Pool and the Olympics

Renegade

Renegade

Consume Mass Quantities!
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Why isn't pool, or any other cuesport for that matter, in the olympics?

what makes one sport, like synchronized swimming, an olympic event and not another, like bowling or pool?

I think our ultimate goal should be worldwide respect and recognition for our sport, not only through coverage from the mainstream media, but through acceptance as an olympic event!

now, what do we have to do?
 
Renegade said:
Why isn't pool, or any other cuesport for that matter, in the olympics?
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The IOC already recognizes the WCBS (World Confederation of Billiard Sports) as the governing body for cue sports. The three major disciplines have already been in the World Games twice. The problem with "graduating" from the World Games to the Olympic Games is that there are lots of other sports organizations who want to do the same thing and the IOC feels that the Summer Games are already too large. They would like to limit the number of athletes to 10,000 for all events.

Baseball/softball were just eliminated from the Summer Games. I think the reason was that not enough countries had credible programs. That did not free up enough spots for all who want admission to get in. (I'm not sure which, if any, events have been added recently.)
 
I think speed walking was also eliminated. :(

There are a lot of sports (games) that are not included. I think they need to quit goofing around and keep the games as they were meant to be and not add a lot of bs stuff because it is popularity. I like and enjoy pool but I don't think it belongs in the Olympics. Same goes for volley ball, badmitton, bowling, baseball, basketball, etc. Next they will be adding the spelling bee, poker, square dancing, etc.

Personally I thing they have stretched it by adding that stuff they do ribbons and hoops. Can't think of what they call it.
 
Renegade said:
Why isn't pool, or any other cuesport for that matter, in the olympics? What makes one sport, like synchronized swimming, an olympic event and not another, like bowling or pool?
Click to expand...


Interesting question. A few decades ago I remember reading that three-cushion billiards was being considered as an olympic sport. I thought it was a good idea.

The truth is I no longer care about the olympics or how they handle the events. It's interesting how some sports are admitted, others not. It's likely most people think their favorite sport should be in the olympics, even people who follow tiddlywinks or throwing cards into a hat. And they have a good point, because all games and sports are equally competitive and brutal when played at the highest level.

But these are the olympics. You have to draw the line somewhere. I say instead of talking about who gets in next, they should be kicking more out, until at last they're back to the events that comprised the original olympics. I'm not a purist. I don't care what they do. But the reality is, if they make pool an olympic sport there's going to be someone else out there screaming about it, why they let in pool but not their sport.

You know, just because your sport (whatever it is), is not in the olympics - that doesn't mean it's not a great sport. Many sports, cue games included, are already international, which is great. It's really a bunch of crap if you think about it. Let's say you're an American, do you think about it everytime you get down on a shot? I think the Olympics are great, as is the game of pool - but do they really need each other? I hope not.

Tommy Joe
 
the olympics ain't what they used to be

I would like to see some form of pocket billiards in the olympics for a few games just to establish cue games as a sport in the public eye. However looking on it realistically, I no longer watch much of the olympics myself.

Once I spent every spare moment watching while they were on. Now I have to admit that politics and cheating both by participants and judges have made the olympics a shadow of the original olympics. The original olympics were big enough to suspend all wars within the group of competing states during the olympics. Think about that a minute and then think how petty today's olympics are.

Hu
 
I really do not think pool becoming an Olympic sport would be of much benefit to pool, at least not in the US. Ever if pool was added to the Olympics, unless pool players start wearing ice skates, it would get no TV time in the US.

Being in the Olympics does not make a sport become popular or add to the respect it deserves. For example, when was the last time you saw Handball on TV? Handball has been in the Olympics since 1972. Are the kids in your area flocking to Trampoline Gymnastics? It’s been in the last two Olympics. I know we are all shocked that Roller Hockey has not become a major sport after it was included in the 1992 Olympics as a demonstration sport.

Point is, the Olympics will offer very little to pool. Honestly, I think the meager effort that is spent trying to get pool in the Olympics would be better spent promoting the sport in other ways.
 
Renegade said:
Why isn't pool, or any other cuesport for that matter, in the olympics?

what makes one sport, like synchronized swimming, an olympic event and not another, like bowling or pool?
Click to expand...

As nice as pool would be to watch on TV. I don't see nor really want it an olympic sport.

Sychronized swimming is a sport in the olympics becasue it takes skill and athletic ability to compete in it. A synchornized swimmer has to be flexible. They also need muscle to maintain their flexibility and hold a position in the water. Plus the skill to cordinate with each other.

