You know all those guys and gals who you watched compete at the X Games in skateboarding and surfing back when you were a kid? Well guess what: starting in 2020, those folks will get the opportunity to compete at the Olympics.
That’s right, the International Olympic Committee announced today that it’s going to add five new sports, starting at the Tokyo Olympics. Well, not all of them are new, as baseball/softball will make their triumphant returns to the Olympics after getting axed following the 2008 Games. But as for the new sports, skateboarding, surfing, karate, and sport climbing will all become Olympic events once we get to 2020.
While karate and sport climbing are both cool, the fact that skateboarding and surfing are both getting added is awesome. According to BBC, this decision was made in an attempt to appeal to younger potential viewers.
The IOC said it hopes the “innovative” move will draw in new audiences by focusing inclusions on youth-oriented sports.
“We want to take sport to the youth,” said IOC president Thomas Bach.
“With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them.”
There will be some amount of nostalgia for most people, as skateboarding and, to a lesser extent, surfing were both super popular for a stretch in the late ’90s and early ’00s thanks to the X Games and the various video games that were released for both sports. Plus it’ll be really interesting to see how these events will be judged and regulated at the Olympics.
Of course, there are some questions that need to be answered. Will Olympic skateboarding/surfing be more prestigious than X Games skateboarding/surfing in the eyes of competitors? Will Tony Hawk and Kelly Slater be there? Will the official song of the 2020 Olympics be “Superman” by Goldfinger? Please let the the official song of the 2020 Olympics be “Superman” by Goldfinger.
Anyway, we know that the 2016 Olympics kicked off with some women’s soccer on Wednesday and the Opening Ceremonies are later this week, but we can’t wait to watch the Olympics in 2020. Well, we can’t wait to watch skateboarding and surfing at the 2020 Olympics. That’s going to rule.
(via BBC)
