# What sport would you like to see added to the Olympics? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** olympic-sports-track\ **Created:** [August 2, 2021, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901 "2021-08-02T22:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2023, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/141 "2023-09-09T00:34:04Z")
How is it possible that jousting on snowmobiles is not a recognized sport? ---
**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:** [September 11, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/142 "2023-09-11T19:04:43Z")
With the exception of the Keirin bicycle race - and even then, it is used only as a pacer, and is not used by any competitors - motorized vehicles aren’t part of the Olympics. Once you allow one, it’s only a matter of time before NBC “convinces” the IOPC to include some form of lower-level NASCAR racing. Now, jousting on bicycles, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/143 "2023-09-12T15:04:03Z")
Jousting on kayaks, that’s the ticket! ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/144 "2023-10-13T18:45:41Z")
Bumping this thread with some news: > **[Cricket, squash, lacrosse and flag football all set for 2028 LA Olympics](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/oct/09/cricket-flag-football-baseball-and-softball-all-set-for-2028-la-olympics)** > > Plan for T20 tournament opens up potentially lucrative market in Asia Surprised that they chose cricket for the Los Angeles Olympics. I don’t think there are that many regulation cricket fields in California? (not sure about the rest of the USA). I wonder if it is possible to repurpose NFL fields for cricket matches, or if they will have to build new ones from scratch on the taxpayer’s dime. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/145 "2023-10-13T18:49:07Z")
Isn’t the Olympic Organizing Committee and not the government that’s responsible for paying for things like that? I know in 1984, the L.A. Games actually turned a profit. ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/146 "2023-10-13T19:01:08Z")
This [Reddit comment](https://old.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/26z8rx/eli5how_does_funding_for_the_olympics_work_the/chvwmrm) says that the host country is responsible for the costs of the games, which is typically covered by a combination of taxes, loans, and private sponsorships. Also, [this article](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/07/28/taxpayers-are-cool-with-hosting-the-olympics-until-they-have-to-pay-for-them/) claims that in the 2012 London Olympics, $4.4 billion of the $14.6 billion budget came from taxpayers. EDIT: found a Wikipedia page with the estimated costs of each Olympics and the taxpayer-funded portion of those: > **[Cost of the Olympic Games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_the_Olympic_Games)** > > The Olympic Games are considered to be the world's foremost international sporting event with over 200 nations participating. It historically had the highest costs and expenses for the hosts, with the estimated cost of the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro being at approximately US$11.1 billion. > Sports-related costs for the Summer Games since 1960 is on average $5.2 billion (USD) and for the Winter Games $393.1 million dollars. The highest recorded total cost was the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics... ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/147 "2023-10-13T22:03:57Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > Curling It’s been there 1998. Even earlier as a demo. But talk of requiring a dedicated facility. ---
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/148 "2023-10-13T22:11:16Z")
I’m curious what “turning a profit” looks like when taxpayer dollars are used to pay for the facilities. Do they get some sort of rebate? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/149 "2023-10-13T22:11:21Z")
At that time, chromosomes could be counted through cells obtained in a cheek swab. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/150 "2023-10-13T22:15:52Z")
Is there no vote for Calvinball? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/151 "2023-10-13T22:20:29Z")
In the 1984 Games, many of the facilities used were existing ones. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/152 "2023-10-14T01:40:08Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > It’s been there 1998. Even earlier as a demo. But talk of requiring a dedicated facility. Not as dedicated as you think. Curling tournaments are held in hockey arenas, although you do need to prep the ice specially for the curling. Then carpets and partitions are laid down to separate the curling sheets from one another. The problem is, you need multiple rinks over the course of a Winter Games. Curling, hockey (men’s and women’s), figure skating, and short-track speed skating all can be held in the same size rink, but not at the same time. I’m not sure if any of those events can share ice over the two weeks of the Winter Olympics. They probably need four, or maybe five, ice arenas. ---
