Breaking is golden

December 10, 2020 9:47 AM

Breaking, elite breakdancing, will make its Olympics debut at Paris 2024, officials announced earlier in the week. According to CNN, it will be the first Dance Sport (no, I don't know why that was capitalised, either) event to appear at an Olympic Games, after having been staged at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires two years ago. The International Olympic Committee executive board also announced that skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing (three events that were due to debut at the postponed Tokyo Games) will be featured in Paris, too. "Today is a historic occasion, not only for b-boys and b-girls but for all dancers around the world," said Shawn Tay, president of the World DanceSport Federation).

Naturally, not everyone was happy about this development. "Australian squash great Michelle Martin says the Olympic Games have become a 'mockery' after breakdancing was added to the program for Paris 2024. Australia’s three-time world champion’s immediate reaction to learning squash had been overlooked yet again, this time in favour of breakdancing, was 'oh my god' ", according to the Australian Associated Press. “You just look at the whole thing and you just go ‘where’s the Olympics going?’ I know some people say breakdancing’s a sport but ... I don’t understand.”

posted by Bella Donna (70 comments total)

This is good. Video of the gold medal winning effort at the Youth Olympics by Russian Sergei Chernyshev. I just wish they'd let them also break dance when on the podium / let them select a national anthem remix to receive them to - that would make it even better.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 9:57 AM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I feel like this is transparently about the IOC trying to get younger viewers interested in the Olympics. But I don't have a problem with it.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:14 AM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

I am pretty down on the Olympics, but this is gonna be awesome
posted by aubilenon at 10:16 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Oh gosh, so many reactions, so many emotions. Things like this are really taking the smug intellectual preening out of "I only watch the Olympics" when folks ask what's your favorite sports team. If they keep making the Olympics cooler, what am I, a dweeb, to do?? And...let them play squash. I'm here for the sport dancing Dance Sport, but why not also squash? Seems weird. And is ice dancing not sport dancing? Where is the line?

Also, this was my first thought.
posted by phunniemee at 10:16 AM on December 10, 2020 [7 favorites]

Every generation needs its version of ski ballet, we've found the current iteration. Good work everyone.
posted by Keith Talent at 10:25 AM on December 10, 2020 [8 favorites]

Every generation needs its version of ski ballet

Up next, canoe ballet
posted by NoMich at 10:28 AM on December 10, 2020 [11 favorites]

I love dance sports. I'm just curious as to how they judge the breakdancing? Is it like figure skating judging?
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:37 AM on December 10, 2020

I woke up to this news on the radio here in Sweden on Monday or Tuesday morning. The sun wasn't up yet (because it wasn't fucking 8:45 AM yet), I was in bed and bleary and the news entered my ears and then my brain and a huge goofy smile spread across my face that was completely involuntary. I grinned like a loon for the first time in ages and ages.

When it comes to the Olympics, I mostly don't care. Break dancing seems wonderful but it's not something I follow. Even so, the idea of breakdancing at the Olympics made me shockingly happy. Normally I avoid watching the Olympics because sports mostly bore me (no shade to folks who love it; I don't drink wine, either) but I will watch the hell out of this shit. Thank you, universe, for one good thing to look forward to if, you know, the planet and/or nation states still exist by then.
posted by Bella Donna at 10:49 AM on December 10, 2020 [9 favorites]

what about tag?
posted by robbyrobs at 10:50 AM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

Time to get the crew out of retirement
posted by Flashman at 10:52 AM on December 10, 2020 [25 favorites]

I'm opposed to this, but I'm also opposed to the inclusion of figure skating, diving and gymnastics. I believe the Olympics should be limited to athletic achievements that can be measured objectively, such as racing and weightlifting, and that any activity that requires a human observer to determine how "well" the competitor performed makes a mockery of the whole concept.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:55 AM on December 10, 2020 [12 favorites]

TIL...Kids still breakdance.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:56 AM on December 10, 2020 [9 favorites]

I'm generally pretty "meh" on all the judged sports, because there is so much subjectivity there. I'm a cranky guy and I like sports to be objective as far as possible. No judges, to determine how well you did something, just referees, to determine if you did it correctly or not.

