Wrestling removed from the Olympics

[BleAivano]

According to the BBC (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/21427455), it seems that the International Olympic Committee have decided to ditch Wrestling in
favour of sports like Wakeboarding, Baseball, softball and Golf :rolleyes:

Sure wrestling ain't what it once was and it have been ruined by corruption and un-understandable rules,
however the suggestion for new sports isn't really particular good suggestion either.

Golf is already in for 2016 and for 2020 there are seven sports that wants in (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/20757712):
baseball/Softball, Karate, inline roller skating, sports climbing, squash, wakeboarding and Wushu (a version of Kung fu).

if USA can get Baseball, I want outdoor bandy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandy) and indoor bandy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floorball).

[henners88]

I'm not a wrestling fan but I don't agree with big sports like Golf and Football, Tennis etc having a presence at the Olympics. They have their own competitions on a global scale anyway and I think the Olympics should be left for sports we don't often get a chance to see. I don't follow wrestling but it should be included IMO as it brings it to the attention of the wider audience. I assume its proper wrestling and not the acting version? lol, of course. I've played Golf since I was a child but I think it would be correct to have it now classed as an Olympic sport.

[steveaki13]

Wrestling must have been an original Olympic Sport No? I assume that was something the ancient Greeks did or something similar anyway. Seems a shame to be dropped in favour of some other obscure sports.

Inline Roller Skating??? I mean come on.

[steveaki13]

And what the Hell :mad: is Wakeboarding :confused: :rotflmao: :rolleyes:

[steveaki13]

Ok this is what Wakeboarding is.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIScKXLdckw

Actually not as bad as Roller Skating. :dozey:

[Rudy Tamasz]

I want snowball fighting and snowman building included in Winter Olympics!

[Mark]

I'm not a wrestling fan but I don't agree with big sports like Golf and Football, Tennis etc having a presence at the Olympics. They have their own competitions on a global scale anyway and I think the Olympics should be left for sports we don't often get a chance to see. I don't follow wrestling but it should be included IMO as it brings it to the attention of the wider audience. I assume its proper wrestling and not the acting version? lol, of course. I've played Golf since I was a child but I think it would be correct to have it now classed as an Olympic sport.

Depends where you draw the line. Tennis and Football - I agree. But what about cycling? That has the Tour de France etc? Athletics have their own competitions outside of the Olympics etc.

[schmenke]

The modern Olympic games are a television ratings grab. Consideration is given to any “sport” with potential for increased television viewership.

[Firstgear]

If they're going to consider soemthing like wakeboarding, they should go with skateboarding instead. They're quite similar, but skateboarding is far more accessable to most people because you don't need a $20,000 boat to do it.

Also, turfing wrestling only to bring in karate or wushu? What's the point in that?

[schmenke]

Rugby needs to make a return to the Olympics!

[Wasted Talent]

Rugby needs to make a return to the Olympics!

Rugby Sevens will be in Rio in 2016.....

WT

[Tazio]

Wrestling was an original Olympic sport, although not a big fan of this discipline I think it is sad, and a sign of the time$ that it is getting the boot. What will be next the marathon? :confused: :down:

[Rudy Tamasz]

Wrestling was an original Olympic sport, although not a big fan of this discipline I think it is sad, and a sign of the time$ that it is getting the boot. What will be next the marathon? :confused: :down:

See, Olympics is a Greek invention. Yet most of Olympics participants are descendants of Barbaric tribes. No wonder they are getting rid of the Greek heritage and reinstating their own sports. It's about time to rename the whole thing into Barbarics.

[Tazio]

See, Olympics is a Greek invention. Yet most of Olympics participants are descendants of Barbaric tribes. No wonder they are getting rid of the Greek heritage and reinstating their own sports. It's about time to rename the whole thing into Barbarics. I'm not sure if you are joking or not; however "The Modern Olympic Games” were the brain child of Baron Pierre de Coubertin (a barbarian) who was also the founder and president of the IOC for 30 years plus.

[steveaki13]

I can understand a host nation taking away a couple of sports and inserting a couple, but Inline Roller Skating.

Brazil must really rock at that. :crazy:

[schmenke]

I can understand a host nation taking away a couple of sports and inserting a couple, but Inline Roller Skating.

Brazil must really rock at that. :crazy:

The host nation does not decide on the sports. This is decided by the IOC and is done several years in advance.

[D-Type]

I don't think sports with an established world championship or world cup should be in the Olympics: golf, tennis, association football, or Rugby (15-man not sevens). Nor should sports which are only played in only a few countries be included: basketball and ice hockey in particular or the proposals to include baseball, cricket or Rugby (again maybe sevens is OK). I have reservations about events that rely on the opinion of judges: sychronised swimming, some forms of gymnastics, ice dancing, boxing, diving as the best and most knowledgeable judges will come from the main competing countries and there's always the possibility of bias. Boxing is a tricky one as amateur ( and olympic) rules are so different from the professional form.

Having got that off my chest, I do think that wrestling should be retained in the games - even though I don't understand the rules.

