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Kiteboarding to replace windsurfing as Olympic event at Rio in 2016.
Yeah, you read that right. KITEBOARDING.

According to the Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles, the first step to becoming a recognized sport of the Summer Games requires being organized into an international federation and having male participants in at least 75 countries on four continents and female participants in at least 40 countries on three continents. You really mean to tell me that there are this many people on the globe who actually participate in this sport, let alone compete in it? What's next? Quidditch, perhaps, or howzabout 43-man Squamish?

I guess it was inevitable. Everything eventually jumps the shark, and I think that if the IOOC hadn't already splashed down when they adding synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics while ignoring baseball, they're definitely approaching the takeoff ramp now.

-"BB"-

surfpirate wrote:Unlike many Olympic Sports

kiteboard surfing
is one of those sports that
have thousands and thousands
of amateurs
participating every day

and is one I'd likely enjoy.

The professionals are amazing.

Ditto wind surfing, and longboard/shortboard surfing.

Sounds like a valid criteria for
consideration as an Olympic sport to me.

BUT I gotta agree with him on the swimming and gymnastics.

pair8head wrote:

surfpirate wrote:Unlike many Olympic Sports

kiteboard surfing
is one of those sports that
have thousands and thousands
of amateurs
participating every day

and is one I'd likely enjoy.

The professionals are amazing.

Ditto wind surfing, and longboard/shortboard surfing.

Sounds like a valid criteria for
consideration as an Olympic sport to me.

BUT I gotta agree with him on the swimming and gymnastics.

Yeah .... I don't "get" synchronized swimming
or rhythmic gymnastics either
(but loved the SNL parody of sync swimming several years back).

Then again,

I don't "get" many winter Olympic sports either,
Curling comes to mind (a sport with brooms?)

Oh ....
and the dozen plus
weird ass variations
(luges, bob sleighs, one man, two man, red man, blue man)
on how to get down a mountain
on prefab fancy ice slides ....


But I don't live in a cold weather climate
that maybe does "get" those sports ....

In general, I'm not a fan of the sports with subjective scoring. A few exceptions, it wouldn't seem like a Winter Olympics without figure skating. But how long until we see a kiteboarding judging scandal? Was that wave rad and worth 10 bonus points or totally rad and worth 20?

surfpirate wrote:

pair8head wrote:

surfpirate wrote:Unlike many Olympic Sports

kiteboard surfing
is one of those sports that
have thousands and thousands
of amateurs
participating every day

and is one I'd likely enjoy.

The professionals are amazing.

Ditto wind surfing, and longboard/shortboard surfing.

Sounds like a valid criteria for
consideration as an Olympic sport to me.

BUT I gotta agree with him on the swimming and gymnastics.

Yeah .... I don't "get" synchronized swimming
or rhythmic gymnastics either
(but loved the SNL parody of sync swimming several years back).

Then again,

I don't "get" many winter Olympic sports either,
Curling comes to mind (a sport with brooms?)

Oh ....
and the dozen plus
weird ass variations
(luges, bob sleighs, one man, two man, red man, blue man)
on how to get down a mountain
on prefab fancy ice slides ....


But I don't live in a cold weather climate
that maybe does "get" those sports ....

Curling... a Scottish sport. and far better than their other contributions to athletic endeavour: dwarf-tossing, sheep fondling, and equally-distasteful, golf. and without Curling as an Olympic sport would there be no:

When I watch curling, I think "hey, there's something I think I could do".