Questionable Olympic Sports

To me, there's 3 that comes to my mind:

Ping Pong
Equestrian
Curling

I'm not sure when Ping Pong was made an official olympic sport, but I always found it odd to see it as an olympic sport. I mean, you can make a case that table hockey should be a winter olympic sport if that's the case. Equestrian only shows what horses can do, and I've always questioned that as an olympic sport.

As for curling, it's pretty much the world's greatest janitors. I mean I try to like it...but can never really grasp why some people like it so much.

As for archery and air rifles, I never really questioned them as olympic sports...mainly because it's so tough to actually aim and takes a great deal of concentration.

Oh yeah, and rythmic gymnastics...it's more like a drama rehearsal than an olympic sport. That's questionable too...but eh.

To me, there's 1 that comes to my mind:
Badminton.
I find it a little boring,waiting for someone only to score continually.

Dingo...you're not Canadian, are you? :P

Equestrian does test an athlete...just not as much....it requires balance, and a rapport with your horse.

As for Ping Pong....agreed.

The horse thing i personally dont think should be in it, because alot of it is the horse, and you want to see who is the best rider in the world, not the best horse. I know the rider needs alot of skill but still, the work load is split.

As for things like curling and ping pong... they do take a crazy amount of skill. Badmiton too. Just because its not big in (insert your country here) doesnt mean its not big across the world.

Like Curling and Canada :D

Yeah, fair enough. Ping Pong is pretty big in Asia, or something, no?

My question is where the hell is American Football?

American Football isn't an Olympic-ready sport as is Baseball and Basketball. Plus, it'll take a hell of a lot of effort out of players, as games in the olympics will be constant, not a weekly thing.

As for Ping Pong. ha. Greatest sport ever. It's like tennis, but it takes some skills to actually get the ball to hit only the table and such.

You should watch some japanese movies like Ping Pong. :D

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Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff

My question is where the hell is American Football?

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They can't have it because the CFL, NFL, and NCAA football all start camps during the summer. You can't send anyone because all the talented players are on some college or professional team during the summer training on practice squads.

...and American Football isn't played to any significant level outside the US and Canada. Anyway, Table Tennis is pretty big in Asia.

I've heard that they're thinking of introducting 20-Over cricket into the next Olympics. For the non-cricket savvy, 20 over cricket last about 3 hours for a game, rather than 5 days, and is a lot more exciting to watch. I think that'd make sense, given that there are 10 countries (Australia, NZ, England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the West Indies) that play cricket to a relatively high international standard, and another handful that are starting to gain a bit of ascendance (Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Kenya, Canada, USA, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Namibia).

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Originally Posted by Skogs

...and American Football isn't played to any significant level outside the US and Canada. Anyway, Table Tennis is pretty big in Asia.

I've heard that they're thinking of introducting 20-Over cricket into the next Olympics. For the non-cricket savvy, 20 over cricket last about 3 hours for a game, rather than 5 days, and is a lot more exciting to watch. I think that'd make sense, given that there are 10 countries (Australia, NZ, England, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the West Indies) that play cricket to a relatively high international standard, and another handful that are starting to gain a bit of ascendance (Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Kenya, Canada, USA, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Namibia).

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Well, cricket did use to be an olympic sport.

I always felt that bicycle rowing(boats that you move along like riding a bike) should be an olympic sport if rowing and cycling are olympic sports.

But yes, although Ping Pong is popular in China, doesn't mean it should be an olympic sport. American football is popular in the US and that's not an olympic sport. Neither is Rugby. I know China petitioned pretty hard to get Ping Pong to become an olympic sport(it was first an olympic sport in Sydney), but maybe it's because it's another sport where they can medal in. :mad: They have swept all the medals since the sport was introduced as an olympic sport.

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Originally Posted by Dingo Jellybean

Well, cricket did use to be an olympic sport.
But yes, although Ping Pong is popular in China, doesn't mean it should be an olympic sport. American football is popular in the US and that's not an olympic sport. Neither is Rugby. I know China petitioned pretty hard to get Ping Pong to become an olympic sport(it was first an olympic sport in Sydney), but maybe it's because it's another sport where they can medal in. :mad: They have swept all the medals since the sport was introduced as an olympic sport.

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Ping Pong is played in most countries. American football is not. Sure there's the Europe NFL, but that doesn't count because it's mostly players from the US that can't play in the NFL yet. Ping Pong is popular in Asian countries.

CRICKET IS COMING BACK!!!!

And I'd say table tennis is a legit sport. Do you see those guys cream that ball? It's intense coordination. Equestrian - I dunno, but I'm not very knowledgeable about it. Only ignorants criticize something about which they do not know. Curling - it looks pretty legit. There was trampolining in Sydney - I think it's been stopped, but that was slightly silly, although I can say some of those stunts were... amazing.

