Olympic sports program review

[mpjmcevoy 362]

  On 8/14/2024 at 7:00 PM, Maxim Fastovsky said:

they literally almost lost to Serbia! last time they lost to France, the world caught up to the American's, the best players are in the NBA are now from Greece, Serbia and Slovenia, claiming that the men's basketball is just ignorance 

Expand  

The US women have not a lost a single Olympic basketball match in 61 Games. 

 

Not a tournament, not a group. A single MATCH since 1992 when the pros arrived.

 

.In that time, China have lost 12 diving events.

 

Why don't you smell what you're shovellin'?

[AmericanHero40 222]

  On 8/14/2024 at 9:30 PM, Josh said:

How often do you watch table tennis outside of the Olympics? 

Expand  

The same amount as I watch archery, badminton, fencing, judo, rowing,  beach volleyball and many other sports

[Josh 11,099]

  On 8/14/2024 at 9:44 PM, Maxim Fastovsky said:

The same amount as I watch archery, badminton, fencing, judo, rowing,  beach volleyball and many other sports

Expand  

So none at all?

[AmericanHero40 222]

  On 8/14/2024 at 9:44 PM, mpjmcevoy said:

The US women have not a lost a single Olympic basketball match in 61 Games. 

 

Not a tournament, not a group. A single MATCH since 1992 when the pros arrived.

 

.In that time, China have lost 12 diving events.

 

Why don't you smell what you're shovellin'?

Expand  

Well also add that everyone watches basketball, it's one of the most popular sports in the Olympics, you see the popularity that catelyn clark gathering.  And that's before she even joined the olympic team.   In 2028 she will bring huge rating.   While no one gives 2 shits about some commies jumping into water and the only reason this joke of a sport staying while breaking is leaving is that the IOC don't want to piss off their real leaders.  The ccp.   Same reason they allowed the swimmers to dope as much as they want without repercussions 

Edited August 14, 2024 by AmericanHero40

[AmericanHero40 222]

  On 8/14/2024 at 9:45 PM, Josh said:

So none at all?

Expand  

I don't need to watch during the year.  There are better things to watch.  It's enough to see the disgusting amount of golds that is taken without an ounce of competition 

[intoronto 5,880]

My program review:

Aquatics: Remove 800m freestyle for men and women. 

Archery: No changes

Athletics: Get rid of the two mixed events, replace with a cross-country event for men/women (no new quotas, anyone who qualifies for steeplechase/5000/10000 can compete)

Badminton: No changes

Boxing: Change the scoring system

3x3 basketball: Increase to 12 teams per gender.

Basketball: No changes

Canoeing Sprint: Added a third canoeing event for men/women but no increase to quota

Canoeing slalom: In an ideal world we'd drop this discipline, but for now no changes.

Cycling: Add a second event for Mountain biking with no new quotas

Equestrian: Its 2024, drop the sport. Why does MP need to when there is a whole sport that uses horses?

Fencing: No changes to the events, but the qualification system needs to change to award continental quotas first in team events, then the top 4 remaining teams

Field hockey: In an ideal world its dropped, but for now no changes. (In an ideal world water polo would go, but FINA is one of the top federations, so it won't)

Golf: I don't think this sport needs a mixed event, but it will likely get it for 2028

Gymnastics: Quota cuts to Artistic and Rhythmic. No changes to events

Handball: No changes

Judo: No changes

MP: NO changes

Rowing: I wouldn't make changes, but LW events will be replaced

Rugby sevens: No changes

Sailing: Major quota cut, hardest sport to follow.

Shooting: No changes, maybe some quota cuts

Skateboarding: Id bring the quotas back down to 20 per event.

Soccer: Men's teams down to 12, to make it uniform across the board.

Surfing: Id personally remove this sport.

Table tennis: Quota cuts, 67 in each singles event is way too much

Taekwondo: No changes

Tennis: No changes

Triathlon: Quota cuts. 48 per field is more than enough

Volleyball: No changes

Weightlifting: No changes

Wrestling: Remove Greco-Roman wrestling

 

 

[mpjmcevoy 362]

  On 8/14/2024 at 9:30 PM, mpjmcevoy said:

OK...I apologise in advance, I LOVE this kinda crap, so this might go on a bit.

