It would have been unthinkable half a century ago that skateboarding would ever be in the Olympic Games.
Yet we have the grey-haired Olympic top dog Thomas Bach coming out and saying that the old ‘build it and they will come’ theory doesn’t apply to the youth of today.
Instead, the International Olympic Committee are using the ‘go to their waterhole’ approach for the Tokyo Games of 2020.
Baseball. Karate. Okay. Sports steeped in history and tradition.
Surfing? Somewhat. Been around a while, but what used to be the reserve of beach stoners has shot brazenly into the mainstream. Kelly Slater the greatest athlete of all time, anybody?
Skateboarding? Sports climbing? Now you’re talking to the youth…
Though you’re opening up a whole leather pouch of issues when it comes to drug testing, you can’t say the IOC aren’t preaching to the youngsters.
Whether it works is a whole other thing. But the thinking, according to Bach, is:
“We want to take sport to the youth. 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. Tokyo 2020’s balanced proposal fulfils all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it.
“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.”
So when I saw Tokyo’s Prime Bloody Minister come out of a freaking warp pipe dressed as Mario, I knew change was in the air. This man was making a statement about the future of the world, and the future of the Olympic Games.
Video games and technology are remarkably integrated with Japanese society, even if they’re not as wholly relied upon as they are in South Korea.
In Australia there are many who don’t play them, or those who think that Bejeweled Blitz is just a way of passing the time, not a statement about their identity so don’t count me among Australia’s however many million gamers thank you very much.
But the facts are it’s becoming increasingly normalised worldwide as the internet’s grip tightens. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe recognises this, thus the Mario getup.
Could you imagine Prime Minister Turnbull dressing up as anything other than Malcolm?
Wouldn’t happen. And it says a lot about how Australians generally react to this next statement.
Video Games will be Olympic sports.
One day, in some form, eSports is going to be in the Olympics, assuming the movement lives long enough.
It might not be in 12 years, but give my prediction at least half a century. That’s how long it took skateboarding.
There are hurdles to jump, but the industry is evolving exceptionally rapidly and it quickly becoming more and more professional. Bad eggs are being found, boiled, and thrown at the wall as an example to other bad eggs to stay away.
It’s been verified as a second-level Olympic sport in Korea – that puts eSports on the level of chess and polo.
Tha’s a huge step in the Olympic direction for what started as nerds huddling in their parents’ basements on game nights. And what has, to date, been a meteoric if somewhat shambolic ride to stardom.
eSports as a movement is on a growth trajectory that rivals anything mainstream. The uptake is huge, and as the federations and bodies becomes increasingly regulated the competition will become more legitimate.
The only thing that will stop eSports becoming an Olympic sport is the participants and fans themselves. They will be the ones who choose whether eSports, in whichever form it takes at the time, enters the realm of the traditional or maintains its seperation.
Michal Swierczynski
Roar Rookie
With the number of young adults going crazy about e-sports these days, it wouldn't surprise me if this came to pass. Given that the market is already expected to grow beyond $1.1bn in less than 3 years, there's clearly something to it.
Torchbearer
Guest
Maybe Gaming will be included in the Youth Olympic Games (the Games know one knows or cares about)....
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Oscar Swahn is one of the greatest ever Olympians with 3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze over three Olympics. Not bad for a bloke who debuted at 60 years old. I do believe he won medals in the pigeon shooting and in the running deer events.
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
Surfing is a good example, Arky, orienteering and rock climbing are others. There are number of sports that are "waiting in line" that have extremely large participation numbers across multitudes of countries. E-Sports are indeed popular however so are many, many others that will face less opposition for their entry from the existing Olympic sporting community.
Torchbearer
Guest
I think you would be surprised what was in the early Olympics- motor racing, airplane acts, mountain climbing (including a posthumous gold medal), tug-of-war, live pigeon shooting..... skateboarding would not have been out of place.... Gaming (and chess) have been suggested for the Winter Olympics for a while now......
Alex Wood
Roar Guru
Interesting take Paddy, though I'm not sure I agree. ESports are phenomenon, no doubt, and I've enjoyed the narrative as it has developed as well as your article, but I just find it hard to see an event where the competition medium is digital rather than physical under the IOC banner. Perhaps it will manifest in a way we don't expect, or perhaps I'm just old fashioned. Either way it'll be great to watch it develop - PS: If you haven't already hurry up and watch "All Work All Play" on NetFlix ;)
Matth
Guest
The next step is that we do not hail Usain Bolt, but the controller who propels his virtual Bolt down the imaginary 100 metres. Then we can all be Olympians. And no need for any pesky venues, just live streaming.
BrainsTrust
Guest
With the way the IOC is going it wold not suprise me. Instead of looking for sports with Broadcast rights they will be auctioning off esport positions to which ever company wants to pay the highest to get their game to feature.
Arky
Guest
A matter of time perhaps, but a matter of a very long time. Surfing's been around oodles longer than eSports, it's clearly a physical sport, it has clearly defined events, it's popular across every continent, and it only just got in. I think chess players thought it was only a matter of time before chess got in, and chess has a lot longer pedigree than eSports. I doubt chess will ever get in, all momentum for chess at the Olympics has gone. I think it was the rise of computers that has done for chess. Because eSports involves reflexes and precision - any different to shooting in physicality, when it comes down to it? - I think it has more of a shot than most intellectual pursuits claiming to be sports, but... eSports faces two big problems: 1) It's all very well to say "eSports" but it's not a single individual event. What would the competitors actually play? This is the single most difficult hurdle for Olympic eSports. What's the event? How do you keep picking new events for the next time? 2) Are eSports popular enough outside a small number of wealthy countries? When will that happen?
Daniel
Guest
It's an opinion, saying it Isn't doesn't magically prove your point. -- Comment from The Roar's iPhone app.
Josh
Guest
I think you are right. Even in Australia they are becoming more mainstream. I saw this week that Stgeorge bank became the major sponsor of the austrlian and nz esports league the first time a mainstream non gaming company have stepped into this sphere and a sign of it becoming a mainstream activity. It has the same skills as something like shooting and may even be the future of that sport.