So what sports would you remove from the Olympics?
Personally I'm getting increasingly sick of the subjectively marked sports and think they should all be removed, unless an objective scoring system can be found for them. Some of the decisions have been very dodgy in my opinion and there's been a fairly constant air of suspicion about favouritism towards the Chinese athletes during these games.
I'd also kick out the three big "professional" sports - football, tennis & basketball as I don't believe they have any place in the Olympics. Quite apart from the issue of professional athletes competing, there's the issue of most of them not actually caring about the Olympics at all. A columnist on the BBC website hit the nail on the head when he said the definition of an Olympic sport was one in which the Olympics was the pinnacle of achievment. That simply isn't the case in these sports and so they should be ejected. This would also make space for more of the "minor" sports which get little exposure. Things such as Judo, Badminton, Fencing and so on are rarely aired outside the Olympics and this should be extended to other sports.
Finally, equestrianism. Just no! One of the guiding principles of the Olympics is that the human element should be the most important factor. This just isn't the case with equestrianism, it's mainly down to the fitness and obedience of the horse. Yes the competitor has to train and control the horse but this just isn't enough IMO. What's next, lion taming?
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Personally I'm getting increasingly sick of the subjectively marked sports and think they should all be removed, unless an objective scoring system can be found for them. Some of the decisions have been very dodgy in my opinion and there's been a fairly constant air of suspicion about favouritism towards the Chinese athletes during these games.
I'd also kick out the three big "professional" sports - football, tennis & basketball as I don't believe they have any place in the Olympics. Quite apart from the issue of professional athletes competing, there's the issue of most of them not actually caring about the Olympics at all. A columnist on the BBC website hit the nail on the head when he said the definition of an Olympic sport was one in which the Olympics was the pinnacle of achievment. That simply isn't the case in these sports and so they should be ejected. This would also make space for more of the "minor" sports which get little exposure. Things such as Judo, Badminton, Fencing and so on are rarely aired outside the Olympics and this should be extended to other sports.
Finally, equestrianism. Just no! One of the guiding principles of the Olympics is that the human element should be the most important factor. This just isn't the case with equestrianism, it's mainly down to the fitness and obedience of the horse. Yes the competitor has to train and control the horse but this just isn't enough IMO. What's next, lion taming?
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