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Which sports would you like to see included in future summer Olympics and which sports would you like to see dropped?

37 Comments

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Keep surfing, skateboarding, and BMX. Those sports were riveting for me!

Get rid of golf. Jesus, I could be bored out of my mind at any time of the year during any year watching those insanely highly-paid players walk around.

Get rid of those sports that already have a solid, well-structured and very well-funded tournament structure, where athletes are extremely well-paid that are world famous, like baseball, tennis, and golf.

Those sports that don't sponsor millionaire athletes, like softball, gymnastics, swimming, triathlon and such, leave them.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

The rule for inclusion should be simple. If the Olympics isn't the pinnacle of the sport then it goes...

So bye bye golf, tennis, soccer (nobody cares about Olympic soccer anyway). Add to the list sports that aren't really sports so out with artistic swimming, surfing and even though it was fun, skateboarding.

Also to go minority posh sports, modern pentathlon, show jumping and sailing.

Sports to add..... Can't think of any.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Easy. Remove all sports and stop holding the Olympics, as they are nothing but a vast waste of time and money, and promote nationalism and stupidity on a grand scale.

6 ( +10 / -4 )

I agree with Tristis. Ditch the whole thing. One result is that it will automatically raise the profile of world championships which will get more attention and sponsorship. Sports will survive.

Put the the money into public sports for young and old, cycle paths, parks for people to run and play sports in. $30 billion builds you lots of them.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I feel overwhelmed with so many and varying sport competitions supposed to be done intensively within only a few weeks. Timetables are often simultaneous and schedule conflicting. I want to be more focused.

I'd suggest downsizing the Summer Games. Or separate it into two, one for the Classic Games, the other for th Urban/Contemporary Games (skateboard, surfing, beach volleyball, sport climbing, BMX may be under this category). Alongside the Winter Games, the Olympics can be held almost every year, each in 4 years. It would also able to downsize heavy financial burdens on the host city while giving more opportunities to candidate cities. Multi-talented athletes can join several Olympics (e.g. volley and beach volley).

All in all, the current format seems obsolete. As learned mostly from the Tokyo, it is vulnerable to virus crisis, pro-business favoritism if not corruption.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I'd separate it too - Olympics Sports Festival and Olympics Arts Festival. There's nothing at all wrong with gymnastics, synchronized swimming etc but they seem to belong in a different category.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Drop the whole stupid thing.

8 ( +11 / -3 )

Readers, the question doesn't ask you whether the Olympics should be dropped. Please answer the question.

Since age does not seem to be a factor any more, I would like to see tricycle raising by very young kids. Some of them are amazing on the streets.

Would like to cancel skateboarding, surfing, aquatic swimming, the circus look alike dancing with batons, hoops and balls, and for the winter, those people with the brooms on ice sliding big steel thingies.

Am sure most will disagree but I am answering the questions.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

Would like to cancel …. aquatic swimming

Inquiring minds want to know what “aquatic swimming” is!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Keep karate. I was glad to see that added at last.

-5 ( +1 / -6 )

Darts and snooker in.

Trim swimming, judo and wrestling.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Sumo do, Soccer don't.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Get rid of Golf, Equestrian, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Artistic Gymnastics.

How about adding Dodgeball, that would be interesting, challenging and perk up the interests for a lot of kids. Paintball would be another interesting one that would spark a lot of interest because they're all team effort sports.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Kendo for sure.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Get rid of those sports that already have a solid, well-structured and very well-funded tournament structure, where athletes are extremely well-paid that are world famous, like baseball, tennis, and golf.

Speed, spot-on. By paring the games down to mostly athletics, the number of venues would be drastically reduced (do the games really need a kayaking sluice?!), more focus would be paid to more traditional Olympic sports, and more cities would be able to afford the joy of hosting them.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Get rid of the professional sports, the ‘millionaire’ sports, like golf, soccer, baseball, basketball, tennis… these are multi-million dollar professional industries. They have no place in the olympics.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Oh, and tell the ping pong players that doing their tiny little neurotic fist pumps when their opponent flubs a shot is not the slightest bit in good faith.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Include: tug-of-war, farmer's walk race (I just made this up) and mixed martial arts

remove: all games that aren't physically demanding and amazing, especially those that can be played at the pub.

remember that the Olympics was meant to show off a person's physical capabilities that are relevant in combat (javelin throwing, fencing, wrestling, etc.). in my humble opinion, we should keep true to that spirit.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Drop: Golf, tennis, men's rugby and men's football (they have adequate global events and promotion), softball and baseball (dull), any cycling races that less than 1% of the population can understand, and boxing (repeatedly punching people in the head is not a sport).

Conditionally drop: Surfing, if you don't have proper Old Spice advert waves.

New additions to keep: 3x3 basketball and Karate (especially the one v. the invisible opponent).

More: BMX - Longer races with weapons and hazards.

Add: Unicycling, Roman chariot racing, Sheepdog trials and Darts. Proper 1970s rules darts with beer guts to properly balance participants when throwing and a pint to maintain their hydration.

Completely ignore: Computer games.

Undecided: Snooker and Skipping. AKB48 once held a skipping competition (DVD available), so Japan may do as well at this as they did on the skateboards.

Would like but won't get: Sumo. It would include women's sumo and the traditionalists would raise hell and sue most of those involved.

Keep: Beach volleyball - women in bikinis, men in mankinis.