OTOH, that ship has clearly sailed and not everything is track and field, and there are already plenty of other (how shall I put this) "eccentric" sports in there, so sure. Whatever. I'll just sit here in the corner. Being grumpy.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 10:58 AM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

A Short Play in Three Acts

1984.
Me: "Break dancing is a total fad. No one will remember it in a few years."
Friend: "No, it's here to stay!"

1989.
Me: "See! Completely on its way out."
Friend: [Silence]

2020.
Me: "Maybe it's time to track him down and apologize."
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 11:03 AM on December 10, 2020 [12 favorites]

I know a guy who used to be in the competitive breakdancing scene, and he's not pleased with this because he believes it will funnel many of the more talented people away from the homegrown structure that has risen organically over the past 40+ years and into whatever structure the Olympics create. It's possible that some of that older ad-hoc organization will be incorporated into this new thing, but at best it'll still be a mainstream corporate co-opting of vernacular Black dance culture for reasons that have nothing to do with the people who created and practice it.
posted by Strange Interlude at 11:10 AM on December 10, 2020 [28 favorites]

Can't have an event that's physically demanding yet scored subjectively by judges - that would go against the spirit of the Olympics!

Please ignore figure skating, ice dancing, gymnastics, synchronized swimming, dressage, 3/5 of the snowboarding events, and 4/5 of the freestyle skiing events. These all fit into the "spirit of the Olympics" somehow despite being subjectively judged.
posted by thecjm at 11:16 AM on December 10, 2020 [7 favorites]

I like the judged sports, because I think the intersection of creative expression and athletic skill is fascinating. I also enjoy when the Olympics flails in the direction of being hip and cool. And, breakdancing being very international these days, I can't wait to hear the music that people pick. I'm totally here for breakdancing as an Olympic sport.

(Here's the NYC Breakers challenging the Olympic floor exercise gymnasts to a competition. That would've been the 1984 Los Angeles games.)
posted by box at 11:17 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

These all fit into the "spirit of the Olympics" somehow despite being subjectively judged.

Except they don’t, and most people who aren’t going to like breakdancing would also want the events you mentioned to be banned as well.
posted by sideshow at 11:32 AM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

I'm just curious as to how they judge the breakdancing? Is it like figure skating judging?

Well, figure skating has compulsory figures, although you never see those on TV anymore (and it was nuked in 1990, it seems)
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:32 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Parkour seems like more of a fit to me.
posted by gottabefunky at 11:44 AM on December 10, 2020 [9 favorites]

It's possible that some of that older ad-hoc organization will be incorporated into this new thing, but at best it'll still be a mainstream corporate co-opting of vernacular Black dance culture for reasons that have nothing to do with the people who created and practice it.

This is a good point. Being included in the Olympics will have huge effects.

Still, my kids who love breakdancing are going to be over the moon about this.
posted by medusa at 11:47 AM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

List of demonstration sports from prior Olympics (Pigeon Racing and Fishing!) and current and discontinued sports. Times change, sports change, the Olympics changes. *attempts the worm across the floor and gets winded*
posted by inflatablekiwi at 11:51 AM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

Bring back Olympic Tug of War. And juice everybody up. I'd watch that, shorn-off limbs and all.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:58 AM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

2020.
Me: "Maybe it's time to track him down and apologize

If you find him on the podium we should figure out how to get you a movie deal.
posted by mhoye at 12:00 PM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

I really loathe judged sports in the Olympics, but if we're gonna have judged sports in the Olympics -- and we're gonna, clearly, because there are many already -- then this, at least, is an interesting choice and less "affluent white people do this" than a lot of the sports that get to be in the games.
posted by jacquilynne at 12:01 PM on December 10, 2020 [10 favorites]

I really loathe judged sports in the Olympics, but if we're gonna have judged sports in the Olympics -- and we're gonna, clearly, because there are many already -- then this, at least, is an interesting choice and less "affluent white people do this" than a lot of the sports that get to be in the games.

lalochezia holds up a 1 0 . 0
posted by lalochezia at 12:12 PM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

So climbing is pretty objective at a first glance - the person who climbs the highest wins, and if more than one person reaches the top or the same high point, the faster person wins.

