The International Olympic Committee has added skateboarding, surfing, karate, sports climbing and baseball/softball to the next round of Summer Games, to be held in Tokyo in 2020. The unanimous vote to add the sports was described as, “the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history,” and we have to say that the bold move to add the less conventional events has left us totally stoked!
This is seriously big news, as sports climbing, karate, skateboarding and surfing have NEVER made an appearance at the Olympics — though baseball and softball were both present in Beijing in 2008. So, why did the IOC and Tokyo decide to add the totally awesome sports to the 2020 Games? It looks like they are hoping to make the Olympics more interesting to the kids!
“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. Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games.”
See athletes on social media during 2016 Rio Olympics
“The inclusion of the package of new sports will afford young athletes the chance of a lifetime,” Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said. “To realize their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games — the world’s greatest sporting stage — and inspire them to achieve their best, both in sport and in life.” Go for the gold, kids!
Now, if you’re not a fan of the hip, young events, don’t freak out! The additions won’t mean that any of the previously scheduled events — 28 in total — will be replaced. The IOC will just be adding 18 events, and the 474 athletes who will compete in them. The more the merrier, we say!
HollywoodLifers, what do you think of the epic new additions to the Olympic Games? Let us know below!