**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:** [October 17, 2023, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/153 "2023-10-17T18:30:43Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Isn’t the Olympic Organizing Committee and not the government that’s responsible for paying for things like that? I know in 1984, the L.A. Games actually turned a profit. Please tell me where an OOC is expected to get the money. Even back in 1976, when Denver was originally selected to host the Winter Olympics, it was dependent upon the city’s taxpayers to foot the bill for construction, and when they refused, the games were moved to Innsbruck. 1984 turned a profit because it had a significant advantage that most of its predecessors did not; it had existing stadiums for the vast majority of the events. IIRC, the only two things that needed to be built were a natatorium (which later became USC’s, so I am assuming that school funded quite a bit of it) and a velodrome (which, from what I heard, was built so that it could be taken apart, shipped to Colorado Springs, and rebuilt there as part of the Olympic training facilities already there). ---
**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:** [October 17, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/154 "2023-10-17T18:43:46Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > The problem is, you need multiple rinks over the course of a Winter Games. Curling, hockey (men’s and women’s), figure skating, and short-track speed skating all can be held in the same size rink, but not at the same time. I’m not sure if any of those events can share ice over the two weeks of the Winter Olympics. They probably need four, or maybe five, ice arenas. Figure skating and short-track speed skating are usually held on the same ice, albeit on different days. There are quite a few breaks in figure skating; usually, a discipline’s “free skate” takes place two days after its “short program.” ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2023, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/155 "2023-10-17T23:10:59Z")
What do you really need for cricket except a large flat grassy (or artificial turf?) field ? If that’s all, it seems like any college or NFL stadium could work. I am surprised about flag football. I know they like to include host country sports (like karate in Tokyo) but how many countries will even be able to field a team? ---
**Author:** ![TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thegunismightierthanthepen/32/2981_2.png) [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheGunIsMightierThanThePen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/156 "2023-10-18T03:00:10Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > What do you really need for cricket except a large flat grassy (or artificial turf?) field ? If that’s all, it seems like any college or NFL stadium could work. As far as I can find on Wikipedia, the laws of cricket say that “no boundary shall be longer than 90 yards (82 metres), and no boundary should be shorter than 65 yards (59 metres) from the centre of the pitch to be used.” [[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_field#Field_size). However, that only applies to Tests and One Day Internationals, and it doesn’t say anything about Twenty20 cricket which is the format that is going to be used for the Olympics. I guess that takes NFL fields out of the running, because they are only 53.3 yards (48.8 meters) wide, unless they remove a bunch of seats from the sides to satisfy the 59 meter boundary condition. Baseball fields, at least the bigger ones, should be much more suitable for the purpose. > [@zimaane](#): > > I am surprised about flag football. I know they like to include host country sports (like karate in Tokyo) but how many countries will even be able to field a team? At the [2022 World Games](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_football_at_the_2022_World_Games), both the men’s and women’s flag football competitions featured 8 nations. Presumably since this is the Olympics, more countries will be motivated to cobble together a team, and if I were the organizers of the tournament, I would loosen up the qualifying standards to grow the game in countries where it is not typically played. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/157 "2023-10-18T04:40:28Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > I am surprised about flag football. I know they like to include host country sports (like karate in Tokyo) but how many countries will even be able to field a team? If they want a similar, yet more international, sport, they should use [touch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_(sport)). It’s up to 28 countries in the Touch World Cup. ---
**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:** [October 18, 2023, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/158 "2023-10-18T18:34:49Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > What do you really need for cricket except a large flat grassy (or artificial turf?) field ? If that’s all, it seems like any college or NFL stadium could work. The most important part of the cricket field is the pitch, or wicket. First of all, non-grass wickets are almost unheard of at international level, so that leaves artificial surface fields out. Second, it has to be specially prepared; you can’t just mow the grass and mark it off. This could be a problem for most large baseball fields, as you can’t use it during the middle of baseball season. However, as already mentioned, the shape of the field is the main stumbling block to most football fields being used. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/159 "2023-10-18T18:52:02Z")
Olympic Pillow Fighting. Using a 10 ft X 10 ft mattress as the base, and standardized feather pillows, teams of three start with 100 points. Points are deducted for knock-downs, falls, touching the opponent with anything other than a pillow, and leaving the mattress (double points if you are directly knocked off the mattress). First team to hit zero points loses the match. Each team member is allowed one extra pillow if their pillow breaks open. ---
**Author:** ![Dahu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dahu/32/3416_2.png) [@Dahu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dahu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901/160 "2023-10-18T20:10:25Z")
If they’re adding cricket, squash, lacrosse, flag football and softball/baseball, are they getting rid of any sports? I thought it used to be one in, one out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-sport-would-you-like-to-see-added-to-the-olympics/947901.md?page=9)