It has a more subtle problem though, in that the climbing route (which you can imagine as kind of a gymnastics or dance routine) gets chosen by someone, and all the competitors climb the same routes. What's to stop the route setter designing something that favours the strengths of a particular athlete!? Nothing.
posted by other barry at 12:23 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

What's to stop the route setter designing something that favours the strengths of a particular athlete!? Nothing.

Use an AI to generate three different routes. Have each competitor climb all three routes in a random order, unseen by the other competitors. Take the average of the three times. Whoever scores lowest wins.
posted by Faint of Butt at 12:35 PM on December 10, 2020

Plunge for distance, tug of war: The Olympics' sad history of defunct medal events

"[1990 diving medalist Kristian] Ipsen was informed of the rules of plunge for distance [from the 1904 Olympics]: A diver leaps from an 18-inch platform and has 60 seconds to travel as far across the pool as possible without moving his arms or legs. One way to describe it would be a contest of leg strength, body control and lung capacity. Another would be competitive floating. Upon learning about the plunge for distance, Ipsen burst into uproarious laughter."
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:58 PM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

I'm still caught up on the optimism of thinking there will be another Olympics.
posted by signal at 1:27 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Surely tapdancing can't be far behind?
posted by tspae at 1:38 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I wish dance offs were used to settle international conflicts rather than bombs and guns. Spinning on one’s head doesn’t seem like any less of a logical method to settle difference than murdering humans.

Maybe the United Nations Security Council would have more weight then if powerful countries didn’t want to risk losing to a smaller, more mighty break dancing nations.
posted by mundo at 1:47 PM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

> I'm opposed to this, but I'm also opposed to the inclusion of figure skating, diving and gymnastics. I believe the Olympics should be limited to athletic achievements that can be measured objectively, such as racing and weightlifting, and that any activity that requires a human observer to determine how "well" the competitor performed makes a mockery of the whole concept.

Poke-the-bear incoming:

If I give my students an assignment with a rubric, rather than an assignment with multiple choice questions, does it make a mockery of school?

No, it doesn't, because I'm expected, as a professional, to transparently explain the rubric to my students and then abide by that explanation when scoring.

Just like sporting events that use judges.
posted by parliboy at 2:10 PM on December 10, 2020 [8 favorites]

If I give my students an assignment without a rubric and then grade it subjectively, trying to not let my personal opinion of the students affect the grade, does it make a mockery of school?
No, it makes it a Design School.
posted by signal at 2:13 PM on December 10, 2020 [3 favorites]

I remember the first time I went to Japan in 2003, the bus from the airport dropped me off at a train close to the shared house I'd be living in. It was a bit late, maybe 10-11pm so the station wasn't busy. And there were groups of young people outside the station breakdancing and hip-hop dancing. There were certain stations where groups would practice dancing almost every night. It isn't something I've seen anywhere else.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 2:15 PM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

No, it doesn't, because I'm expected, as a professional, to transparently explain the rubric to my students and then abide by that explanation when scoring.

Good practice would mean keeping all the athletes anonymous.
posted by biffa at 2:16 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I LOVE IT. You know what youth training for this doesn't need? A goddamn rink or fancy gym equipment. Pommel horse is impressive - have you tried flares? Okay, cool, how about air flares? (Things get extra good around 2:29 of this video. ) You know what else? Maybe it's a chance to appreciate dance aesthetics without having spectacularly powerful women follow up their insanely acrobatic moves with weirdly infantile cutesy flourishes made to make traditionalist (and often creepy) judges and trainers happy.

Breakdancing is a sport that routinely makes me gasp at what the human body is capable of doing. IN TIME TO MUSIC.

(any portmanteau, pre-pandemic, you could see groups just like that practicing every night in the plazas of campuses like UCLA and Berkeley, and it was awesome.)
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 2:51 PM on December 10, 2020 [8 favorites]

Also, I look forward to seeing our kpop overlords CRUSH IT.
posted by BlueBlueElectricBlue at 2:51 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

I'm still caught up on the optimism of thinking there will be another Olympics.

Tokyo seems to be going ahead - albeit with a lot of changes that are relatively realistic (lots of vaccination support, limiting athlete time in the Village to discourage it becoming one big sexy time party etc).

