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5 New Olympic Sports For Tokyo 2020.
anyonefortennis
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Baseball/ Softball, sport climbing, surfing, karate and skateboarding. Disappointed that they excluded squash yet again. None of the existing sports will be removed. These will be 5 new additions although baseball and softball featured separately between 1992 and 2008. Surely including surfing is going to limit the countries that can host the event. Unless they hold the surfing competition in different countries to the other events.
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IMOH some of the existing sports should be cut eg tennis, golf and rugby sevens
Squash has always been considered a turn-off for TV viewers.
The inclusion of things like beach-volleyball were to attract more TV viewers, which is where the money is for the IOC.
The continual hitting of the ball close to the side walls for minutes at a time during a squash rally, would be considered boring for those that don't know the game. Even now I've only seen "highlights," televised.
Attendances at tournaments increased when the walls were made transparent and the ball easier to see. But you still can't accommodate many spectators.
It was still one of the best sports to watch at the Commonwealth Games. There were some amazing matches. Especially the doubles matches.
Golf should never have been included in the first place, certainly not in that format anyway. Maybe a team event rather than individual would be far more attractive to the audience, kinda like the Ryder Cup.
I saw some of the matches live in 2014 and it was fantastic, they are so quick and skillful. Squash and Badminton players hand-eye co-ordination is second to none, I would love squash to be an Olympic sport
that doesn't just affect the US team but most countries that play baseball at a high-ish level will also have alot of their top players playing in the MLB
so what we are going to end up seeing is a very diluted competition
So football, golf, tennis in particular don't feel right as an Olympic sport. I prefer to watch their own professionally run tournaments than the half-hearted Olympic variety that may even devalue them when some of their stars pull out like it's a friendly.
Golf is only there for US TV and advertisers. I was a bit sceptical about tennis to start with but it has now established itself as an Olympic sport and at least the top players take it seriously - unlike golf. I have no interest in softball/baseball but I can understand why Tokyo has included them due to their massive popularity in Japan.
I have no problems with rugby 7s. It was on of the highlights of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and is a fast growing sport in Africa. The Olympics should be always trying to broaden participation.
Personally, I'd support the campaign to get jousting in the Olympics - it's much more interesting than fencing!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36852985
As I've already explained, mass audiences (the TV target for the IOC) who don't know the game, get turned off by long rallies where they're hitting the ball up and down the court, six inches from the wall. We who've played the game can appreciate it, but most won't. As I also said, you can't get many paying spectators in a venue who can watch it.
On the other hand, fit, attractive women in skimpy bikinis, poncing about in sand with a beach ball......
I don't think that's true. If people enjoy volleyball, badminton, table tennis and tennis at the Olympics they would definitely enjoy squash.
But it isn't all for tv. Don't tell me fencing, pistol shooting and yachting pull in the tv crowds
They are established sports.
Fencing since 1896
Sailing and Shooting since 1900.
New sports have to have world-wide TV appeal. That's why we've got naffin' beach volleyball.
Squash doesn't. That's why it's rarely on British TV. Not even when Britons held both the men's and women's World championship
Are you seriously suggesting that climbing will have worldwide TV appeal?
I think searching for consistency and logic in this process is a fool's errand.
The next Olympic just has to be darts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHnBppccI0o
Behave yourself!
When did I mention climbing?
The way the IOC works is a complete mystery to me too.
What I do know, is that squash is not considered a sport that will attract significant numbers of TV viewers. That's why the coverage on the BBC has only ever been highlights,
This is beginning to get a bit like pulling teeth.
Having explained three times now the reasons why one particular sport, squash, hasn't been included in the Olympic Games, I think we can all move on, don't you?
No way should tennis be cut, it's far too established and important to the Olympics now. I agree about golf due to the big stars all chickening out, and rugby 7s just seems a bit pointless.
The ruling authorities are making a laughing stock of what was once a great event .
If surfing, wall climbing and skateboarding are Olympic sports, then Netty surely must be included too.
Do men play netball?
Maybe it's the GB women doing so well, so far, and them being female so interesting how they can still be feminine in a masculine sport. The format certainly helps with fast pace. Not being a big rugby fan I presume the rules are based on Union yet the format looks more like League with individuals dashing around rather than the big rucks. Interesting combo.
But hopefully a boost for baseball in the UK.
Golf is there to stay too and the players who did compete have come out and said what a wonderful experience it is being part of something that is bigger than Golf and playing as part of a wider team. Personally I would cut football and put in Beach football and Futsal.