Nothing gets people fired up like talking about which "sports" aren't actually sports and shouldn't be included in the Olympics. That much was clear after a heated discussion during our morning meeting.
One member of the editorial board said "It's not a sport if there's no ball." (Excuse me? Running is not a sport? I beg to differ.) Another disparaged synchronized diving. I disagree -- to me, that looks harder than regular diving, where you only have to worry about your own performance, not synching with another athlete.
According to a Time magazine article, "Among the 28 sanctioned sports for 2012, you can find table tennis but not golf, baseball, softball or racquetball." The headline of the article is "Should Chess Be an Olympic Sport?"
I say no. Why on earth would a board game, no matter how much mental skill is involved, be included in a competition that has always -- at least in modern times -- been about athletic prowess?
"Mind sports, by their nature, cannot be part of the program," says International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau, though she says the IOC hasn't rejected their bids entirely.
An article in the Canadian newspaper Peterborough Examiner says there is no shortage of questionable Olympic sports:
"Why has dressage, which is essentially dancing horses, been in the Olympics since 1912? The horse is the only athlete in that event. Even ballroom dancing, which once applied for Olympic status and was turned down, requires more athleticism than a dressage rider."
Which sports don't belong in the Olympics?
Photo by Getty Images:Spain's Andrea Fuentes and Gemma Mengual perform during the synchronized swimming duet free routine final event of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. One member of the editorial board said that synchronized swimming is the "poster child" for sports that aren't.
Taking an opposite tact, why not INCLUDE freeze-tag
and kick-the-can? there is a certain amount of mental skill and athleticism to both AND there is always a clear a winner! no judges required.
The Olympics are by definition traditional. In dressage, each competing nation had a venue to present the equestrian prowess of their warrior class outside the realm of conflict. Smart leaders of nations lacking equivalent skills took notice or made big mistakes. The modern example of this military display is observed in Ping Pong, a most cynical yet sublime exhibition of missile deployment.
Judges should be made up of those who have participated in the sport before. Some poor scores cost very good gymnasts their well deserved medals.
More and more, at company picnics and Sunday park events, we're seeing more people heading over to the pool and jumping in for a rousing round of co-ed synchronized swimming.
Jackie, I very much agree with that.
Without question, Womens Bikini Mud Wrestling.
If you want the Olympics to be more traditional than it is today you have to return to its beginnings. Only men were allowed to compete. Maidens were allowed to attend but married women were not and I suppose remained home. All the competitors competed naked. Now… How I see it is you have a bunch of naked men running around with a bunch of “maidens” and the wives aren’t allowed to watch. This time in history happened to be the origin of the jealous wife as well. So you can see, things changed rather quickly and evolved into what we have today. The Olympics is and will be the creation of what the International Olympic Committee agrees it should be. That’s O.K., if we were to go all traditional it would be a religious event and we would all have to worship Zeus. Tradition is important though; I for one think we should go back to the original “attire” for competitors… but Rich, women’s mud wrestling? Think out it… The mud would obscure the advertising logos! P.S.: I like synchronized swimming. Those chicks can hold their breath forever!!!
"...a bunch of naked men running around with a bunch of “maidens” and the wives aren’t allowed to watch."
Sounds like the back room at the capitol building.
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I'm seeing more and more company picnics and Sundays at the park where everyone chooses up sides and jumps into the pool for a rousing round of synchronized swimming.
Going back to the antiquity would be a little extreme. But we could look back to a
more innocent epoch of the Olympic games during the last century. The athletes
determined the quality of any given Olympiad, not Coco Cola, not Daimler, not Micheline, not Adida and whatever China may be hawking. Not to speak of the wonder drugs which are not on the official no-no list yet, to enhance performance.
As for the attire of the athletes? We could make them wear their national flags.
And those nations who have the know-how and the money can turn their athletes
into flesh and blood robots, with high tech gadgetry.
I would agree that the horses should be taken out. There are great equestrian
competitions around the world.
Gulf in the games? Donald Trump could be laughing all the way to the bank.
I think he is waiting for the permit to build a gulf course on the moon.