Summer Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 Sports Programme Road to LA 2028

[mpjmcevoy 377]

2 hours ago, Olympian1010 said:

I don't think the federation is well regarded. Ultimate would have been a popular choice in my opinion. There's a professional league, and all the local universities have teams. It isn't hard to find local "pickup" games either. Venue requirements would be easy, since any football/soccer stadium could host.

 

The sport has a lot going for it, but I do think an opportunity has been squandered here.

I'd heard the federation was not considered very 'professional'.

[mpjmcevoy 377]

Just now, Dragon said:

No way India would risk losing to Pakistan by leaving out their best players

If cricket is in, with India eyeing hosting, this will be to India what rugby sevens has been to fiji.

[mpjmcevoy 377]

3 hours ago, De_Gambassi said:

I had a look at some Lacrosse numbers. Australia is by large the 3rd biggest Lacrosse country in the world with less than 5.000 registered players. I'd be surprised if there are more than 10.000 players worldwide besides the US and Canada. What an amazing deserving olympic sport.

 

 

The key is Lacrosse is an indigenous sport in the US, and North America - in a way even flag football and basketball are not. There are major political benefits, potentially, to including a sport like that. 

 

 

[Olympian1010 8,284]

6 minutes ago, mpjmcevoy said:

I'd heard the federation was not considered very 'professional'.

They organize events sporadically, and their website as a mess. Ultimate could definitely contest for a spot on the program, but the WFDF needs to get more serious.

[mpjmcevoy 377]

5 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

They organize events sporadically, and their website as a mess. Ultimate could definitely contest for a spot on the program, but the WFDF needs to get more serious.

Reminds me a bit of Parkour - it has a really interesting possible offering of events (in Parkour, sprint, freestyle and pursuit, in Disc, golf and Ultimate), but the politics is just not right...

[Dragon 2,062]

7 minutes ago, mpjmcevoy said:

The key is Lacrosse is an indigenous sport in the US, and North America - in a way even flag football and basketball are not. There are major political benefits, potentially, to including a sport like that. 

 

 

England Lacrosse claim 18,000 players https://www.statista.com/statistics/934933/lacrosse-participation-uk/

I find that hard to believe though

[mpjmcevoy 377]

Just now, Dragon said:

England Lacrosse claim 18,000 players https://www.statista.com/statistics/934933/lacrosse-participation-uk/

I find that hard to believe though

Lots of people have 'given it a go' at school. Include all those and you might get there.

[Dragon 2,062]

4 minutes ago, mpjmcevoy said:

Reminds me a bit of Parkour - it has a really interesting possible offering of events (in Parkour, sprint, freestyle and pursuit, in Disc, golf and Ultimate), but the politics is just not right...

Ultimate have applied for the last three Games and never got close to making the shortlist.

Have to ask if they're serious about it or just wasting time and money

Edited October 10, 2023 by Dragon

[NearPup 4,136]

1 hour ago, mpjmcevoy said:

Cricket is no more complex than baseball - sure, like baseball, there's jargon and certain arbitrary rules, but the fundamentals are pretty straightforward, and can be taught in ten minutes. In addition, a hell of a lot more countries have some sort of cricket than baseball, which is very geographically limited.

Cricket is very simple to explain to someone who knows how baseball works - the main thing that is hard to grasp is that in cricket outs are valuable and runs are cheap, whereas in baseball runs are valuable and outs are cheap. Everything else is very easy to explain.

[Monzanator 5,073]

The bottom line is cricket only has like 5-6 countries that can play this sport at elite level. And West Indies wouldn't qualify for OG anyway. What's the point of having blow out games at this level? All this talk about diversity @ Olympics and they choose one of the least diverse sport there is. Other than former British Empire colonies this sport has gained zero traction across the world. Even baseball is more diverse despite the all too-predictable USA vs Japan WBC final almost each time.