Olympic modernisation - will we lose a shooting event?

Sparks

From RTE today:

Taekwondo, baseball, softball and modern pentathlon are facing elimination from the Olympics in 2012 when the International Olympic Committee has a meeting in July in Singapore.

The IOC will hold a sport-by-sport secret ballot to determine which among its 28 sports it may eliminate to cut down on the size of the Summer Olympics, while increasing global interest for the games.

A sport that does not receive 50% support from the expected 115 IOC members will be voted out.

If a sport is voted out, there are five sports - golf, karate, roller sports, seven-a-side rugby and squash - on an official waiting list as possible replacements.

If modern pentathlon is dropped, that's another shooting event lost from 16 (15 shooting events + MP).

Citizen_Erased

Probably be incredibly biased towards which has the best ratings or the most cost effective.

Sparks

Yeah, that's the nature of the beast CE. And it's why we lost 300m shooting in the early 70's. Mind you, it doesn't explain the loss of women's double trap this time round.

les45

CE your are on the button, shooting sports have as much TV appeal as watching sheep shearing, and unless we come up with a " TV Product " we will see a further reduction in the shooting events.

Sparks

I dunno about that Les. Modern Penthathlon is as far from the static model of shooting as you can get and it's under threat. Clay pigeon shooting uses reactive targets. And if you've ever seen a finals shot using electronic targets like the suis ascor system, you know that there is as much tension as there is in a penalty shoot-out in soccer. Plus, a few years ago, eurosport taped an air rifle match being shot where the competitors had a Rika system strapped under the barrel of the rifle and the output overlaid on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen so you could watch the point of aim for each shot. And you have cameras on each shooter's face as they aim and fire. So the raw material is there, and all it takes is some work on presentation.
I mean, if a group of old men in silly clothes knocking a little white ball around a field with sticks can attract enormous amounts of TV coverage and money and support, there's no technical obstacle to us doing it...

les45

Except that every town in Ireland has at least one Golf Club and in the case of Kells we have3 within 10 km of each other, I would agree with you I lwould watch shooting all day long (sad) but I am not the one to convince.!!!!!!

jaycee

I mean, if a group of old men in silly clothes knocking a little white ball around a field with sticks can attract enormous amounts of TV coverage and money and support, there's no technical obstacle to us doing it..

I didn't know they played hockey in the Dáil..

Sparks

les45 wrote:

Except that every town in Ireland has at least one Golf Club and in the case of Kells we have3 within 10 km of each other, I would agree with you I lwould watch shooting all day long (sad) but I am not the one to convince.!!!!!!

Indeed
Pity really, there's no technical reason why every town shouldn't have a range - it was the law in England for hundreds of years (albiet with bows rather than rifles) and still is the case in switzerland. Oh well. I guess we just have to start building

jaycee wrote:

I didn't know they played hockey in the Dáil..

No, little white balls. Sliotars aren't little

oldzed

As an ex pro sheep shearer , I would like to point out that sheep shearing is a wonderful sport to watch , to master the godfrey Bone method of Shearing is very hard and a joy to watch . Now Les repent , 8-) ,

les45

Zed, I was not aware that you many skills extended into that often malinged sport of Sheep shearing, In my mids eye I can see you poised with shears in hand and a trusty ewe clasped between your manly thighs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rovi

Latest news from RTE online-

Baseball & softball dropped from Olympics
Friday, 08 July 2005 9:39

Baseball and softball will not feature in the 2012 London Olympics after they were wiped from the programme in a controversial vote yesterday.

The two sports failed to win a majority of votes in a ballot of members at a meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Singapore and became the first sports to be axed from the Games since polo in 1936.

The 26 other sports from the Athens 2004 programme did poll enough votes and will remain on the programme in London.

Baseball and softball's ejection opens the door for two of golf, squash, karate, rugby sevens and roller sports to be added.

The IOC's Executive Board will propose two from the five and members will vote on their inclusion on Saturday.

In 2002 the IOC decided to cap the numbers of sports at an Olympic Games at 28, the number of events at 301 and the number of athletes at 10,500.

At that same session in Mexico City, IOC President Jacques Rogge proposed that baseball, softball and modern pentathlon be dropped, and golf and rugby union added. However IOC members resisted and no vote was taken.

Looks like Modern Pentathlon got a reprieve

.

Sparks

Rovi wrote:

Latest news from RTE online-


Looks like Modern Pentathlon got a reprieve

.

Huzzah! Excellent news, thanks Rovi!