Disc Golf in the Olympics

[DavidSauls]

Facts and common sense? What are they doing in this thread?
badminton is huge outside of this country, but some people can not think outside their neighborhood.

Decades ago, when I was a baseball coach, one of my friends and opposing coaches mentioned that he played competitive badminton. My reply was polite; my thought was, "Oh, my, how dainty, I'd never have thought." Then one day I walked into a gym where they were playing, and discovered it wasn't what I imagined, at all. They'd cut me to pieces if I tried to play.

This is, of course, old guy talk. When I talk to people who've never heard of disc golf, or people who've just started playing casually on the local course, they're amazed at its scope. Over 3,000 courses, over 600 tournaments, an event with a gallery and $8,000 to the winner, etc. It's a whole world they never imagined existed.

As I trudge through life I constantly discover that there are many whole worlds that I never knew existed. Sports and activities with national and international organizations, magazines, competitions they take very seriously, and all the rest.

Which is where all these Olympic sports that we ridicule come in. I was amazed at those badminton stats I quoted, but I'll bet most of those sports have similar support---and are much bigger deals, world-wide, than disc golf. Yet they're worlds we don't know about, at least not outside the Olympics.

While listing the sports that we feel are less deserving of Olympic inclusion than disc golf, it's also instructive to note how many sports are more deserving, yet not included. (I'm not an Olympics watcher and too lazy to research, but I think this includes baseball, softball, golf, cricket, rugby, a bunch of martial arts, a bunch of the "extreme sports", auto racing, and who knows how many others. Not to mention Ultimate, a much more viewer-friendly game.)

For myself, I'm not holding my breath for inclusion in the Olympics.

 

[thrembo]

So you are saying we are not far from counterfeit disc?

We already have them. The Instep discs are made in China.

People have been trying to get disc sports into the Olympics for a long time, and have always been snubbed. The closest we have come was that they included disc golf at one of the World Games.

 

[Jay Dub]

A sport doesn't go from "What's that?" straight to the Olympics. Disc golf will never be an Olympic sport.

 

[Lewis]

While listing the sports that we feel are less deserving of Olympic inclusion than disc golf, it's also instructive to note how many sports are more deserving, yet not included. (I'm not an Olympics watcher and too lazy to research, but I think this includes baseball, softball, golf, cricket, rugby, a bunch of martial arts, a bunch of the "extreme sports", auto racing, and who knows how many others. Not to mention Ultimate, a much more viewer-friendly game.)

Baseball, softball, golf, cricket, and rugby have all been in the Olympics in the past, though cricket was only included once, in the 1900 Olympics. The cynic in me believes that there is a slightly Eurocentric bias when it comes to major IOC decisions like what sports should be included. Hence the continuing inclusion of handball, while baseball has been cut from the list.

I don't think a sport has to be a good spectator sport to get into the Olympics. But it does have to be played by a lot of people in a lot of different countries to be included in the Olympics for very long.

 

[br2526]

It took ball golf 100+ years to get back into the Olympics. So, no, to disc golf

 

[jkdisc]

i think some of you should play handball, its really fun.

 

[DSCJNKY]

Badminton is in? :wall: Why not Disc Golf.

Badminton is an extremely popular sport around the world. All the Asian and European countries have teams. And, the US isn't half bad either.
DSCJNKY

 

[Halcón]

Disc golf will not be part of the Olympics in any of our lifetimes. And IF it were to get included, the actual discs being used would probably be closely regulated. Certain weight limits, specs, maybe only one brand being used...etc.

 

[DSCJNKY]

Decades ago, when I was a baseball coach, one of my friends and opposing coaches mentioned that he played competitive badminton. My reply was polite; my thought was, "Oh, my, how dainty, I'd never have thought." Then one day I walked into a gym where they were playing, and discovered it wasn't what I imagined, at all. They'd cut me to pieces if I tried to play.

This is, of course, old guy talk. When I talk to people who've never heard of disc golf, or people who've just started playing casually on the local course, they're amazed at its scope. Over 3,000 courses, over 600 tournaments, an event with a gallery and $8,000 to the winner, etc. It's a whole world they never imagined existed.

As I trudge through life I constantly discover that there are many whole worlds that I never knew existed. Sports and activities with national and international organizations, magazines, competitions they take very seriously, and all the rest.

Which is where all these Olympic sports that we ridicule come in. I was amazed at those badminton stats I quoted, but I'll bet most of those sports have similar support---and are much bigger deals, world-wide, than disc golf. Yet they're worlds we don't know about, at least not outside the Olympics.

While listing the sports that we feel are less deserving of Olympic inclusion than disc golf, it's also instructive to note how many sports are more deserving, yet not included. (I'm not an Olympics watcher and too lazy to research, but I think this includes baseball, softball, golf, cricket, rugby, a bunch of martial arts, a bunch of the "extreme sports", auto racing, and who knows how many others. Not to mention Ultimate, a much more viewer-friendly game.)

For myself, I'm not holding my breath for inclusion in the Olympics.

