A few tweaks for the Games (Part 4)

Rule Number 4: No events involving judgement.

(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5)

It always ends in tears, someone seems to bribe someone, it can’t be objectively measured, there are ‘unwritten’ rules, and most of us can’t tell what is going on. This could be Grecco-roman wrestling, fencing or gymnastics, but they all rely on scoring systems that cause nothing but problems.

I must admit I have a soft spot for martial arts, there is a certain purity to “last man standing” (or woman) but I have seen incredibly controversial decisions in Boxing and Judo already in these games, and this has leads to a large amount of acting in the Martial Arts generally. Tae-Kwon-Do is a fantastic sport and my son loves it. What do we get in the Olympics? Two people both attempt low kicks and then both throw their hands up in triumph to convince the judges that they hit first, this is not martial arts... It is theatre sports.

Diving was never a sport, just a way to kill time at the pool, and my opinions on it are aligned with Gymnastics.

...which is an incredibly difficult sport to master I am sure, but really it appears to be invented by a race of people who never wanted to go outside and didn’t realise that their whole gym smells of socks (Hello Russia!). I am sure it is hard to do, but ultimately it is like ballet, an art form, not an athletic event. To admit Gymnastics into the Olympics is to admit the possibility that Ballroom Dancing is an Olympic event in the future. They both require artistic moves and get judged, the difference is minimal. (Oh crap, they are trying to get in!).

And then there are the sword fighters... This should be so cool! I mean a bunch of people with weapons trying to hit each other (why don’t they add THAT to archery)! How can this possibly fail? The sad fact is, it is utterly unwatchable, and despite the fact that everyone is (literally) wired into a computer, it still manages to generate controversy. Two people face each other, lunge, and one celebrates. In real sword fighting, stabbing a person one hundredth of a second before they stab you would be considered a draw, at best...

So farewell to Martial Arts (Boxing, Judo & Taekwondo), Wrestling (Freestyle and Grecco-Roman, not that anyone understands the difference), Gymnastics (Artistic, Rhythmic, and yes, even Trampoline!), Diving (Synchronised diving has already been rejected, and now, happily, can be rejected twice) and Fencing. Your passing will doubtless bring tears, but not as many as you cause right now...

This feels good doesn't it? 

The Olympics is getting better by the minute, but what about all those other team sports, Badminton is clearly been working extra hard to get itself excluded this week, but that must wait for the next post...