Sports That Didn't Make the Cut

I love the Olympics. Every four years, I get all excited and tell myself I'm going to watch everything I can. And then I promptly forget. I always watch gymnastics and swimming in the summer, figure skating and slalom in the winter. I like beach volleyball, and I like watching my favorites, like Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. But some of the events leave me scratching my head. When I think of the Olympics I think of Jesse Owens pissing off Hitler (Berlin '36), Wilma Rudolph beating polio (Rome '60), the Miracle on Ice (Lake Placid '80), or Kerri Strug and her hurt ankle (Atlanta '96).


You know what I don't think of? Curling and table tennis. Some of the sports featured are a little bizarre. Just think about the sports that didn't make the cut.


The following activities are considered sports by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and could one day be included in the Olympic games:

• Bandy. It's like soccer, but hockey sticks are used instead of feet, and the ball is small and orange, and it's played on ice. So I guess it's actually a lot like hockey.
• Baseball.
• Billiard sports. These include: carom billiards, played on tables without pockets, pool, which actually refers to several different games, and snooker or English billiards.
• Boules. It's a lot like bocce, and the object is to chunk a big metal ball and have it land as close as possible to the small target ball.
• Bowling.
• Bridge. Yes, the card game.
• Chess.
• Cricket. Sort of like British baseball.
• Dancesport. Competitive ballroom dancing and wheelchair dancing.
• Floorball. Field hockey, but inside.
• Golf. Will be in the 2016 games.
• Karate.
• Korfball. A combination of volleyball and basketball, as I understand it.
• Lifesaving. It's exactly what it sounds like- keeping other people from drowning. I'm not certain how one would go about "playing" lifesaving. It seems like that's a sort of spontaneous thing.
• Mountaineering & climbing.
• Netball. Similar to early forms of basketball, but with more rules. Depending on your position, you can only be in your assigned area of the court, and can only hold the ball for three seconds.
• Orienteering.
• Basque pelota. Wall ball, essentially. 
• Polo.
• Racquetball.
• Roller sport. Anything on skates.
• Rugby. Will be in 2016 games.
• Softball.
• Sport climbing. 
• Squash. Basically doubles tennis in an enclosed space, making for more ricochets.
• Sumo.
• Surfing.
• Tug of war.
• Underwater sport. Your guess is as good as mine on this one.
• Wushu. A form of Chinese martial arts.

The following activities are considered sports, but cannot be included in the Olympic games because the IOC charter bans sports involving motorized equipment.

• Air sport. Anything involving flying, floating, gliding, or jumping out of planes.
• Auto racing. 
• Motorcycle racing.
• Power boating.
• Water ski.

These sports will be featured at the 2012 Summer Olympics. The number in parentheses is the year the sport was introduced to the games. (The first modern Olympics were held in 1896.)

• Diving (1904), swimming (1896), synchronized swimming (1984), water polo (1900)
• Sprint canoe/kayak (1936), slalom canoe/kayak (1972)
• BMX (2008), mountain biking (1996), road cycling (1896), track cycling (1896)
• Artistic gymnastics (1896), rhythmic (1984), trampoline (2000)
• Beach volleyball (1996), volleyball (1964)
• Equestrian, 1900
• Wrestling, 1896
• Archery, 1900
• Athletics (track & field), 1896
• Badminton, 1992
• Basketball, 1936
• Boxing, 1904
• Fencing, 1896
• Field hockey, 1908
• Football (soccer), 1900
• Handball, 1936
• Judo, 1964
• Modern pentathlon, 1912
• Rowing, 1900
• Sailing, 1900
• Shooting, 1896
• Table tennis, 1988
• Taekwondo, 2000
• Tennis, 1896
• Triathlon, 2000
• Weightlifting, 1896

Here are the sports that were once Olympic sports, but have since been discontinued:

Baseball. 1912 as a demonstration, 1992-2008.

Basque pelota. 1900.

Cricket. 1900.

Croquet. 1900.

Golf. 1900-04.

Lacrosse. 1904, 08.

Jeu de paume. 1908.

Polo. 1900, '08, '20, '24, '36

Rackets. 1908.

Roque. 1904.

Softball. 1996-2008.

Tug of War. 1900-20.

Water motorsports. 1908.

And here are the real doozies:

Swimming obstacle course

Plunge for distance

Live pigeon shooting

Rope climbing

Underwater swimming

One-hand weightlifting

Which sports would you like to see at the Olympics?

Here's my shortlist: BASE jumping, girl fighting, pole dancing, trivia, chicken, Marco Polo, dodgeball, capture the flag, kickpin, geocaching, and Hunger Games.

Altius, Citius, Fortius,

Callie R.