance Jousting, replete with full sets of body armor. I’d stay up until 4:00 A.M. to see that!
Add: karate (or aikido, perhaps), dodgeball, and bodybuilding (yes, that would be 100% judging, but it also recalls the ancient Greek love for the idealized human form).
Re. the martial arts: does anybody know why the roster is limited to judo and taekwando? Is there a vocal lobby for the inclusion of karate, aikido, kickboxing, etc.?
Confession: I love the idea of badminton, but I watched a bit of it today and could not follow the shuttlecock – it’s too small, is batted too fast, and offers too little visual contrast with the court background. Dodgeball may lack international (or even U.S.) legitimacy as a true sport, at least for now, but it would look sensational on TV.
Here’s a goofy non-existent event I’d like to see: short-track unicycle races (both individual and team) and unicycle steeplechase races (over little ramps, through water-filled troughs, maneuvering around cones, etc.).
Another fantasy event: Andy Kaufman-inspired Intergender Wrestling – although I doubt the feasibility of one-on-one (mis)matches. But what about one-versus-two and two-versus-three events? It may have zero legitimacy (or dignity) as a sport, but would probably make for record ratings… and the funniest, crassest TV spectacle since “The Gong Show”.
Oh! Oh! Me too! Who do we talk to if we want to get it on the schedule?
And how do they decide to add a sport? Do they read letters from fans, or take bribes from corporate sponsors, or what? I mean, who woke up one day and said, “Hey, beach volleyball! There’s an olympic sport!”
My apolgies for being redundant but I will second (or more like thirty-second) dumping synchronized swimming/diving. I just can’t see any use or reason for those events to exist.
Add:
Paintball
ultimate Fighting Enter the Dragon style death matches
Capture the Flag
And the now politically incorrect backyard favorite, “Smear the Queer.”
drop: rhythmic gymnastics, gymnastics trampoline, syncronized swimming, synchronized diving, equestrian, the modern pentathlon, shooting
Add: Cricket, Rugby, Surfing, Paintball (yes, I’m serious it is to replace shooting. It would be a team competition)
My thought on surfing so it would be that they could hold it at a site that doesn’t necessarily have to be near the host city or even in the host country. That way a team wouldn’t lose the games simply because they didn’t have a venue.
Gah, not cricket. First off, the schedule set by the International Cricket Council over the next five years or so doesn’t really allow for any breaks long enough for all ten Test sides to take a one-month break during the summer (even if it was a southern-hemisphere Summer Games). But, more importantly, I don’t see how players would treat it more seriously than the World Cup. The ICC has often polled both the country associations and the players themselves about the feasibility of playing cricket in the Olympics, and their response has always been a resounding “no.”
I also seem to remember that back in 1996 this question was debated in rec.sports.cricket, and somebody mentioned that the IOC required that a sport had to have a “substantial base” in 75 countries to be an Olympic sport, and cricket doesn’t. (Can anybody confirm that?–I mean about the IOC regulations, not cricket being established in less than 75 countries.)
I don’t think rugby union or rugby league should be in the Olympics (the World Cup is already the premier competition), but…how about rugby sevens? Fast, exciting sport; no well-established world championship; and, a chance for Fiji or Western Samoa to take home a medal, which can’t be a bad thing.
Softball was added AFTER baseball, and in any case it’s a women-only event.
Well, three things have to happen:
The sport has to have an international amateur athletic federation that represents it, whose rules and eligibility requirements can be used at the Olympics.
The sport has to be played in enough countries that a reasonably sized competitive field can fight it out for medals.
The sport has to be commercially viable.
Beach volleyball, amazing though it might sound, has an international organization (www.fivb.ch) that pressed for its inclusion, and it seems to be popular in a great many countries, and I guess they figured it makes good TV.
Incidentally, you might have wondered “why do the girls wear such skimpy bikinis”? Because THEY’RE FORCED TO. They are forbidden from wearing modest bathing suits or uniforms.
Really? That’s pretty fucked up. Do you have a cite, or a link to the rules for the sport? There are basic game rules listed at your IFVB link, but i couldn’t find any regulations regarding attire.
Actually, i found the rules, and they don’t seem to indicate that skimpy bathing suits are the only option for women. From here:
As far as i can tell, there’s nothing there to stop a woman wearing a tank top or jersey over her bathing suit, unless the rules of the specific tournament forbid it. I can’t find the specific tournament rules for the Olympics.
In: I clicked on the link and I saw Wushu. Though I’m mostly against sports where the results are subjective, having Wushu in the olympics would simply kickass. If you’re unfamiliar with wushu, it’s the martial art that Jackie Chan practices. It’s designed mostly for show and is virtually useless in real fight. So elaborate kicks and punches are made and “opponents” go flying when “hit”. It’s amazing to watch an expert wushu group perform.
Though not realistic, Dodgeball would be great too.
