# Which Olympic event demonstrates the most absurdly overspecialized skill? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321 "2004-08-30T23:48:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/21 "2004-09-01T07:11:26Z")
I think the horse related events (dressage?) are the least related to anything you would do in your everyday life. Ok, so you can get a horse to walk a certain way. The real life applications are minimal. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/22 "2004-09-01T12:30:16Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > What? Sweeping isn’t remotely a useless overspecialized skill. 🆒 I suppose it isn’t, provided you have an excessively long kitchen (length of the curling field), and narrow (width), and also don’t mind missing some spots (the times they’re not sweeping), while sweeping everything into one long straight line across the length of your kitchen. Also hope the floor’s made of ice. ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/23 "2004-09-01T12:52:04Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > How about race walking? While I agree it is difficult to do and does require athletic talent, its real world application leaves me puzzled. It’s a serious cardiovascular workout that is low impact, and therefore is not nearly as likely to blow out your knees as running is. I think it is very, very cool when I go to races and find myself eating the dust of 70 year olds. It gives me hope that I’ll still be able to be participating in my sport when I’m that old, and be as healthy and vital as these folks are. You don’t see nearly as many runners in that age group, and they generally aren’t typically as competitive as these folks are. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/24 "2004-09-03T19:15:11Z")
> [@Jpeg Jones](#): > > Spinning a ribbon on a stick is pretty dumb, though. 😉 I saw one of these women bend over backwards and catch a ball using her head and her ass. Now _that_ is a useless skill. ---
**Author:** ![bughunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@bughunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bughunter)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/25 "2004-09-03T20:05:58Z")
I disagree… with just a little more flexibility, she’d be in quite a lot of demand! ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/26 "2004-09-03T20:07:10Z")
> [@sturmhauke](#): > > I saw one of these women bend over backwards and catch a ball using her head and her ass. Now _that_ is a useless skill. I can think of a few uses for that :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/27 "2004-09-04T00:38:01Z")
As soon as I saw the thread title, I thought “race-walking, surely”. But synchronised diving and pole vaulting have to be up there with it. ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/28 "2004-09-04T00:44:23Z")
> [@bughunter](#): > > I disagree… with just a little more flexibility, she’d be in quite a lot of demand! Ahem, yes, well, I hadn’t thought of that. I don’t go for whip-thin types. ---
**Author:** ![litost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@litost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/litost)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/29 "2004-09-04T01:16:32Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > I think the rest of the world would say that ice hockey is like hockey, except it’s on ice. I’ve watched a bit of it, and it looks ridiculous. One could excuse **Scrivener** ’s presumptious “field hockey is hockey, but on grass”, but what is this shit about it looking ridiculous? And, you wonder about practical applications? Hockey on ice is indeed bursting with real-world applications…so is gymnastics and football and pretty much every sport. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/30 "2004-09-04T07:11:43Z")
Thought the air gun rifle shooting competition was a total WTF moment - why is this an olympic sport. Use an incredibly high tech air rifle to shoot pellets into a target. Wear some kind of think insulated suit more appropriate for a moon launch, all sorts of blinders and other face gear so that the Olympian can only see out of a little area of the shooting eye. Obvioulsy there is skill to be absolutely still for 10 shots and a time limit for each shot, as well as being able to sight and shoot without the slightest fraction of movement. But I still say WTF? Probably only had the pleasure of watching about an hour of the finals live because the Chinese team did very well (gold and silver IIRC). Dunno about you, but if it’s a shooting event, it has to have bullets. Come on, what this was is a bb gun as an olympic sport. :o ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/31 "2004-09-04T07:29:56Z")
> [@China Guy](#): > > Dunno about you, but if it’s a shooting event, it has to have bullets. Come on, what this was is a bb gun as an olympic sport. :o It’s not a BB gun, they shoot pellets. And the targets are about the size of a nickel. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/32 "2004-09-04T13:19:10Z")
a bb is a pellet. For the olympics, it’s just a hi tech extension of a bb gun. IMHO, about on par with making shooting rubber bands at a target a olympic sport as well. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2004, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321/33 "2004-09-04T13:46:13Z")
Ex high-school field hockey player checking in - I do not see how field hockey has any more or less overspecialized skills involved than any other competitive team sport including ice hockey. What’s the justification for calling it more overspecialized? 😕 Skills you get that are relatively generalized include increased fitness level, teamwork skills, coordination improvement and that sort of thing, which I’d expect to see with any team sport including ice-hockey. Specialized skill might be targetting a smallish ball with a stick and getting it to go where you want, but again, this is hardly unique to hockey. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-olympic-event-demonstrates-the-most-absurdly-overspecialized-skill/262321.md?page=1)