Now pool does involve a lot of skill. But being an athlete is not a requirement. A pool player doesn't have to be flexible. A pool player doesn't have to be strong. A pool player can be extremely overweight. And the average pool player probably couldn't do sychronized swimming. Now a hot dog eating contest or beer drinking contest it is very possible for a pool player.

So I don't see pool as an olympic sport.
 
Bob Jewett said:
The IOC already recognizes the WCBS (World Confederation of Billiard Sports) as the governing body for cue sports. The three major disciplines have already been in the World Games twice. The problem with "graduating" from the World Games to the Olympic Games is that there are lots of other sports organizations who want to do the same thing and the IOC feels that the Summer Games are already too large. They would like to limit the number of athletes to 10,000 for all events.

Baseball/softball were just eliminated from the Summer Games. I think the reason was that not enough countries had credible programs. That did not free up enough spots for all who want admission to get in. (I'm not sure which, if any, events have been added recently.)
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Having gotten rid of the Softball/Baseball sure would have eliminated a lot of participants.

They should get rid of Soccer :eek: . At 11 players per team, that's a lot of trimming the fat.

Since pool is an individual sport, we could slide right on in unnoticed :D .
 
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China

Will be the force to make pool an olympic sport. They are getting ready by having pool in the schools and witness that the current 8 and 9 ball champion is Chinese.
The Olympics are and always have been politically controlled. It has always been an important way for emerging powers to make a statement to the world. Look how important they were to Hitler when he was striving for world prominance.
I believe it will have a dramatic effect on the state of pool in this country because it is not really a niche sport. Pool is second only to bowling as the largest participation sport in the country. Unlike ribbon hopping or badminton, everyone plays pool at some point or other, they just do not play well.
Watching great players is fascinating in any sport. Between the IPT and the olympics, more people will have the opportunity to become knowlegeable and because of that, will appreciate the great players who are already out there and , hopefully, attract younger people trying to emulate their favorite players.
Just my 2 cents.
 
At this link, you can read about the history of the WCBS trying to get the game of pool recognition from the IOC...

WCBS HISTORY

It should be noted that billiards (collectively with all 3 dsiciplines- carom, snooker, pool) must be set up and in line with all standards set forth by the IOC, to include their anti-doping policies, sanctioning, etc. With the emergence of the IPT, even Tanner Pruess will not see this goal achieved in his lifetime.
 
Blackjack said:
It should be noted that billiards (collectively with all 3 dsiciplines- carom, snooker, pool) must be set up and in line with all standards set forth by the IOC, to include their anti-doping policies, sanctioning, etc. With the emergence of the IPT, even Tanner Pruess will not see this goal achieved in his lifetime.
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I think the Anti-doping might hurt some pool players.

I personally don't believe pool/snooker/carom belong in the olympics. The Olympics should be sports of physical strength and stamina such as it was in it's original times.

The ESPN X-games I feel have been lost. Their main sports now are motorized events. I have not been paying attention but a friend said they now have rally racing in cars.

However I don't expect much from the commitee that is largely run by the french.
 
The most successful sports in the world, NFL, NBA, Nascar, F1, Tennis, Golf, Boxing etc either do not participate in the Olympics or do not have the Olympics as their premier stage. A tennis gold medal for example carries less weight than a win in any of the grand slams.

Smaller sports that have Olympics as their primary platform almost always never climb out of obscurity.

The reason is that to become an Olympic Sport a sport has to be centrally managed. This reduces competition among promoters / rival organizations and increased bureaucratic incompetent management.

It's much like putting a government in charge of a sport. A form of socialist planning. It is a terrible economic and business model for the development of a sport.

I've been saying for years that the worst thing that could happen to pool would be to have gotten into the Olympics. It would have strengthened the bureaucratic hold of the WCBS...and likely scared away promoters like KT or Barry Hearn who have given the sport hope as an independent professional sport.

I pursued the Olympics half my life as a track and field athlete but have come to see the Olympics as a government protected / subsidized cartelization, bureacratisation, and politicization of sports. I'd like to see the whole thing fall apart, as it so nearly did in the early 1980s.

Then some of the great Olympic sports like track and field would have a chance to shine on the world's stage of sports under entrepreneureal direction and competition.

Colin
 
I don't think we need to limit ourselves to the events from the original Olympic Games. They've been around since 776 BC, and they have been adding games at least since 680 BC, when the Olympics were relatively young compared to now. Sure its gotten out of hand with some of the obscure events now, but if the ancient Greeks allowed new games to be added, why can't we?