The voice of reason. I wholeheartedly agree.
DSCJNKY

 

[Cgkdisc]

To consider a sport for inclusion in the Summer Olympics, it needs to be organized in at least 50 countries. I think the link was cited somewhere in that 4-year old thread. We currently have about 20 countries with organized disc golf.

It would be easier to crack into the Winter Olympics because most of the countries where disc golf is active are also winter games participants and I think only 20 or so countries would need to have organized disc golf to be considered. As part of our request for consideration, we suggest that our sport could be played at night. So when the Winter Olympics are in the middle of Asia like the next one, we could be playing live in prime time on U.S. TV. The event could look very cool on camera when decked out for night play with baskets, discs and player uniforms lit up with light sticks and LEDs.

 

[EJBusch]

how many countries have a shot at medaling in DG?

Exactly.

I love disc golf and I love the Olympics. But there will not be an overlap there for a very, very long time, if ever.

Keep in mind, people on this forum are very different from most others. Most others think of this "sport" as a hobby, maybe a thing that stoners do, who knows. But here we think of it as something we want to do every day and continually get better and better, shaving strokes whenever we can. Is it growing? Yeah, it is. Is golf dead? Hell no. Is this an Olympic-level event? Certainly not.

 

[Phatredial]

Disc Golf & Ultimate Frisbee as Olympic sport would be awesome on a side note rugby has been approved as 2016 Olympic sports.

 

[cfair]

I will always mock speedwalking and rollersports (everything done on ice but on roller skates, except hockey). And I will totally mock me some roller figure skating. How that is in the olympics is BS.

 

[turbosteve]

I will always mock speedwalking and rollersports (everything done on ice but on roller skates, except hockey). And I will totally mock me some roller figure skating. How that is in the olympics is BS.

Rollersports are not in the olympics

 

[tdschrock1]

Disc golf stands a chance if it continues to grow.

Currently, the following isnt there across the globe. I think we are in the one corner of the internet with people that would be pumped to see it included

 

[Schvanz42]

Let's face it, most of the sports (if you can even call them that) in the olympics are a joke. I am currently watching a horse walk around an arena scoring points waiting for a badminton match to start. The announcer just stated how exciting the "horse walking" was. I also attempted to watch water polo, boring. Mens gymnastics? Speed walking? They should replace waterboarding with watching the olympic coverage of these obscure and boring sports. I fail to see how a horse walking around a pen showcases and elite athletes skill? They would do well to place disc golf, ball golf, baseball, bowling, paintball hell I will even watch a round of checkers before I watch some dope on a horse claim glory for sitting on his leather a#* doing nothing. If that was all that's required, I should have won gold medals like 11 times yesterday!

 

[jkdisc]

there is no "speed walking". i am not a fan of RACE walking but there is a technique to it and it is very tiring.

 

[Jay Dub]

Ultimate would make the Olympics before disc golf does.

 

[Lewis]

The people who are into equestrian competitions could tell the difference between one horse's gait and another's, but yeah, for people who aren't into it, dressage isn't a good spectator sport. The jumping is probably more interesting, since you at least have the suspense of watching the horses try to make a clean run through the series of fences.

And in my opinion, if the Olympics has competitions for equine athletes, why not some events for dogs? Because face it, the equestrian rider is basically just there to give instructions, like a coach, and the only difference between the rider on a horse and a dog handler is that you can't (and don't have to) ride on a dog's back.

But I disagree about men's gymnastics. To me gymnastics is one of the best spectator sports in the Olympics. If you're not impressed by what the men can do on the rings, especially that amazing Chinese gymnast who holds every position an extra second just because he can, I don't know what to say.

I am beginning to worry that the Olympics errs on the side of including more sports than it should. The purist in me would like to see all of the "ball sports" eliminated from the Olympics, and reduce the events to the more elementary tests of strength, speed, balance, and endurance that you see in athletics, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, and the like. Seriously, why do we need soccer in the Olympics when we already have the extremely popular World Cup? And why do we need basketball in the Olympics when we already have the NBA Playoffs? And tennis has four majors every year, so why add another one every fifth year? Baseball has both the World Series and the World Baseball Classic. Maybe the Olympics enhance the profile of ball sports that aren't as hugely popular on a global scale, such as badminton, table tennis, and volleyball, but I'd bet the people (and countries) who are really into those sports follow the world championship equivalent events in their sports more closely than the Olympics.

Let's face it, most of the sports (if you can even call them that) in the olympics are a joke. I am currently watching a horse walk around an arena scoring points waiting for a badminton match to start. The announcer just stated how exciting the "horse walking" was. I also attempted to watch water polo, boring. Mens gymnastics? Speed walking? They should replace waterboarding with watching the olympic coverage of these obscure and boring sports. I fail to see how a horse walking around a pen showcases and elite athletes skill? They would do well to place disc golf, ball golf, baseball, bowling, paintball hell I will even watch a round of checkers before I watch some dope on a horse claim glory for sitting on his leather a#* doing nothing. If that was all that's required, I should have won gold medals like 11 times yesterday!

 

[Lewis]

And tennis has four majors every year, so why add a fifth one every fourth year?

Fixed that for me ... stupid editing time limit. :doh: