Why don’t they just include Cluedo while they’re at it?
26 ‘sports’ are applying to be included in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo and to say they aren’t exactly mainstream would be an understatement.
Unless, that is, you’re a passionate participant of dance sport, or floorball or sport climbing. If so, you’ll be keenly awaiting the IOC shortlist of sports which get to make a final presentation for inclusion in the Tokyo games, with the final decision to be made next August.
Chess, squash and, the sportsday favourite, tug-of-war, are also looking to be included. And they’re not even the most niche pastimes on the list, tug-of-war was actually in the Olympics from 1908 to 1920.
Air Sports, dance sports and orienteering are looking for inclusion, meaning someone, somewhere considers these activities to be sports.
The list poses questions about what actually constitutes a sport, and, when the Olympics already features dancing horses, (Dressage), it’s no wonder proponents of each respective game want inclusion.
Toshiro Muto, chief executive officer of the Tokyo organising committee, said that sports “must be popular with young people, give momentum to Tokyo 2020 and meet IOC standards.” Which is vague enough for any of the sports on the list to be included.
Unfortunately for keen waterskiers, it looks baseball and softball will get the nod, as they’re both popular sports in Japan.
Here’s the full list of the sports looking for inclusion: Air Sports, American football, baseball-softball, bowls, bowling, bridge, chess, dance sport, floorball, flying disc, karate, korfball, netball, orienteering, polo, racquetball, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, sumo, surfing, tug of war, underwater sports, waterski and wakeboard and wushu.
H/T BBC Sport.
