So what Olympics sports shouldn't be in the Olympics and what should be?!

[cleeshoy]

Boot out:
* Walking (noone seems to be able to do it)
* Synchronised swimming (seriously?)
* Soccer (They have the World Cup plus the rules like only 2 players over the age of 23 is just lame)
* Table Tennis (seriously?)
* Tennis (would they rather win a gold medal or a grand slam like wimbledon? I reckon its the latter)
* Trampoline (seriously?)
* Rhythmic Gymastics (seriously?)
* Sailing (is the Olympics the pinnacle of sailing?)
* Golf (due in 2016 - it is really going to compare to the Majors?)
* Rugby 7's (due in 2016 - beacuse their World Cup is not enough?)

Bring in:
* Downhill MTB (they have downhill skiing in the winter olympics, this is like the equivalent for summer)

On the fence:
* Modern Pentathlon (has strong traditional links to the Olympics but not exactly popular except in Eastern Europe)
* Wrestling (has strong traditional links to the Olympics(
* Basketball (do the NBA guys really care?)
* Beach Volleyball (other then the perve factor and Australia winning gold in 2000, is theer much link to the Olympics?)

MOD EDIT/HIJACK: THis is a thread that requires some moderation, methinks.
Personally I think the best way to sort this is with a straight 1-in, 1-out scheme. You can't submit a sport unless you take one out. And we need reasons.

Also DH is banned from being mentioned as it will crop up in every 2nd entry.

 

[Ivan]

All team sports.

 

[0psi]

Personally I think Table Tennis should be in, what the top guys do is a little different to what the rest of us do.

Syncronised swimming can piss off, seriously does anyone watch this stuff? Any judged event as well, gymnastics, diving etc. doesn't belong in the Olympics IMO.

Iron distance Triathlon should be in, some of the finest athletes in the world there.

 

[cleeshoy]

Personally I think Table Tennis should be in, what the top guys do is a little different to what the rest of us do.

Syncronised swimming can piss off, seriously does anyone watch this stuff? Any judged event as well, gymnastics, diving etc. doesn't belong in the Olympics IMO.

Iron distance Triathlon should be in, some of the finest athletes in the world there.

Someone (forget who) recently suggested if the Olympics is not the pinnacle of a particular sport then it shouldn't be in the Olympics.

Re: Ironman triathlon, I wonder if the Craig Alexanders, Chrissie Wellingtons would prefer an Olympic gold medal compared to winning Kona again.

 

[@nDr3w]

All the examples OP listed, as well as majority of the team sports.

Brought in:
Powerlifting. A traditional 3-lift sort of comp. Raw.
Downhill (of course).

MOD EDIT: my point exactly...

 

[JaRedy]

In reply to the original post, how can you not like trampolining! It's way up there with gymnastics. Tramp, Gym and diving are my favorites.

All team sports.

This!

With the exception of relays.

 

[0psi]

Re: Ironman triathlon, I wonder if the Craig Alexanders, Chrissie Wellingtons would prefer an Olympic gold medal compared to winning Kona again.

Right now probably not. There's history at Kona which the Olympics doesn't have but give it 20 years or so and it might be a different story. Short course triathlon have certainly embraced the Olympics (so much so that the traditional 1500m/40k/10k format is now the 'Olympic distance') and it is the pinnacle of that sport but then again the short format never had the history that Ironman did.

Things like the Pentathlon and to a lesser extent, wrestling aren't that relevant anymore but will probably be in the Olympics forever because there's history and tradition associated with these sports.

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

Out: Tennis
We get enough of it with 4 Grand Slams, the Davis Cup and shitty romantic comedies
In: That Spanish game where they throw balls at over 200km/hr at each other (or possibly at a wall. I didn't pay too much attention) using that amputee South African sprinter's legs. It's pretty mad!

Out: Rowing
Purely because of the annoying wanker coaches who clog up the bike path on the Yarra by wobbling side-to-side on a shitty malvern star whilst barking pointless orders at the private school kids in the adjacent boat.
In: Pub boat race
The teams all sit in a line holding pints of lager (or cider for the ladies/gluten intolerent) . The first person quickly downs a pint. When finished they place the glass upside down on their head. This then signals for the person behind to start drinking. THe winner is the first team to finish all their beers.