[gloomyDAY]

I'm not too surprised by this decision. I was actually more shocked by the fact that boxing didn't get the axe because of its blatant corruption and match-fixing. What saddens me the most, especially as a former wrestler (collegiate style), is that almost zero attention was paid to wrestling during the 2012 Olympics in London. The rules are straightforward, so there isn't much controversy surrounding the sport such as boxing or gymnastics. Ratings are what matter to the IOC because that means higher revenues.

[Captain VXR]

Let's get shin kicking in the Olympics.
VZ2CSpNze5Q

[BleAivano]

I don't think sports with an established world championship or world cup should be in the Olympics: golf, tennis, association football, or Rugby (15-man not sevens). Nor should sports which are only played in only a few countries be included: basketball and ice hockey in particular or the proposals to include baseball, cricket or Rugby (again maybe sevens is OK). I have reservations about events that rely on the opinion of judges: sychronised swimming, some forms of gymnastics, ice dancing, boxing, diving as the best and most knowledgeable judges will come from the main competing countries and there's always the possibility of bias. Boxing is a tricky one as amateur ( and olympic) rules are so different from the professional form.

Having got that off my chest, I do think that wrestling should be retained in the games - even though I don't understand the rules.

actually ice hockey is a very global sport and it is played in far more countries (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ice_hockey_leagues) then you might think. Its even played in countries
like India, Australia, New Zeeland, Thailand, Singapore, countries that you normally only would associate with summer sports.
And for ice hockey the Olympics is the biggest/most prestige national team tournament, the world championship are no
longer consider to be particular prestigious but rather the opposite.

I an pretty sure that there are plenty of other sports in the Olympics that are far less global then ice hockey and I think
most sports have their own established world championships. Is there any Olympic sport that does not have a world championship?
So I think the more relevant question to ask is if the Olympic is the finest and most prestigious that you can win.
When it comes to Golf, tennis and football I can agree that they should not be in the olympics.

Also in your opinion how well spread does a sport a sport need to be to deserve an Olympic status?

I also agree with some of what you are saying like the judgement sports, since how do you judge if one pirouette is more nicely done then the other?
Sure almost every sport have judgement in one way or another but in most sports its not a decisive part of the sport/game.
Since if one team scores 3 goals and the other scores 1 goal, its no discussion that the team with the most scored goals won.

I think the problem with the wrestling is that it has been ruined by corruption the past 10 years or so.

[henners88]

Depends where you draw the line. Tennis and Football - I agree. But what about cycling? That has the Tour de France etc? Athletics have their own competitions outside of the Olympics etc.
It is a difficult area to judge really, but the reason I said Football, Tennis and Golf shouldn't be included in the Olympics was because of the sheer amount of money that is involved in its competition on a global scale annually. Cycling is a big sport but its not as mainstream as the ones I mentioned and I'd rather see the lesser followed sports given the platform they deserve. I'm only judging it through one viewpoint and I agree its difficult to decide what is included and what is not.

[BleAivano]

Nor should sports which are only played in only a few countries and ice hockey in particular.

again

Look at the link below, it is the world championship divisions;

World Championships (http://www.iihf.com/home-of-hockey/championships/world-championships.html)

As you can see there is a fairly large spread around the world when it comes to represented countries.
From huge established ice hockey nations like Canada, Sweden, Finland, USA, Russia, Czech Rep and Slovakia
to much smaller nations, like Mongolia, Australia, Greece, United Arab Emirate, Turkey, Croatia....

Do you still claim that ice hockey is only played in a few countries? ;)

[Bagwan]

My wee high school from my wee town sent a few guys to the Olympics in wrestling .
We had a coach who had wrestled in the Olympics , so he knew how to get it done .

There were only a couple of years when there were enough of the big farm boys to field a football team , but there was always enough muscle for enough good hard sparring partners .

It's sad that any original sport says goodbye , especially one that epitomizes the struggle , man to man , that is the sole of the Olympic movement .
Alas , it , given it's very nature , will be only a hotbed for controversy , as any sport potentially "enhanced" by doping , is a liability for the games , and sadly , it's earning potential for the hosts .
You don't want a doping scandal to overshadow your opening ceremony now , do you ?

[schmenke]

... ice hockey ....

It's Canada's only chance at a medal! :p :

[Firstgear]

So.......how long before they add Speed Texting, and will it be part of the summer, or winter games?

[Tazio]

Olympian Pretorius arrested for murder
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/sports/oscar-pistorius-shooting-south-africa.html?_r=0

[D-Type]

Ok maybe ice hockey has a wider following than I thought. Nor does it have a high profile world cahmpionship so maybe it's OK to have it in the Olympics.

[ioan]

Wrestling was an original Olympic sport, although not a big fan of this discipline I think it is sad, and a sign of the time$ that it is getting the boot. What will be next the marathon? :confused: :down:

Most probably, modern TV viewers will not watch for hours to see the end result of a 42km race.
It's all about marketing and money, forget the spirit of the Olympics, it died a slow death.

[gadjo_dilo]

Most probably, modern TV viewers will not watch for hours to see the end result of a 42km race.


From my TV viewer point of view, I think that a marathon race has many things in common with a F1 race.

[Garry Walker]

What a sad case. Wrestling is one of those sports that always should be part of olympics, not such crap as synchronized swimming. The olympics are getting more and more pathetic as time goes by.