Encouraging More Kids to Play Sports

Author: sportsaholic@softwerkz.com  Date: 6/27/2007

According to this article on boston.com, skateboarding will be introduced as an event at the 2012 Olympics.  Obviously its an attempt to draw some of the XGames crowd, particularly after the recent successes of Snowboarding events at the Winter Olympics. 

If the IOC follows through with this, it might draw a younger viewership to the Olympic games, and for that you have to hand it to them.  It can have another affect to.  By centering events around activities that the youth of today are involved in and probably even passionate about, they have given fans and participants of that sport a goal to strive for.  Maybe with such a goal (medals, fortune and fame ... oh my) more kids will go out and play, practice and achieve. 

Maybe the IOC needs to consider doing away with some of the old school events (I mean who really watches the heptathlon or decathlon anymore anyway?) in favor of some new school events.  How about BMX, Motocross, street luging and the like?  Of course sports like this do require a little bit more in the way of financing and decent facilities to support a country wide amateur program, which would make it very difficult for some of the poorer nations to participate.  But hey, maybe if the IOC recognizes how popular these sports are and could be elsewhere, they might help to fund some of these sports in less priviledged countries.

Sure there is a little bit of sarcasm in this post, but there is also a bit of truth to this as well.  No one watches the Olympics like they did when I was kid.  Even the networks struggle with which events to show so they can gain viewership and the almighty advertising dollar.  I think that it is definitely time for the IOC to change the way that they think a little bit.    

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Provided by: Youth Sports Forum