Out: Fencing.
We are no longer in pre-revolutionary France. Technology has moved on
In: Duelling with pistols.
I'd maybe also make room for High-Noon shootouts.

Out: Judo
It's just tripping people up.
In: MMA
Admittedly it incorporates Judo but at least you can punch them in the head once they're on the ground

Out: Dressage
Now I know a lot of people complain that the equestrian events were only added to give the gentry an easy path to medals. I agree. They can f*** off unless they are prepared to work for it
In: Jousting

In place of dressage, this will be under full medieval rules so the low-born need not apply. Now I know most jousters these days sport names like Billy-Bob and tend to enjoy the virtues of chewing tobacco and malt liquor but tradition must be upheld. As such all entrants must be landed gentry and participation will not be voluntary. It should be a prerequisite for receipt of a Knighthood. Personally, I can't wait to see the likes of Sir Sean Connery and Dame Judi Dench strapped to the backs of clydesdales and forced to spear each other in the chest.

Out: Synchronised Diving
The Chinese have this event sewn up as they always use identical twins. It's time for it to go.
In: Bombing
Points will be scored on noise, splash height and water displacement.

Out: Swimming.
I don't give a shit about Liesel bloody Jones, Ian Thorpe or any of those other breakfast cereal spruiking EPO abusing muppets. It's a crap sport and nobody else in the world gives a shit about it.
IN: Underwater escapology.
Competitors will be placed in a straightjacket and secured with chains and manacles. Obviously gold is for the first one to escape drowning. As an added bonus for the viewer, all survivors will then be ceremoniously torched alive in the Olympic flame for witchcraft.

 

[blkluxy73]

Downhills got to be added in,has been around long enough and a well known worldwide favourite and crowd pleaser...

 

[steve24]

OUT- all horse events, it's not a competition for animals....

IN- Static freediving, great prime time viewing watching guys lay motionless, face down in a pool for way over 10mins at a time. It's also a sport the kids can try out in the lounge room, if they pass out, they just need more practice.

 

[akashra]

I simply can not believe that Baseball is not in the Olympics (anymore). Much of the blame they place on MLB, but that's just one country - and the Olympics are supposed to be for amateur sportspeople, not professionals.

On the other hand, there's the argument that some feel the Olympics are supposed to raise the profile of sports which do not have that benefit. For that reason, you could argue Basketball, Soccer, Tennis and Baseball shouldn't be in it.

As a general rule I have reservations about sports which can't be scientifically reproduced. Yes, I know that would exclude MTB, Road races, Road TTs, DH and BMX - though I don't feel strong enough about it to really care. This would probably end up meaning Canoeing, Sailing and the Marathon.

I think there's way too many events in the pool. I don't see why we need 25, 50, 100, 200, 400, 1500, 1826.42m races in every discipline. Pick a sprint and an endurance distance, and that is sufficient. Swimming has 34 medals!
I tend to feel there is (or were) too many medals in track cycling; perhaps the 200m (track (athletics)) could go too, maybe even the 400m. Just go 100m, 800m.

All-Around ones are a bit of a 'le sigh'. I don't mind gymnastics, but do we really need the all around when we also have medals in other specialties? It's kinda like saying "here's a medal for being the best jack of all trades".
But also, I tend to think sports that are judged aren't really appropriate as olympic level events, they're just a popularity contest. Sports should be won by rules, not someones subjective opinion. Boxing, much of the Gymnastics, diving, synchronised swimming... out you go.

Weightlifting and Boxing. Come on. Why are we breaking down medals by how much a person weighs? There's 8 medals in the mens and 7 in the womens for exactly the same thing! In boxing, it's 9 and 3. That's like saying "I'm the best tiny guy (that would still go down in a single punch against that guy)".