Here in Utah the 2030/34 bid for the Winter Games looks to be proceeding and the incoming new Governor has been talking it up (maybe as a bit of a McGuffin to give something positive to focus on, and which is far enough away no specific activity is needed now).

disclaimer: given close proximity to Park City’s Olympic Park and places most of the alpine events would be I *really* want SLC to win it - self-interested for sure but the infrastructure they built for 2002 is pretty great...and who even knows if we’ll have consistently/predictably cold enough winters for the winter games in a few decades anyway.....
posted by inflatablekiwi at 2:55 PM on December 10, 2020

Blue blue electric blue, sorry I’m dictating so of course I don’t have your name right, but thank you for the video link which was just so much fun.
posted by Bella Donna at 3:12 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Clearly there is a pressing need for some arts-related Olympics. Competitive emoting, for example.
posted by dhruva at 3:12 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Counter-argument to the disdain for judged sports: having a track event where the top 3 people finish within .2 of a second of each other and then deciding the one of them is the “best” is pretty dumb too. I find that stuff super boring a lot of times. They all seem like equally talented runners to me.
posted by freecellwizard at 3:16 PM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

Please let Turbo and Ozone participate. That is all.
posted by davidmsc at 3:21 PM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

Maybe the United Nations Security Council would have more weight then if powerful countries didn’t want to risk losing to a smaller, more mighty break dancing nations.

Politics is breakdancing by other means, as Clausewitz famously didn’t quite say.
posted by mhoye at 3:31 PM on December 10, 2020 [4 favorites]

I'm opposed to this, but I'm also opposed to the inclusion of figure skating, diving and gymnastics. I believe the Olympics should be limited to athletic achievements that can be measured objectively, such as racing and weightlifting, and that any activity that requires a human observer to determine how "well" the competitor performed makes a mockery of the whole concept.

I've got bad news for you if your list of sports that do not require a human observer are racing and weightlifting.

SW 2.7.1 Judges of stroke shall be located on each side of the pool.
SW 2.7.2 Each judge of stroke shall ensure that the rules related to the style of swimming designated for the event are being observed, and shall observe the turns and the finishes to assist the inspectors of turns.
SW 2.7.3 Judges of Stroke shall report to the Referee any violation on signed cards detailing the event, lane number, and the infraction.

- Fédération internationale de natation competition rules [PDF]

and:

3.6.2.3 As soon as the Referee has judged a lift “Good lift”, he/she immediately presses the white button on the control box.
3.6.2.4 As soon as the Referee has judged a lift “No lift”, he/she immediately presses the red button on the control box. A Referee, who sees a mistake or fault during the execution of a lift, must immediately press the red button.

- International Weightlifting Federation competition rules [PDF]

Virtually every sport involves a human observer to determine whether the competitors are performing at least within standards; there are very few potential exceptions -- short distance foot races where everyone stays within lanes (obstruction is a human-judged offence possible on longer foot races), freestyle swimming perhaps (depending on if turns can be electronically monitored), potentially a couple of short distance cycling events, and maybe some of the shooting. If you eliminate sports with nonobjective human observation, you eliminate every combative sport, every team sport, and most of the other sports besides.

(I recently heard this "objective" argument on a podcast, where football was an example. It is easier to know what love is than what pass interference by NFL standards is.) On the bright side, there would be room to include hot-dog eating, which does qualify as objective achievement.
posted by Superilla at 3:34 PM on December 10, 2020 [6 favorites]

Judging if someone performs within standards is different from judging the whole performance and that judgement then solely determines the points awarded.
posted by Pendragon at 3:58 PM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

> "I'm opposed to this, but I'm also opposed to the inclusion of figure skating, diving and gymnastics. I believe the Olympics should be limited to athletic achievements that can be measured objectively ... and that any activity that requires a human observer to determine how 'well' the competitor performed makes a mockery of the whole concept."

Interesting. I'm somewhat opposed to their inclusion for pretty much the exact opposite reason.

I love figure skating, dance, etc., and there has been a greater and greater tendency in the Olympics to insist that they be scored according to some "objective" metric, driving them further and further away from their origin as artistic endeavors and making them ever more boring, ever more routine, and ever more focused on difficulty level to the exclusion of everything that I actually find compelling about them. This has been particularly egregious with figure skating over the past couple of decades or so.

