New Olympic Sports

Since the inception of the Olympics, the sports included in the games have been in dispute.  Advocates of certain activities frequently find themselves fighting for the chance at Olympic glory, while other less popular events are nixed.  New sports technology, among other things, is the reason for some of the new Olympic sports we see.  Keeping up with the hundreds of games played at the summer and Winter Games is tough, but you can learn about the new games being offered.

New Olympic sports are part of the games every four years.  In the 2008 Olympics, new extreme sports became part of the lineup.  BMX® racing, which sounds tame enough, became one of the key new Olympic sports added to the roster.  In BMX® racing, the participants compete as individuals, and not teams.  They race on a track with their bikes only inches from each other.  The lap, which lasts under a minute, is full of intensity – and sometimes a little bumping.

In 1998, snowboarding became part of the Olympic games.  This relatively new Olympic game is a new extreme sport as well.  By the 1998 games, the new sports technology available for snowboarders made this sport viable.  The most recent games in 2006 saw the addition of two new snowboarding competitions -the women and men’s snowboard cross.  This event, which is like an obstacle course for snowboarders, includes all manner of bumps and turns in the snow.  The snowboarder must navigate these turns, and the judges score this new Olympic sport based on the fluidity of the athlete’s movements.

Some people are beginning to mount a campaign for another new extreme sport – ice climbing.  This sport involves participants using ice axes and crampons, which are clamps that go over shoes with heavy picks on them, to climb up faces of ice.  Think of rock climbing, but with an icy face rather than the hard plastic of a rock-climbing wall.  Ice climbing is a competitive sport in some parts of the world, and though it is still rare, there is a growing group of people who participate in this sport.

Among other sports to be newly added to the Olympic lineup is the women’s steeplechase race.  The steeplechase is an interesting take on the obstacle course.  In many ways, among new and weird sports to be added, the steeplechase challenges athletes to have versatility.  The steeplechase involves running laps with various obstacles, including hurdles and lanes of water that the runner must jump over.  The sport requires the ability to think quickly, judging when to make a jump without being caught.

New Olympic sports aren’t only about highly physically demanding activities, however.  One of the new recreational sports competitions is team table tennis.  In the past, the Olympics featured table tennis that included doubles teams, much like regular tennis, but that sport is gone in favor of a team approach to the sport.

The process of getting new Olympic sports added to the roster of what currently is offered is tough.  The first requirement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is that people must play team sports in at least 75 nations, and those countries must cover at least four continents.  Over the past year, a campaign has emerged to make (American) football an Olympic sport.  This campaign will be interesting, as football has a presence in other countries, but does not rival the popularity it has in the United States.

Others wish new and weird sports were part of the Olympic games, and they may have a chance if they can make a case for the popularity of the sport.  Though it sounds satirical, snowball fighting actually is a recognized sport, and Japan annually holds the world championship competition.  This sport works like a modified game of dodge ball on a court and has a unique set of rules and requirements.

As new Olympic sports are added, others are removed from competition.  These sports are removed for a variety of reasons, but the most common is that there are not enough countries competing in the game.  The lack of competition suggests that perhaps the sport simply is not very popular.  The sport also could be too expensive, or the obstacles to good practice facilities too much to overcome for people in some nations.  The IOC makes decisions during the preparations for each game about the viability of continuing each sport.

Many Olympic sports get an occasional upgrade with the introduction of new technology to their ranks.  Swimming has been the sport to see new sports technology lately, and the next summer games are likely to have even better technologies.  Speedo® makes a suit called the LZR RacerTM, and this suit helps oxygen circulation in the muscles while adding to the hydrodynamic design of the human body.  This suit has the potential to shave a few tenths of a second off a swimmer’s time, but in the Olympics, that kind of time change can make a difference.  These subtle changes will continue to add to the record-setting pace of Olympic swimmers at each new game.

Another new sports technology is the Doppler LidarTM system.  This system works for sailors, but the sailors must be able to understand the meanings of read-outs.  The system concept is simple.  The machine releases a scattershot of laser beams and then returns all types of readings about those beams.  The sailors then can use those readouts to determine wind speed and direction to help them make adjustments to their sails.  This technology works, but the athlete must be well trained in how to use the technology.

New Olympic sports will continue to be added to the games, and controversy will continue to brew over these events, especially new extreme sports.  Still one of the joys of watching the Olympic games is participating in lively debate over what games are worthy of a fight for the Olympic gold.