Also they are called Olympic Games, not Olympic Sports. They added chariot racing back in 680 BC. It seems that the horses did the majority of the physical exersion in this event, not the humans. It probably takes more strength to drive a chariot than I picture, but the rider wasn't even credited with the win, but rather the owner of the horse & chariot.

Now they have 17 different shooting events in the Olympics. Nothing against these events, but does it take any more physical fitness to shoot guns than it does to shoot pool?

Although it doesn't really bother me much that cue games aren't in the Olympics, I think they would be a valid addition because it is played widely and recognized around the world. It is a beautiful, elegant game when played at the top levels.

Its probably true that the wonderful people working to further the success of cue games might have better ways to spend their efforts than on the Olympics. However, I wouldn't see anything wrong with adding them, if they would be allowed. IMO.

Edit: Just read Colin's post. So that is what would be wrong with adding them, in reality. In principle though, it wouldn't be wrong to add them.
 
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Bottm line:
When it comes to cue sports, other than English snooker fans and billiard fanatics, nobody wants to watch it. Let's face it, in general, the only people that ever watch any form of cue sports on TV are people that play the game themselves or for some reason or another fans of the game/sport.

Secondly, olympic competition is supposed to be a competition between competitors from different nations to determine the absolute best in that particular sport. I seriuosly doubt that the worlds best players would be motivated to enter a tournament that required having to overcome 7-8 rounds of facing the worlds top players only to end up with a Gold medal and no cash. So, if billiards were to be included in any future olympic games, at least for a considerable amount of time, the person that would end up with the gold around his/her neck in the end probably would not be one of the worlds best players, thus watering down the 'glory' that comes with such a title.
dave
 
Colin Colenso said:
The most successful sports in the world, NFL, NBA, Nascar, F1, Tennis, Golf, Boxing etc either do not participate in the Olympics or do not have the Olympics as their premier stage. A tennis gold medal for example carries less weight than a win in any of the grand slams.

Smaller sports that have Olympics as their primary platform almost always never climb out of obscurity.

The reason is that to become an Olympic Sport a sport has to be centrally managed. This reduces competition among promoters / rival organizations and increased bureaucratic incompetent management.

It's much like putting a government in charge of a sport. A form of socialist planning. It is a terrible economic and business model for the development of a sport.

I've been saying for years that the worst thing that could happen to pool would be to have gotten into the Olympics. It would have strengthened the bureaucratic hold of the WCBS...and likely scared away promoters like KT or Barry Hearn who have given the sport hope as an independent professional sport.

I pursued the Olympics half my life as a track and field athlete but have come to see the Olympics as a government protected / subsidized cartelization, bureacratisation, and politicization of sports. I'd like to see the whole thing fall apart, as it so nearly did in the early 1980s.

Then some of the great Olympic sports like track and field would have a chance to shine on the world's stage of sports under entrepreneureal direction and competition.

Colin
Click to expand...

I tend to agree here - though maybe not with the notion that Olympic presence would scare away promoters. I do think that getting the game in the Olympics would be one of the worst things that could happen to it. The competition would probably be short, boring, poorly attended, and relegated to the worst venues and worst time slots as it competes with the 'marquee' sports like track, swimming, gymnastics and so forth. Pool/billiards already has a difficult time competing with major sports, putting them side-by-side would only highlight the disparity.

I can also only guess at the amount of controversy that would erupt as various countries tried to pick their best players. For example, in Canada - who goes, snooker champs or pool champs? In the US, who gets the nod - the US Open champion or the BCA champion? The top ranked players or what? If the competition is split across disciplines then do they send all around players or specialists?

Also, which game do they play? If they played snooker the Americans would be left out, billiards then the English countries (UK, Canada, India, etc.) would be out. If it was pool then what game? Nine ball? One pocket? Both?

Nah, forget the Olympics. Too many problems, not enough benefit (IMO).
 
Gold medal match in 9-Ball

I wonder how Bob Costas would call the gold medal 9-Ball match between the USA ( Strickland) and Germany ( Souquet) after Strickland calls Souquet a "kraut" and starts complaining about how the Olympic committee is out to get him and "fixed" the cloth and "f*cked up* the pockets so he couldnt make a ball. That would go over really well don't you think?:rolleyes:



Pool has a bad enough reputation...

without putting it on the world stage to make it worse.

Maybe in a couple centuries we will be ready.
 
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