In other words, I believe that the Olympics should absolutely not attempt to measure these activities objectively, but should require human observers to determine how "well" the competitor performed. If the Olympics are unable to do this, as is increasingly the case, then the Olympics are making a mockery of the whole concept of these endeavors.

Which makes us sound like we're on the same side of the argument, but I don't think we really are. I'd love to have them in the Olympics if people would stop insisting that everything in the Olympics must have an objective score. But I don't see that happening anytime soon.
posted by kyrademon at 4:04 PM on December 10, 2020 [8 favorites]

Clearly there is a pressing need for some arts-related Olympics.

Something like Eurovision only global, you mean?
posted by acb at 4:06 PM on December 10, 2020 [5 favorites]

There is a difference between having a human determine if the competitor performed correctly (was that a legal breaststroke?) and how well they performed it. LeBron James can get a penalty for some violation or another and that can be subjective and sometimes the referees are wrong, but he never gets an extra point for a particularly stylishly completed dunk.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 4:24 PM on December 10, 2020

All that matters is that we keep the Pentathalon, so we know which countries can produce the best all-round infantry/calvary division.
posted by kaibutsu at 4:25 PM on December 10, 2020 [7 favorites]

Already planning a trip to LA in 2028 for the electric boogaloo.

Are the skateboarders going to get national uniforms? I don't know if the sport can survive the dissonance that would cause.
posted by rodlymight at 6:08 PM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

I think being mad about what's included in the Olympics should be an Olympic sport.
posted by klanawa at 7:25 PM on December 10, 2020 [9 favorites]

a chance to appreciate dance aesthetics without having spectacularly powerful women follow up their insanely acrobatic moves with weirdly infantile cutesy flourishes

I glumly assume this will be part of Olympic breakdancing, but I hope I’m wrong.
posted by clew at 8:01 PM on December 10, 2020

I know this idea tends to get mocked a lot (because...patriarchy), but I dare anyone to watch this video and tell me that pole dance is not also a sport on par with gymnastics that should be considered for Olympic contention.
posted by quiet coyote at 8:44 PM on December 10, 2020 [7 favorites]

Art competitions (pdf) were part of the Games from 1912-48, with five categories - architecture, literature, painting, music, and sculpture; each work entered had to be inspired by sport. It looks like the reason they got dropped was not only subjectivity, but rather the fact that many of the artists who entered were considered professionals, rather than amateurs.

All of which is to say, I'd be down for some rap battles or a poetry slam being part of the Olympics. Maybe even improv comedy.
posted by nubs at 9:12 PM on December 10, 2020 [2 favorites]

Counter-argument to the disdain for judged sports: having a track event where the top 3 people finish within .2 of a second of each other and then deciding the one of them is the “best” is pretty dumb too. I find that stuff super boring a lot of times. They all seem like equally talented runners to me.

In the 100 meter sprint, your “equality talented” example includes both a better than decent high school kid, and Usain Bolt.
posted by sideshow at 9:53 PM on December 10, 2020 [1 favorite]

Bring back Olympic Tug of War
I've long argued that this should be the event that rounds up the games just before the closing ceremony with teams composed entirely of athletes already at the games. And no medals, just honor at stake.

But I'm skeptical about new sports being included since mountain biking got the nod in 96. The Olympics arguably ruined cross country mountain biking, which used to involve courses that were like, ride 10 km into the woods and back on a loop, elite riders do it five times or whatever. Now, they build compact artificial tracks that are TV friendly but hardly in the spirit of mountain biking. I'd warn any sport dreaming of inclusion in the Olympics to be careful what you wish for.
posted by St. Oops at 10:05 PM on December 10, 2020 [9 favorites]

> "I dare anyone to watch this video and tell me that pole dance is not also a sport on par with gymnastics that should be considered for Olympic contention."

See, my worry is that it is exactly this kind of performance that will be lost if pole dance becomes an Olympic event. While the technical difficulty of that was amazing, absolutely through the roof (that drop from a Seat into Shin Grip to Bow & Arrow - criminy!), it did not throw every hyper-difficult strength move in (no Iron X, for example.) While the difficulty level of the moves was a key factor, the aesthetics and choreography were major considerations as well. I'm concerned that in the modern Olympics, obsessed with objective scoring over aesthetic judgement, it would just turn into people doing all their hardest tricks in a row. I very much doubt you'd see any of that fantastic floorwork, and time off the pole would very likely be minimized to the kind of barely-there between-the-moves flourishes you get in a gymnastics floor routine.

