Olympics for racquetball?
JordanISRA
Wasn’t the reason a sport could or couldn’t be in the Olympics changed a few
years ago? I heard something about the size of the T.V. audience had to be a
main factor? I heard that every new sport took away a piece of the pie from
the existing Olympic sports? If this is the case, racquetball is going to be
part of a long line of other sports trying to get into the Olympics.
Does anyone know the reasons?
Thanks,
Jordan
Otto Dietrich
Hi Jordan
You wrote:
>Wasn’t the reason a sport could or couldn’t be in the Olympics changed a
few
>years ago? I heard something about the size of the T.V. audience had to be
a
>main factor? I heard that every new sport took away a piece of the pie
from
>the existing Olympic sports? If this is the case, racquetball is going to
be
>part of a long line of other sports trying to get into the Olympics.
Racquetball is probably NOT likely to take away any significant TV audience
from most summer Olympic sports. If TV audience was the "main factor" then
golf would have been a Olympic sport for quite some time!
>Does anyone know the reasons?
It's a very complicated story, but let me say that no other sport has ever
attained Pan American, full medal status any quicker than racquetball did!
The International Olympic Committee has evaluated racquetball as a "sport"
and found that it has all the things that THEY think it needs to be an
Olympic sport. Skating, for example, falls short on a number of points--not
the least of which is "no definitive scoring system"! Not even the
competitors know if they've won until some people sitting on the sidelines
hold up some numbers based on their personal judgment!!!
Money is certainly another BIG factor, but again not the only one and maybe
not the main one.
Racquetball is trying hard. At present, the International Racquetball
Federation is working toward a merger with the international squash
association to strengthen both sports chances for Olympic status. If we
were a winter sport, then we might have a better chance, but to be a winter
sport, it would have to be played on snow or ice--I'd like to see that!
We aren't the only sport waiting for a chance at the Olympics. There are
many others, like bowling and ballroom dancing (sports?) that want it as bad
as we do and have far better financial backing. By the way, technically NO
new sports have been added in recent years. The ones you mentioned, plus
others like mountain biking, are considered to be disciplines of existing
Olympic sports. Think about it, beach volleyball is a discipline of regular
volleyball, etc.
We (the IRF and the USRA) won't give up because Olympic status means so
much.
Hope this answers your questions.
Otto Dietrich
National Rules Commissioner (and Executive Vice President)
U.S. Racquetball Association
Will Prentice
Otto Deitrich mused . . .
>Racquetball is trying hard. At present, the International Racquetball
>Federation is working toward a merger with the international squash
>association to strengthen both sports chances for Olympic status. If we
>were a winter sport, then we might have a better chance, but to be a winter
>sport, it would have to be played on snow or ice--I'd like to see that!
This could be the new Xtreme sport - enclose part of a hockey rink in a
glass (ice) box 20x40x20, put figure skates on the players and have them
play some racquetball!!
Of course, before serving, the player must complete at least a double toe
loop or double lutz before hitting the ball. The game wouldn't be won by
points alone - you would receive style and technical merit points based on
the number and difficulty of service jumps you performed! Imagine the final:
Elvis Stoyko of Canada versus Cliff Swain of the US!!
Sorry, gang, I couldn't resist ;-)
--
Will Prentice
E-Force Elite Player
Graphic & Web Designer Extraordinaire
E-Mail: willpr...@earthling.net
ICQ UIN: 4357581
Bedlam on the Courts!!
Racquetball Newsgroup: nntp://alt.sport.racquetball
Racquetball FAQ: http://www.nas.net/~hinder/asr_faq/index.html
The opinions expressed above are solely those of the sender. E-Force does
not necessarily adhere to the above beliefs and opinions and cannot be held
responsible. Furthermore, we cannot condone the use of one racquet over
another, but if you must decide between racquets, always remember E-Force!
K Geels
Tee hee, you are bad...
I want sports, I go to a competition. I want art, I go to the ballet. Maybe
fans of the ballet don't like the cold, so they stuck figure skating in with the
folks with some intestinal fortitude to make sure they get an audience.
Maybe we can have Jackson Polak, Salvador Dali, and Picasso in the summer
Olympics for competitive abstract painting. Ok, so Salvador might lose a few
points for having recognizable figures...
> The game wouldn't be won by
> points alone - you would receive style and technical merit points based on
> the number and difficulty of service jumps you performed! Imagine the final:
> Elvis Stoyko of Canada versus Cliff Swain of the US!!
>
> Will Prentice
K Geels
Tee hee, you are bad...
I want competition, I watch or play sports. I want art, I go to the ballet.
M Haverty
Will Prentice wrote in message <6c7adr$r6r$1...@news21.bellglobal.com>...
>Otto Deitrich mused . . .
>>Racquetball is trying hard. At present, the International Racquetball
>>Federation is working toward a merger with the international squash
>>association to strengthen both sports chances for Olympic status. If we
>>were a winter sport, then we might have a better chance, but to be a
winter
>>sport, it would have to be played on snow or ice--I'd like to see that!
>Otto:
>This could be the new Xtreme sport - enclose part of a hockey rink in a
>glass (ice) box 20x40x20, put figure skates on the players and have them
>play some racquetball!!
>Of course, before serving, the player must complete at least a double toe
>loop or double lutz before hitting the ball. The game wouldn't be won by
>points alone - you would receive style and technical merit points based on
>the number and difficulty of service jumps you performed! Imagine the
final:
>Elvis Stoyko of Canada versus Cliff Swain of the US!!
>
>Sorry, gang, I couldn't resist ;-)
>--
>Will Prentice
>E-Force Elite Player
>Graphic & Web Designer Extraordinaire
>E-Mail: willpr...@earthling.net
>ICQ UIN: 4357581
>Bedlam on the Courts!!
>Racquetball Newsgroup: nntp://alt.sport.racquetball
>Racquetball FAQ: http://www.nas.net/~hinder/asr_faq/index.html
>The opinions expressed above are solely those of the sender. E-Force does
>not necessarily adhere to the above beliefs and opinions and cannot be held
>responsible. Furthermore, we cannot condone the use of one racquet over
>another, but if you must decide between racquets, always remember E-Force!
>
>
>I have watched the new sport in the Winter Olympics... Curling.. Surely if
some one wants a cure for insomnia this is it...
M Haverty