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The Olympics are the most significant and far-reaching sporting event in our history, a proud point of the human race, a relic of the old world that the new generations improved and that they savor. The Olympic games represent the pinnacle of most athletes’ careers, and while some know that they are working for that goal their entire lives, other can only hope to be a part of this species connecting experience as their sports are not deemed worthy of the Olympic flame. There are four sports we believe should be in the Olympics, and don’t tell us there isn’t any room for it when equestrian sports and golf will be represented in Rio.
The International Olympic Committee evaluates the sports on five categories, split into 35 criteria, the most important ones being history of the sport, number of national federations, financial status of the sport (hence the inclusion of golf in the Rio games), the sports image and whether it represents Olympic values, popularity, and the costs of staging the competition.
“Youth sports” are emphasized as the priority for the Committee, but the spirit of the games are always important it so despite the popularity of Game of Thrones – jousting will never be an Olympic discipline, neither will MMA. But these four should, and have a great chance too, so if you’re looking for a sport to try out, this list may help you in your search.
Squash
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When most people hear the word squash they immediately think about douchey yuppies getting all of their anger out by slamming a tiny ball in a fittingly small space, mostly because Hollywood presented it that way, unfortunately, to say the least; squash is truly an athletic endeavor worthy of the tradition of the games.
Its roots date back to 1830 and from a British boarding school, but during more than a century and a half of its existence, it has found its place in 185 countries and it is estimated that 17,000,000 people play the sport! So seeing that at least half of those people would enjoy seeing professionals playing their sport at Olympic games we do believe that it would be a pretty popular discipline of the games. The sport itself resembles tennis on performance enhancing drugs, speed, skill, strength in all body parts and supreme fitness are all needed for playing it, and it improves cognitive function as match-winning decision need to be made in split seconds. All five continents have produced world champions, courts are simple and can be placed anywhere, broadcasting can put spectators right in the action thanks to the glass walls and the small size of the playing surface.
Lacrosse
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Olympics have that special feel to it because of the Ancient Olympic Games that were played, and the aura of history surrounds each event, so a sport that has historic roots like lacrosse should have a place in it, especially as it is representing the heavily unrepresented Native American tradition. Lacrosse has its origins in the tribal games of the tribes inhabiting today’s Canada, with different variations from tribes. The Native Americans called the games “little war” or “little brother of war” and some that aggression has stayed with the modern lacrosse, so the sport would gain popularity amongst the people who are disappointed in the tenderness displayed in soccer during the last years. Rugby sevens will be played in Rio de Janeiro, and it’s also a heavy contact sport, proving that IOC won’t dismiss hard sports, thankfully.
May it seem that lacrosse is developed in just a few countries of the world, that shouldn’t be the reason to dismiss it as the games per themselves are an exquisite way for athletes from the same sport, but different continents, to gather and exchange experiences which can lead to a boom of the said sport. And 47 members of the Federation of International Lacrosse speak for themselves as to the expansion of the sport. Furthermore, it was an Olympic sport on the start of the last century and is played by both men and women.
For Lacrosse it’s more the question of when, than if.
Karate
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We can put our money that this wish will be fulfilled as the Olympic torch’s next stop after Rio is Tokyo, the capital of Japan, and karate originated in the Land of the Rising Sun. Each host can propose additional sports for their edition of the games, and since karate is one of Japan’s biggest treasures and exports we can expect that this striking art will present itself to the world from where it’s most fitting – home.
Probably a few people reading this will be surprised that karate isn’t already an Olympic sport, seeing that judo and taekwondo are. But that is the least important credentials of karate as it has 100,000,000 practitioners worldwide, and everyone knows at least one person that trained it, but the number of competitors is even more impressive as 10,000,000 people, in theory, could be fighting for two gold medals. Karate means “empty hand”, and it showcases another reason for why we can expect the inclusion of karate in the Olympics, as not much is needed besides mats that are already a part of the event. It’s a martial art that is considered to represent humbleness, discipline, and peacefulness, so it embodies the spirit of the Olympics too.
Wushu
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Wushu is another discipline that may benefit from Tokyo’s successful bid to host the Olympics, as this Chinese martial art is vastly popular in Asia (but China’s 1.3 billion people are enough probably). And we think that even people from other continents would enjoy in the display of Wushu at it resembles rhythmic gymnastics, but with strong, acrobatic movements, maneuvers, and even weapons, but still retaining the gracefulness and peacefulness. That is one part of Wushu called taolu, the second one is something more familiar, but equally interesting, it’s called sanda, and it’s a modern fighting method.
It would also be a very cheap addition to the games, as wushu can be held in arenas where gymnasts and other martial artists compete. Wushu showcased itself during the Beijing 2008 Olympic games, but wasn’t a part of it, still, it is quite popular worldwide and nine nations have 10 or more gold medals at the World Wushu Championships.
Which sport would you like to see added to future summer Olympic Games?