In general I don't have a problem with most sports that are actually in the olympics, it's just how broken down they are. I think Fencing has a nice balance compared to many olympic sports - epee, ind/team foil and ind/foil sabre. Personally, I prefer epee and foil; matchst... err, sabre kinda feels like middle ground. Seriously, 'right of way'? In sword fighting? When you pick up a sword, the aim is to kill the other bastard quicker than he can kill you. This is how I see Sabre at times: "Whaaaaa, he put his weight on to his front foot!". (No really, that's a rule. Just get back to trying to kill the other guy already, k?)

Judo and Wrestling I'd rather see replaced with something more modern like MMA. Many will argue it's not Olympic tradition or something similar. I'd argue "get with the times".

Some kind of orienteering should be in there too. Orienteering or Rogaine, doesn't matter, take your pick.
Anyone want to throw Chess in to the ring?
Actually, bad choice of words. No, let's not have Chess Boxing, but just Chess

Lastly: I think if Table Tennis gets to stay, then Air Hockey should be in

Edit:

Out: Dressage
<snip>
In: Jousting

Helll... yes. Actually a company tried to start this up about 2 years ago, televised and everything. Modern, full on brutal jousting. Sadly it didn't last more than about a year.

 

[rone]

OUT The Olympics

IN The pub.

 

[mars mtb]

Don't they do Handball in the Olympics? I remember playing that school against a brick wall with a tennis ball, not sure if that's how they play it, but that's the vision I get?

Really, handball WTF?

Out - handball
In - Mtb trials or DH or both

My logic for me, one time BMXr, long time XCr, and both are in whic is cool and just. I can't do trials or DH but,.....I like to watch, so bring them in.

 

[Chil]

Possibly some of the best mentioned by Pint of Stella!

By the way the Spanish sport is Jai alai.

Out: Diving - Just because someone can get in water without making a splash better than someone else that doesn't make it a sport in my eyes if anything the more splash the better!
In: Cliff diving, the fact these guys get to the water and barely make a splash or die they deserve to get a medal for just participation and for having the balls to dive!

Out: Synchronized anything - The fact that two people can do the same thing at the same time doesn't make what they are doing anymore exciting (synchronized swimming?) or for that matter constitute it worthy of deserving a Olympic sport moniker.

Mars mtb its European hand ball, different to the school ground game, still doesn't make it much better.

 

[akashra]

While we're talking about what should be an olympic sport, I reckon Cyclocross would be a good Winter Olympics sport to fill in cycling

 

[fatboyonabike]

OUT: clay pigeon shooting
IN: actual pigeon shooting
i hate the f ing things...damn flying rats!

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

Out The javelin
For too long this has been a simple no-brain contest of who can throw the furthest.
In Javelin V2.0
It's like the javelin except accuracy will also be a factor. At the other end of the field will be a series of wicker men. Inside these wicker men will be fuckwits who insist on posting 'DH' in this thread like it hasn't already been posted a million times. Oh and seeing as it's an event that will be held at night, we should probably set the wicker men on fire so the athletes can see them.

 

[Shredden]

Out - Men feeling around each other bums (taekwondo)

In - Car harpooning. Big arse harpoon in the middle of a speedway, 10 cars drive around the outside and the people in the middle w/harpoon have to get all of them in the least amount of time. When they are all harpooned the people switch over. Japanese must do it blindfolded to even it out.

 

[mars mtb]

OUT: clay pigeon shooting
IN: actual pigeon shooting
i hate the f ing things...damn flying rats!

Yes, I like your line of thinking, perhaps it can be extended to a category such as track and field, but in this case pest removal.

To that end I'd like to propose possum removal and you choose which class, either poison apple and cricket bat, or torch and shovel category, I choose the latter.

Re Jai alai, I remember first seeing this sport in the Miami Vice series in the 80s, looked fast.

 

[PINT of Stella. mate!]

Out - Men feeling around each other bums (taekwondo)

In - Car harpooning. Big arse harpoon in the middle of a speedway, 10 cars drive around the outside and the people in the middle w/harpoon have to get all of them in the least amount of time. When they are all harpooned the people switch over. Japanese must do it blindfolded to even it out.

Shredden: Australia's next great medal hope in the Special Olympics