The oft criticised gymnastics with the balls and hoops is actually rather good. I couldn't do that. Could you?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

cracaphat

I love it when white ping pong players do it too.

CHO LE!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Sports I'd like to see:

Kung-fu: we have Japanese and Korean martial arts already, so why not?

Sports I don't want in the Olympics:

● Football, tennis and baseball - these sports are all about big bucks and are full of multi-million sponsorship deals for the top players in these fields. Doesn't seem to represent the ideals of the Olympics. And serious fans in football and baseball don't give a damn, only those who are interested in collecting every scrap of metal.

● Karate - we already have one Japanese martial arts, but anyway, karate will be struck off from Paris, along with baseball and softball, only to be replaced by................

● Break-dancing. Gimme a break!

● Synchronized swimming, or as they call it now, artistic swimming - ludicrous. The final positions of the top 6 teams were the same in both duets and teams - why bother?

● BMX, skateboarding, surfing and wall-climbing - as fun as they are, they're just a cheap way of trying to get young people interested. Never had an Olympic feel. What next? Video-gaming?

● Cut the number of cycling events

● Equestrian and any other events involving animals. I hope more horses refuse to jump. That coach who punched the horse was scum.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Get rid of all events that were not part of the original Olympics!

Add: MMA

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Keep all classic sports, in one rule only (why 7 for rugby, why beach volley, why several races outside 100m and marathon, why several types of swimming, etc.). This is all about bucks and push of organisations to promote more of their sports but it is not about sports.

Remove all non real sports : skateboard, artistic swimming, horseridding, surfing, etc.

Paris is out of its mind with introduction of breakdancing. Sports is not a show first. Sports becomes of show because of prowness for a purpose.

Remove all professional sports. They have their own organisation and timing and resources.

Remove all sports which can't be played or just unknown in most part of the worlds : baseball, softball, BMX, ring cycling, etc

And please one sport at a time.

Audience should be able to watch only one sport at a time, and not sports to please some categories.

Thus, 2 weeks is way to short... 2 months looks good.

That is why it is supposed to be held every 4 years, to take time to watch.

All above makes me with little interest to watch the olympic games.

One last thing : scrap all advantages given by equipment/material : all sports people shall have same to become equal against the effort.

Remember wrestling was done naked in the old times for that purpose (not asking for that, even for women ;)).

Love real sports !

0 ( +0 / -0 )

● Karate - we already have one Japanese martial arts,

Karate, Tae Kwon Do and Judo are all different disciplines, just the same as table tennis, badminton and tennis.

● Break-dancing. Gimme a break!

Maybe you're not a dancer or don't like music so much, but it makes perfect sense that it would enter the Olympics, kids from all over the world have been competing in break-dance events and it's attracting more and more followers each year. My own kid won a few awards in state championships and I started way back when it was just a street thing, its morphed into something bigger and global so adding it would definitely make sense especially if the IOC want to attract younger audiences. Parkour is another art that could have a future in future games.

● BMX, skateboarding, surfing and wall-climbing - as fun as they are, they're just a cheap way of trying to get young people interested.

That is what you want, if you don't try and accommodate young people that make up 98% of the Olympics then why bother showing them, the games have changed over the years, adopted some and gave the boot to others, you want to bring people in and not alienate them.

● Equestrian and any other events involving animals. I hope more horses refuse to jump.

I doubt the horse has any say in all of this, but anyway, this is a sport that is favored by a lot of older, elite and disciplined and class riders worldwide, That is a sport that won't go away, kinda a life blood for the organization.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I agree with rainy day 100%

0 ( +0 / -0 )

bass4funk:

Parkour? Sweet mother of Jesus.

If break-dancing is in, then I vote for tap-dancing too. Hell, let's make singing an Olympic event too.

And kung-fu.

I doubt the horse has any say in all of this, but anyway, this is a sport that is favored by a lot of older, elite and disciplined and class riders worldwide

Keyword: elite. How about fox-hunting too?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Bring on break dancing. Throw out ping pong table tennis. For winter, throw our curling. Nerd sports.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Break dancing?

wow

In a hundred years the Olympics is just going to be a Miss Universe contest with crystal glass songs the biggest challenge and the swimsuit parade the most watched event.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Parkour? Sweet mother of Jesus.

Yes

If break-dancing is in, then I vote for tap-dancing too. Hell, let's make singing an Olympic event too.

And kung-fu.

Dunno know about all that, but break-dancing makes perfect sense. So what should the IOC do? They are losing audience and if no one watches, what' the point of having the games? You need to hit and appeal to the demographic group that you know will sit and watch and hopefully strive to want to make it into the Olympics, and as I have said the other day, not everyone is interested in Equestrian especially your average 20 year old. None of these kids care about a stubborn horse and a 50 year plus rider, you will not attract viewers and that is what you absolutely want and need.

I personally think surfing is just idiotic, but I'm not in that demographic they want to pull in, so I get it and remember that in the end it is still a business and as a business you need to turn a profit and that is proving harder with these games and that is why the drastic change.

Keyword: elite. How about fox-hunting too?

I understand, but as I said, I wouldn't be surprised if Parkour would make an entrance since it is a big sport in France that is now getting worldwide recognition. I think many people over 35 and up won't be watching the Olympics as much as they did previously and the IOC doesn't really care about us older folks and that is sadly just the way the games are played, pardon the pun.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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