Look out, eventing! Bridge, snooker and chess are applying for Olympic inclusion

[JER]

Twenty-six ‘sports’ have applied for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

The good news first: Tug-of-war is making a serious bid to return to the Olympics. Who wouldn’t want to see this sport once every four years, when medals are on the line?

There’s also stuff like ‘dance sport’ – I think that’s like dressage without horses – and korfball and floorball, which are totally new to me. I’m kind of hoping that one of them is like kickball, because kickball would be a cool Olympic sport.

And sumo, because this is in Tokyo. And polo, which split the Olympic scene in the 1920s, IIRC.

Full list here: Snooker, chess, and bridge among sports to apply for 2020 Olympics inclusion

(IME, snooker and chess might be good Olympic sports. You can get up close with the game as the competition would run over the fortnight, kind of like how curling became an Olympic favorite. Then there’s the matter of Ronnie O’Sullivan (snooker) and Magnus Carlsen (chess), who could stand on an Olympic podium with the best of them. )

[Polydor]

I think bridge was a trial sport at one of the Olympics in the last decade and Canada won i think lol

Tug of war would be cool and kinda goes back to the traditional Olympic sports and same with Sumo.

Surprised that netball isn’t already in the Olympics considering how popular it is in Europe and Australia/NZ. I just looked up korfball and it seems to be a cross between basketball and netball and played with mixed teams. Sounds kinda cool. Floorball is floor hockey

P.

[CarrieK]

pfffft! Until Red Rover or What Time is It, Mr Fox? becomes an Olympic sport, those others ain’t nothin but a thang.

[poltroon]

I think eventing can sell more tickets than chess.

[JER]

[QUOTE=Polydor;8189416]

Surprised that netball isn’t already in the Olympics considering how popular it is in Europe and Australia/NZ. I just looked up korfball and it seems to be a cross between basketball and netball and played with mixed teams. [/QUOTE]

But the Olympics have handball, which is basically a cross between netball and basketball.

@CarrieK;8189466

pfffft! Until Red Rover or What Time is It, Mr Fox? becomes an Olympic sport, those others ain’t nothin but a thang.

Red Rover would be awesome. So would Capture the Flag – that gets to the very essence of nations and sport.

@poltroon;8189483

I think eventing can sell more tickets than chess.

Really? The big open chess tournaments get upwards of 1000 entries and loads of spectators.

And chess may be even more badass than eventing. Take, for example, the annual Chess Olympiad in Norway, known for its high-level chess and heavy drinking. Last year, two people died – one at the chessboard – and the entire women’s national team from Burundi disappeared. Eventing has a ways to go to catch up to that.

[vineyridge]

Eventing has a long way to go before it even gets a team from Burundi.

[JER]

Also, I think I’d prefer Marco Polo to polo. Marco Polo would make a great gender-neutral, makeup-free replacement for synchronized swimming

[Winding_Down]

Kick the Can. I want Kick the Can.

If not that, then at least give us Hide n Seek. That might be cool.

[JER]

I have another one. But there’s a story behind it.

During the London Olympics, my Lithuanian friend would watch anything with a Lithuanian in it. (Mostly, that means basketball, which is the official state religion.) That morning, she was watching the heptathlon, which is the women’s athletics multisport event. Running, jumping, throwing. She told me the Lithuanian girl was doing well, but then had a poor performance in the ‘shoplift’.

My Lithuanian friend sometimes gets her words wrong. She meant ‘shot put’.

However, I firmly believe that the shoplift would be a much, much better Olympic sport. It might be hard to train for, at least without spending time behind bars, but imagine the excitement when the spectators find out who secretly stole the most stuff.

[vineyridge]

Speaking of Olympic sports and basketball, the Brits have cut off all sports funding for basketball because they don’t think they have a chance for Olympic success.

[OverandOnward]

[QUOTE=JER;8189500]
… So would Capture the Flag – that gets to the very essence of nations and sport.
…[/QUOTE]

Capture the Flag ON HORSEBACK !!!

That’s how we played it back before I graduated HS. The horse I was riding at the time was the sweetest horse ever, but he got so into Capture the Flag he was trying to bite the riders from the other team when they were reaching for the flag. They complained. Wanted me to put a stop to it. I did not. :winkgrin:

[sockmonkey]

My ex and I had made up our own Olympics - The Joe and Julie Olympics - with some pretty fun sports - like swimming, but with alligators in the pool. Let’s see just how fast you can really swim. Mini-golf in an office building, where the tee is on the 6th floor but the hole is on the 3rd floor. Do you take the extra stroke and take the elevator or go for it and hit it down the stairs? The marathon run through the sketchier parts of town. Pony polo, of course.:winkgrin:

[netg]

I’d rather see polocrosse than polo…

I’m appreciating everyone else’s humor. Sorry I’m not funny enough to join in.

[RAyers]

Now this is an Olympic sport, I would absolutely support!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1594307337490200&pnref=story

[JER]

I don’t know what this sport is called, but I’m sure you’ll all agree that it belongs in the Olympics.

[IFG]

[QUOTE=JER;8194428]
I don’t know what this sport is called, but I’m sure you’ll all agree that it belongs in the Olympics.[/QUOTE]

They are all really good riders. Good thing it wasn’t as long as the pentathalon that you posted. I am going to blame having a lousy cold for being sucked into watching that.

[FalseImpression]

I thought they were talking of sports!!! chess, snooker, etc. are games!

[OverandOnward]

They meant the kind of chess where people wear chess-piece costumes and hop around a big chess-board colored lawn. With swords and maces to fight off capture. :yes:

[JER]

[QUOTE=IFG;8194483]
Good thing it wasn’t as long as the pentathalon that you posted. I am going to blame having a lousy cold for being sucked into watching that.[/QUOTE]

Isn’t pentathlon exciting? :winkgrin:

@FalseImpression;8194511

I thought they were talking of sports!!! chess, snooker, etc. are games!

Hello, my Canadian friend. Do you call curling a sport?

[phoenixrises]

I was on bed rest in a German Hospital for 6 weeks (in 2004). . . the only English speaking channel I could get on my tiny TV (hospitals don’t come with TVs in Germany) was a British sport channel. It was during some massive snooker tournament and I was hooked. Loved snooker since then and would love to see it gain a spot in the Olympics.