04/23/24
June 12, 2007
IOC appealing to youth.: With some help from the International Cycling Union, skateboarding may be an Olympic sport at the 2012 London games. Carlton Reid does not like it one bit because the kilo event has already been lost to make room for BMX.
Yes, this seems like a complete dodge. If skateboarding is a 'discipline' of a cycling then the addition doesn't require modification of the Olympic Charter or approval of the IOC members -- it can be accepted by the Executive alone. I don't think this will help the IOC's credibility at all. To me, they are as different as speed skating and figure skating. Speed skating and figure skating are, in fact, the same "sport" in this sense -- they are both governed by the ISU. What does it take to be an IOC recognized federation? The General Association of Recognized Sports Federations. The IASC is not a member. There are requirements on the number of member national federations, participation in World Championships, and the like. In general the IOC will not recognize more than one federation for the same sport, although there are exceptions.
posted by Amateur at 08:59 PM on June 12, 2007
The General Association of Recognized Sports Federations. The IASC is not a member. There are requirements on the number of member national federations, participation in World Championships, and the like. Skateboarding does have World Championships, so I guess they are part of the way there. If I understand it correctly, (thanks Amateur) every country would need to have it's own federation/association of skateboarding and all of those would have to be a part of a bigger federation that oversees them all? O.k, sure just going in under the ICU can get skateboarding into the Olympics rather quickly, but I would rather see it get there under it's own power. Skateboarding has it's own disciplines such as street, park, vert, and big air. If cycling has to remove some of it's own events to allow for these, then I see a potentially big problem, a conflict of interest so to speak.
posted by MrFrisby at 10:35 PM on June 12, 2007
Skateboarding has it's own disciplines such as street, park, vert, and big air. If cycling has to remove some of it's own events to allow for these, then I see a potentially big problem, a conflict of interest so to speak. Jacques Rogge has held to a pretty firm line that if something gets added, something's gonna get dropped, which makes it long odds of a whole new sport being added, and an uphill sled to even add a discipline or event without dropping another one.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:27 AM on June 13, 2007
The UCI might have enough sway to add skateboarding as a new medal event without dropping an existing event ... FINA has successfully done it with Open Water swimming, for example. However, as noted at the outset the UCI did have to drop a couple of track events (the wrong ones, IMO) to add BMX. So probably this would mean the subtraction of something else from the cycling program.
posted by Amateur at 06:12 PM on June 14, 2007
when is the next olympics event and where????
posted by i_love_me1994 at 11:17 AM on June 22, 2007
As much as I like skateboarding, I'm not sure how "sponsoring" skateboarding and BMX helps out the International Cycling Union, especially if it means they have to eliminate cycling events. To me, they are as different as speed skating and figure skating. What does it take to be an IOC recognized federation? Skateboarding already has the IASC with it's own Olympic committee. Is it that the cycling union wants to monopolize "wheeled sports"?