NEW SPORTS AT THE OLYMPICS

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has new plans for the 2020 Tokyo Games. They have seen that the youth was not interested in the Olympics as they were in the past. So they decided to bring in new sports to attract younger audiences.

a)...

“The IOC, and I think the world wanted youth,” said Aguerre who is the president of International Surfing Association. “So in the beach and ocean, coolest sport? Surfing. Streets, coolest sport? Skateboarding. Outdoor, coolest sport? Climbing. They should add these three environments; the outdoor, the ocean and urban. It will be the single most important programme change in decades, probably ever.” Then officials made a move that set off waves throughout the surfing world. They announced the event would take place at a beach although lots of people had expected the competition would be at an artificial wave pool. The competition will take place at Shidashita Beach near the town of Ichinomiya, about 64 kilometers from Tokyo. Surfers will be fighting with waves to take the gold medal home.

b)...

The idea is not new. In 1919, Duke Kahanamoku, who is considered to be the father of modern surfing, suggested that it would become an Olympic sport. When it was refused, he decided to take part at the Olympics as a swimmer and even won five medals over three Olympic games. Then in 1992, the International Surfing Association (ISA) started a campaign to add surfing to the Olympics. The group worked at it for years and members of the association travelled around the world to promote surfing.

c)...

A big obstacle stood between surfing and its Olympic hopes: There was a limit on the total number of sports allowed in the Olympics. In 2014, the IOC dropped that rule which gave surfing a chance.

“The old sports need to adapt,” said Aguerre. The evolution of the species is one of those that change... or the ones that didn’t change that are nowhere to be found.”