How Did Break Dance Become an Olympic Sport?
The Olympic Games are not so much a monument to all sports around the world as their constantly changing and arbitrary list. Rugby, for example, featured prominently in the early 20th century but was discontinued in 1924 and only reinstated for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. Despite a wide international presence and a major professional league in the United States, golf only participated in the Games twice before 2016. Baseball and softball were also Olympic sports from 1992 to 2012, but were dropped in 2016 and then reinstated. upcoming Games 2020 (or 2021) in Tokyo.
The newest sport that has received new recognition at the Olympic Games is break dance , or, as it will be called at the Games, “break”. Breakdancing’s Olympic debut is the result of the International Olympic Committee’s commitment to “city events” designed to attract the attention of a young audience.
This is an important moment for the sport, but breakdancers may want to temper their expectations: the shelf life of some Olympic sports seems to be quite limited, or at least depends on the whims of the almighty IOC: with its 90 members, the IOC is a large, vague organizing body. who decides which sports to include in the Olympic Games. It is the gatekeeper of the most prestigious global sporting event in the world (other than possibly the World Cup) and determines what events you see on TV. To be included in the Games, the sport must be more than popular and in many ways consistent with the IOC’s vision.
This is how break dancing ended up in the Olympics, depending on how the process works in general.
Sport must protect itself
This may not be obvious when you watch tennis or football, but many sports have international federations, and many have Olympic organizing committees. To achieve inclusion, an International Sports Federation must apply to the IOC Olympic Program Commission with a detailed proposal. Convincing the IOC of the merits of sport depends on several criteria, some of which — for example, popularity with young people around the world and business prospects — weigh more in certain circumstances than others.
As explained in a 2016 Forbes article :
Federations fill out questionnaires of up to 100 pages with information on gender equality, global participation and fan enthusiasm as measured by TV audiences, social media, event attendance, etc. The cost of sports venues is also reviewed by the IOC to avoid the white elephants left behind by the 2004 Games. years in Greece. Skateboarding and sport climbing in Tokyo will take place at temporary sites in an urban setting.
Ultimately, the IOC considers five categories in determining the potential value of sport, as Lee Robinson, Dean of the School of Sports at the University of Stirling, Scotland, writes for The Conversation :
Olympic proposal: history of the sport, whether it was previously included in the program, the number of affiliated national federations and the level of participation in world or continental championships.
Institutional Issues: Sports Financial Condition, Governance, Gender Equality and Strategic Planning.
The value of the Olympic movement: the image of sport and Olympic values.
Popularity: how many spectators will gather, sponsorship, media interest and whether the best athletes will compete at the Olympics.
Business model: the income generated by the sport, the cost of running it and its financial position.
If you understand, this is purely lobbying. The chances of being included in the sport depend a lot on how you impress the IOC, and this can include joy at prestigious events.
The Olympic Games have created a more youthful image in recent times, thanks in large part to the inclusion of sports such as skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, BMX, and now break dancing. This is intentional – all of these sports have a youthful, energetic appeal and worldwide popularity, so it should come as no surprise that the IOC was interested in including them.
Once the IOC Executive Board approves the sport, the process is finalized.
Sports don’t last forever
Several general sports categories are deeply woven into the fabric of the Olympic Games. Can you imagine the Olympics without swimming, athletics and gymnastics? But others, some of which even seem to be inseparable from the Games, sometimes disconnect.
In 2013, the IOC announced that it was giving up wrestling, which caused a storm of outrage and shock in the sports community . The outreach campaign ultimately prompted the IOC to revive the sport, but others are often not so lucky.
The Olympic program includes 25 major sports including basketball, cycling and tennis. Others have been cut over the years for various reasons, some of which seem more arbitrary than others. Baseball has been supplanted because most professional players don’t see the Olympics as a worthy major league rival. Football – which is a much more global economic engine than baseball – remains despite the world’s best players avoiding the Olympics because they pale in comparison to the World Cup and even their domestic professional competition.
While you can always count on the traditional core to take center stage in the Olympics, you can expect a revolving door to open up new sports from time to time. The length of the break dance will likely depend on how popular the Olympic broadcasts are and how much they inspire a new generation of athletes to practice the sport.