Snowboarding in the Olympics?

PiE

So why isnt Skateboarding?

Neil3030

Good point. But ive always thought that the olympics are a sham. Synchronised swimming? Beach Vollyball? C'mon!

Isn't there the summer games for skateboarders? Would they WANT to compete in the Olympic games? Would it be seen as "selling out"?

I myself would like to see skateboarding in the Olympics, but then you are opening the door to all xtreme sports which would increase the facilities needed to host the games and make choice of venue more difficult. I don''t know whether the Olympic Committee would be bothered going out of there way for sports such as skateboarding.

At least with snowboarding you will probably have a halfpipe in the vacinity of a piste and downhill and slalom races will use more or less the same course of the skiiers. If you introduce skateboarding to the Olympics then there would be a need for items such as a halfpipe, obstacle course and so on and so forth (i'm not too sure of the events so i amn't certain what facilities would be required) And then to facilitate sports such as bmx-ing, street luge, rollerblading the cost would be quite large, seeing as your average athletics stadium might not have all suitable requirements nearby and would therefore need to construct.

Another thing might be drugs. You might have to fill me in on the drugs aspect of skateboarding. Are they tested or whats the story? Could you see the Olympic committee being bothered to perform routine drug tests, year round, on a whole batch of new athletes?

But i do agree with you and skateboarding would make the games more appealing. But honeslty. Have you seen who's head of the OC? Do you think he knows what a skateboard is?

manonthemoon

Fear not Pie, from what i hear skateboarding will be a demonstration event in the next summer olympics, along with bong smoking. The combined event should be very interesting!

PiE

Good points Neil, but surely a few thousand dollars to contruct a skatepark would be nothing to the Olympics? It's just that snowboarding and skateboarding are so similiar, I can't see why they wouldn't allow both of them.

I agree though, it would be a lot of hassle to introduce such newer, younger-audience sports but from watching the Olympics the last few days, thats what the commentators seem to think it needs!

And if bong-smoking is introduced, damnit I'm there! ;]

Neil3030

I wonder if the reef would be seen as a performance enhancing drug. Cos if it is then there will be a LOT of DQ's due to drug use.

bonkey

Snowboarding was first introduced because snowboarding became as popular as ski-ing for things like downhill, moguls, etc. The half-pipe being introduced for freestyle was, I believe, akin to the introduction of figure-skating.

Which begs the question as to why ballroom dancing isnt a summer Olympic sport, of course

Probably because (like street sports) while they bear similarities to Olympic events, the difference is in the popularity.

Extreme sports, whilst increasing in popularity, are still very much a minority event, with the exception of snowboarding, where the number of casual (as well as professional) 'boarders probably surpasses that of ski-ers.

As to the drugs aspect...does no-one remember a Swiss winning the first-ever freestyle snowboard hold, only to have it stripped when he failed the drugs test for.....wait for it.....marijuana! Shock! Horror!

I can't remember if he was re-instated or not, but I do recall almost all of the other snowboarders in the competition taking the stance of "why is that grounds for disqualification? Get real, man".

jc

DeVore

He was reinstated on the grounds that only "performance enhancing drugs" were banned and it wasnt consider such.

Snowboarding has at least as much right to be in the olympics as skiing and a lot more then some of the dumb sports they have.

DeV.

PiE

I agree, wholeheartedly. I mean... wtf is Curling?!