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Originally Posted by princeofdarknez

CRICKET IS COMING BACK!!!!

And I'd say table tennis is a legit sport. Do you see those guys cream that ball? It's intense coordination. Equestrian - I dunno, but I'm not very knowledgeable about it. Only ignorants criticize something about which they do not know. Curling - it looks pretty legit. There was trampolining in Sydney - I think it's been stopped, but that was slightly silly, although I can say some of those stunts were... amazing.

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Actually, trampoline is still an olympic sport.

I think it's legitimate because there's added difficulty in which there's a box that you cannot step out of. It's extremely difficult to flip and tumble in the air while trying to stay inbounds and you need to perform 10 exercises all while maintaining the same or higher altitude.

If table tennis is a sport, then table hockey should be a sport too.

See, when you say curling looks legit, what do you mean by that? I could say you were ignorant on the sport so you would warrant it being an olympic sport. That's the same thing as someone who doesn't know the sport saying it shouldn't be an olympic sport, while in your view(to me anyways) you're saying it should be an olympic sport because you don't know the rules of curling.

That's not supposed to say legit... :x_x: :exdee: I think I was going to type illegitimate, but I was watching Seinfeld and I guess I got distracted. :p Illegitimate is such a kickass word. YOU ILLEGITIMATE!!! :D

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Originally Posted by Dingo Jellybean

Actually, trampoline is still an olympic sport.

I think it's legitimate because there's added difficulty in which there's a box that you cannot step out of. It's extremely difficult to flip and tumble in the air while trying to stay inbounds and you need to perform 10 exercises all while maintaining the same or higher altitude.

If table tennis is a sport, then table hockey should be a sport too.

See, when you say curling looks legit, what do you mean by that? I could say you were ignorant on the sport so you would warrant it being an olympic sport. That's the same thing as someone who doesn't know the sport saying it shouldn't be an olympic sport, while in your view(to me anyways) you're saying it should be an olympic sport because you don't know the rules of curling.

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I ask, hav you tried curling? Not half as easy as it looks. Very precise aim is required, as well as weight in throwing the stones. The sweepers aren't there for decoration...they can completely change the course of the rock. A lot more to it than meets the eye.

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Originally Posted by Giga Guess

I ask, hav you tried curling? Not half as easy as it looks. Very precise aim is required, as well as weight in throwing the stones. The sweepers aren't there for decoration...they can completely change the course of the rock. A lot more to it than meets the eye.

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I've played it. Not much admittingly, and I'm not questioning it as a sport. I'm questioning it as an olympic sport because the sweepers aren't exactly athletes.

equestrian is a lot harder than you think, the rider has to control the horse, the horse could throw the rider off or just run away :choc:

Equestrian is one of my favourite Olympic sports. To me it classify's as a world class sport.

But Ping Pong? That's questionable.

Equestrian's a great sport...maybe it's isn't fast and pacy, but it's not as easy as it looks. You have to control the horse, and your position has to be perfect. *shiver* It's hard....what the hell is curling?

It's table tennis, not ping pong.

Diving: Judging based on the actual dive. On the spot. No replays. One angle. Enough said.

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Originally Posted by Dingo Jellybean

Oh yeah, and rythmic gymnastics...it's more like a drama rehearsal than an olympic sport. That's questionable too...but eh.

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If by that you mean the whole dancing thing, I agree. Dancing sohuldn't be an olympic sport.

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Originally Posted by Dingo Jellybean

I've played it. Not much admittingly, and I'm not questioning it as a sport. I'm questioning it as an olympic sport because the sweepers aren't exactly athletes.

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That's more along the lines of what I was thinking. But then by the same token, the same aim curlers require are also required by archers and sharpshooters and whatnot, and those seem to be "Olympian"... *shrugs*

What happened to the Rugby 7's this time around. I'm sure there was a competetion in Sydney.

I would like to see 20-20 Cricket at the Olympics. As for American Football. YAWN. That will never be an olympic sport because its about as interesting as watching paint dry. Maybe they should invent a quicker version of the game like Cricket has. Though its probably not worth the effort. One more gold for the USA.

As for Table Tennis, wasn't there a Swedish bloke who rivalled the chinese?

While the best Table Tennis players tend to come from the Far East, the sport is also fairy popular in Europe. Table Tennis is a very unique sport, demanding a completely different set of skills from those required by Lawn Tennis. While it may not be as physically demanding as the field events, it's certainly more athletic than shooting or sailing.

Not all Olympic sports should be about athletic ability. Perfecting a technique should be rewarded just as much as being a good athlete. It requires just as much work and dedication.