According to the BBC article, “Wrestling to be dropped
from the 2020 Olympics,” there’s a potential change in the air. While the decision is not final, wrestling is
up for an out. Seven other sports are
competing for its place.
1. Baseball/Softball: America’s Pastime is
taking a stab. Though developed in
America during the 1800s, the game actually takes elements from a 14th
century Russian game of similar nature called “Lapta” (http://www.19cbaseball.com/).
2.
Squash:
The sport began in a schoolyard near London circa 1830, according to Squash 2020, a website
dedicated to getting the game into the 2020 Olympics in place of
wrestling. Squash is a sport similar to American
racquetball. During both, players use
netted rackets to hit a rubber ball off of the walls of an enclosed room. The differences are actually very small
details.
3.
Karate:
The art doesn’t have an exact
time of appearance. It started in
secrecy. Its history is rather long,
though. It is one of the few sports in
this new batch able to compete with wresting in age.
4.
Sport
Climbing: Rock walls at the Olympics.
That could be interesting.
According to the climbing.com article, “Climbing in the
Olympics,” the three types of climbing to be presented are “lead climbing,
bouldering, and speed.”
5.
Wakeboarding:
The competition would be based on
the number of stunts performed between two markers. It is one of the more extreme (and newer)
sports making a move for the spot.
6.
Wushu:
A more common name for this activity is “kungfu.” It’s a little bit like dancing, a little bit
like gymnastics, and a whole lot like the movies. That last point may be what’s culturally
holding most of its weight in this decision.
7.
Roller
Sports: The proposal
for its part in the Olympics suggests four speed-skating competitions. Notably, we do already have speed ice-skating in the Winter Olympics and this
competition does heavily favor Europe, the Americas, and Asia through the
number of competitors.
The largest complaints are not from
only the wrestlers and their fans, but from those who seek tradition in the
Olympic Games. Part of its biggest draw
is its history. However, it’s not like
the Olympics haven’t changed before.
That’s part of the reason the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
exists. A full list of sports, their
appearances, and, if applicable, their departures can be found here, at
lifescience.com.
From the sports listed above, only
baseball specifically has made a previous appearance. Water motorsports in general have entered, as
has “rackets,” which bears likeliness to squash. Whether this history improves or damages
their chances at being selected is unknown.
How does this bode for the
future? The Olympics heavily influence
our society. Kids grow up training and
training and dreaming and dreaming of
making it onto the podium. Needless to
say, there’s a flux in those directions as well as in the directions of
professional league sports.
Lately, ultimate frisbee has come
into popularity and the IOC has recognized it as a sport. It’s possible that, one day, this
too could be considered for the Olympics—fifty years from now, maybe. Then what?
There are so many sports out there, it may just depend on the tides of
interest. The Olympics also includes
“demonstration sports,” which are essentially the host nation showing something
off, even though it’s not technically part of the Games.
Ultimate Frisbee has not yet made it
onto that list, but it could happen.
Other sports and games to consider for the future might be paintball and
laser tag. Both are interesting culturally
because of America’s War on Terrorism and the general increase of violent
videogames. Counter arguments include
the debate about gun control.
That said, the Olympics does have
history with guns as part of the pentathlon.
Firearms were initially used as part of the shooting competition before
they were replaced with air guns, which were, in 2012, switched out with laser guns. (Laser tag as an Olympic sport isn’t sounding
so crazy now, is it?) Both require a certain
level of technology, though, and are less adaptive to cultures around the
world. Thus, for now, we’ll have to start
with the wrestling decision and take things from there.
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