CANDIDATE GAMES IN THE 2020 OLYMPICS

Now the 2020 Olympics might seem a long way away to you, but people are already talking about what new sports might be included. For example, Jonny Mills whose sport is wakeboarding really wants the sport to be included in the Olympics. The sports started in California as people wanted to surf but didn’t have waves. So people invented a new type of waterskiing where the rider is towed behind a specially-built speed boat. The boat usually goes about 25 miles per hour (mph) or a bit less. The rider uses the wave the board produces in the water to launch into the air. Then the rider spins up to 1260 degrees in the air and this makes almost three and a half spins in the air. Of course, the rider has to land without falling after these spins. Jonny Mills has been doing this sports for many years and thinks that it’s very cool and fun. He says there are about 3 million people all over the world doing wakeboarding. There is also a wakeboarding festival called ‘Wakestock’ every July in Abersoch in North Wales where you can watch the performances of the riders and meet them personally and chat about the sport. Although it seems to be men’s sports, Mills says there are growing number of women interested in this sports, too.

Another sport that is gaining popularity is the one Jules Russell is doing which is called roller derby. Although the sport began in the USA in the 1930s, it is popular especially in the UK now. There are about 60 leagues in England. It is a contact sport played by two teams of five people on roller skates. The players go round an oval track in the same direction. Each team has a “jammer” who scores points by passing members of the opposing team. The players in the opposite team do whatever they can to stop her, so the game has a lot of pushing and falling over; however, the players do not often get hurt as they all wear helmets and pads, and if you try to trip someone up, you get penalised. The players in the team have to train three or four times a week and spend a lot of time in the gym to be really dedicated and fit. The sport is played mostly by females but there are a few amateur males who try it as well. As the game is fun and the sport is challenging, Jules thinks it would be fantastic if roller derby became an Olympic sport.