“…Wrestling will now join seven other sports in applying for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. They will be vying for a single opening in 2020…”
“…The IOC program commission report analyzed more than three dozen criteria, including television ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping policy and global participation and popularity…”
Wel it’s been reported on several other news sites, so it isn’t a hoax, but this time I really wished it was one.
Its a strange decision on a lot of levels…its one of the foundations of the old timey Olympics, and one would think it gets more viewers than say…rhythmic dancing and synchronized swimming.
Its for the 2020 games, so there is lots of time, I predict the decision gets reversed before then due to public outcry.
[QUOTE=Rene “Zendokan” Gysenbergs;2760100]Youtube is blocked at work. I’ll check it out this evening.[/QUOTE]I posted a video of performance Wushu, which is sub-standard gymnastics in silk pyjamas.
I was being sarcastic, you see. This is, in fact, a mind-blowing travesty.
Some form of Wrestling existed in the Ancient Olympic Games.
“Modern” Wrestling was there at the start of the Modern Olympic Games in 1896 and became a regular since 1904.
[RANT]
The idea behind creating the Modern Olympic Games was not to bring people together to
“contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practised without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play”,
but to create a better soldier: “Some believe that Coubertin attributed the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War not to its military skills but rather to the French soldiers’ lack of vigor’. After examining the education of the German, British, and American children, Coubertin decided that it was exercise, more specifically sports, that made a well-rounded and vigorous person.”
So you would expect that sports as Boxing, Wrestling, Pankration, Penthatlon, Triatlon and so on would have a prominent position in the 25 core sports, but the IOC is more about greed than tradition.
I suspect that we will get pole-dancing in the 2024 games.
[/RANT]
I was just reading this. Methinks judo is next. To me, taking out wrestling is like taking out the track events. They were all part of the ancient games and should stay there.
[QUOTE=DarkPhoenix;2760141]I was just reading this. Methinks judo is next. To me, taking out wrestling is like taking out the track events. They were all part of the ancient games and should stay there.[/QUOTE]
i thought the biggest argument against judo was that it’s “too similar to wrestling” so if they take out wrestling, then judo seems safer. of course that requires the use of logic by the IOC so there isn’t much hope of that.
I posted, but it disappered! Basically, said fuck the IOC. These guys are idiots. Lets take a real sport, one person competing against another, no excuses, definate winner or loser. And replace it with dancing type “sports” that are judged by others and where there is no clear winner or loser. Basically going from sport into intertainment.
[QUOTE=Ming Loyalist;2760143]i thought the biggest argument against judo was that it’s “too similar to wrestling” so if they take out wrestling, then judo seems safer. of course that requires the use of logic by the IOC so there isn’t much hope of that.[/QUOTE]
Maybe slightly safer. The changes that were made to judo over the past 5 years were supposed to make it less like wrestling, hence the removal of leg techniques. They added Golf. GOLF!!!
Someone needs to get their ass kicked. By a wrestler.
The IOC should understand that the sports shared by the ancient and modern Olympics are a part of what links the two together.
Beyond tradition, wrestling is widely considered one of the, if not the, oldest martial art. In my opinion, removing it from the games is like removing one of the legs on a chair.
Wrestling IS the olympics. By removing wrestling, they are removing the olympics from the olympics. Wrestling will then leave, taking the olympics with it, leaving what? Dancing.
[QUOTE=Chili Pepper;2760165]So, let’s think about this for a moment …
News Item #1: Pope Benedict XVI announces his retirement.
News Item #2: IOC announces the removal of wrestling from the Olympics.
… coincidence??[/QUOTE]
Both organizations involved will likely soon announce that they’ve been bought by a certain firm famous for some recent acquisitions. Look for olympic golf caps and papal beanies to feature mouse ears in the near future.
On a side note: the original spelling of “Disney” was “d’Isigny”. Another reason to hate Normans, wherever they may land.
As others previously noted, my objection to this change is that it is getting away from the Olympic program. Okay, so the IOC does not want to stick with the traditional games. I get it. They want the more popular and money making stuff. Okay. Why not get off and do some sort of damn International games that are not Olympic games that are open to all nations and leave the original combat skill games as the Olympics? Just my two cents. With all of the Goodwill Games and other competitions, you would think the IOC would be better.