I guess what I'm saying is that the dance aspect of pole dance is important to me, and I'd hate to see it left by the wayside for the sake of Olympic scoring.
posted by kyrademon at 4:50 AM on December 11, 2020 [7 favorites]

I finally like a “sport!”

(For real, though , i’ve always thought the Olympics were boring af, but the only actual sport I like is tennis because it reminds me of watching theatre)

In for any weirdo add-on: cooking, ballet, costume design, storytelling . And I adore subjective criticism. It’s good drama!
posted by thivaia at 5:21 AM on December 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

Breakin '24: Olympic Boogalºoºoº
posted by emelenjr at 6:35 AM on December 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

Thank you for the link quiet coyote. What a strong, beautiful, and amazing Athletic performance. I’ve never watched pole dancing before. How do pole dancers and break dancers and all the other Olympic and non-Olympic athletes become so strong? The people who make challenging moves look easy are just incredible; I am in awe of their capabilities, into which they have clearly put untold hours to develop.
posted by Bella Donna at 7:24 AM on December 11, 2020

Clearly there is a pressing need for some arts-related Olympics. Competitive emoting, for example.

The original Olympics of ancient Greece had that, with poetry and theatre competitions going on alongside the running and chariots and wrestling et al. Also, all the athletes were nude, of course. Not sure about the aesthetes.
posted by rodlymight at 9:11 AM on December 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

Not sure about the aesthetes.

Have you hung out with theatre and performance poetry people? There's zero chance they were wearing clothes. Maybe body glitter. Was there body glitter in Ancient Greece?
posted by thivaia at 10:21 AM on December 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

Also, do you think Ancient Greek Olympic Poetry had like a short-form poetry and long-form competition. Like the dudes (they were dudes, I'm sure) who did lyric stuff and then like Endurance Bard-ing, where you tried to finish an epic with a harp without causing the judges to fall asleep or something. Or maybe there was like a Poetry Biathlon where do a lap and then do, like, a chapter of "The Iliad," but like in different character voices. That sounds like fun to watch.
posted by thivaia at 10:27 AM on December 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

No judges, to determine how well you did something, just referees, to determine if you did it correctly or not.

You can't take away every element of subjectivity. Referees have to use their best judgment throughout an event, even with very detailed and specific rules.
posted by JenMarie at 11:12 AM on December 11, 2020 [1 favorite]

I don't know how I feel about this. I was excited for the inclusion of snowboarding, aerial skiing and x-country mountain biking when they were first introduced, but I've really felt that some of the weirdness and spirit of those sports was lost with the introduction of the "professionalism" of the Olympics. I still remember with distaste the wealthy x-country mountain biker that built a replica of the Olympic course on her estate and trained on it all year so she could win. The Olympics can warp sports in weird ways.
posted by Hutch at 2:52 PM on December 11, 2020 [3 favorites]

Holding out for Olympic Skitchin
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 3:33 PM on December 11, 2020

If the Olympics are unable to do this, as is increasingly the case, then the Olympics are making a mockery of the whole concept of these endeavors.

Indeed - because they are fundamentally creative endeavours, not competitive sports. Not to say they don't require athleticism - on the contrary - but they do not fit well in a competitive format.

I also hate battle of the bands events. Art is not a competition! Creative expression is not a contest!
posted by Dysk at 11:39 PM on December 11, 2020 [2 favorites]

Wow, I was truly naïve in thinking that this was a cool thing. At least I will always have pole dancing videos, should the Olympics eventually kill the spirit of breakdancing sometime in the future. Thanks, MF.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:38 AM on December 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

It is cool, because for all its flaws, the Olympics grants legitimacy to activities that might otherwise be less valued by society. If lessons can be read into some of the other recent additions, however, I expect the activity to diverge (if it hasn't already) into more organized/rigid and free disciplines. In mountain biking the competitive discipline arguably closer to the soul of the sport is now Enduro and not XC.
posted by St. Oops at 5:07 AM on December 12, 2020 [2 favorites]