 

Principles :

 

1. While athlete numbers should not explode, the current quota limits are not sacrosanct, for the reason outlined in Principle 2

2. Having day -2 and -1 is all a bit silly, and there were actual nations eliminated in competitions prior to the Opening Ceremony. That is ridiculous and anti-Olympian. So yes, we need to bite the bullet and go to a three week/23 day Summer Games. This will have the advantage that we can bring athletes in and out of the village in shifts - perhaps with some kind of mid games ceremony for those leaving before the end, arriving after the start. In any event, having athletes in and out in shifts means no need to expand Olympic village

3. Venues should give bang for the buck - if you're gonna bother building and outfitting venues, use them as much as you can, if only to get more ticket sales - the idea of reducing events held in big builds is bonkers. Likewise, do not be afraid to spread team sports beyond the city like football does.

4. New sports and events should show some global reach to get in, but we shouldn't bin events with a history that currently lack it. Respect the history, even if we change it going forward.

5. Try not to get too hooked on judged events - the halo effect is dispiriting to other countries. Certainly don't create too many new ones - measurement should be objective and artistic expression is for the Tate Modern, not Wembley.

6. This one is important, I cannot repeat it enough. No Breaking. Just to be clear. None. No breaking ever, anywhere. And especially not in Australia. 

7. If a sport exists in multiple valid forms, try and reflect those forms unless it causes huge bloat.

 

 

 

 

Expand  

Badminton : no changes.

 

Basketball : I'm not a fan, personally, of 3 x 3. I'm not, truth be told, a huge fan of the sport generally - I consider it monotonous compared to other team sports, not least in who wins medals.  But it clearly has a huge fan base, so it stays. Would not be opposed to bringing 3x3 into an urban park venue, while sending the four groups for the full court (2 men, 2 women) to four different cities, one venue each

 

Boxing : Unless the WB successfully takes over, bin it.

 

If they do take over, it's time to leave behind the pretend professionalization nonsense. Like the other Olympic martial arts, but unlike pro boxing and MMA, Olympic boxing is not primarily about causing damage, but demonstrating expertise. The corruption in both the IBA and IOC organised versions is unspeakable, and much of it comes down to binning a system that, while flawed, ironed out corruption - as if IBA actively WANTED to have room for corruption. We should probably return to a points scoring system based on buzzers, and possibly allowing a higher count of points for combinations and power punches to encourage those two things.

 

We also need one more women's weight class.

 

IF you want to see bloodshed for bloodshed's sake I would politely suggest the Olympics are not for you.

 

Within that context, there should be investigation as to whether a repechage system were possible, so that bronzes are won in bronze finals, not lost in semi finals.

 

Baseball/Softball : It's very simple here. Either MLB plays right, or we bin it. And it stays binned.

 

If we keep it, the teams need to be a good bit smaller - 24 person squads is frankly self indulgent in an Olympic context. 18 should be sufficient, and allow the tournament to expand to eight teams. those eight teams should not play in groups but in one eight team ladder - at the end of which teams 3-6 play QF, the winners to join 1-2 in the semis.

 

Canoe: oy vey...

 

1. Slalom

 

Principle 3 kicks in here quite hard. A proper slalom course is expensive to build. If you're gonna build it, don't be shy using it. Go nuts. also, casuals tend to prefer slalom because it looks wild.

 

I like Kayak X. It's not a purist's sport, but the general fan that the Olympics attracts is not purist. We cater to both here. Frankly, I'd watch the hell out of a K2X but we'll not go there for now!!

 

On that subject C2 should be brought back, for both sexes, and a Luge style mixed  time trial relay considered, although this would require some jiggery pokery with how quotas are distributed - you'd want a minimum of eight teams all having 1 WK1, 1 MK1, 1WC1 and 1 MC1, so you might want to have those eight nations qualify a single boat in each class by overall national ranking rather than individually by qualification event, or/and have a final team qualification event.

 

All this would probably require a few extra quotas, but have at it!

 

Slalom proposal : M C1, M K1, M C2, MKX, WC1, WK1, WC2, WKX, MixedTeam - 9 events

 

2: Sprint, or as I would prefer it called , Flatwater does not require a huge build, it simply cannibalises the rowing

 

We need the openwater 5000m canoe event x 2, hence the change in nomenclature

 

Otherwise C1,  K1, x 200

                  C2, K2 x 500

                  C1, K1, C2, K4 x 1000 = 18 events

 

Total of 27 canoe events, possibly the largest expansion of quotas I'd argue for.

 

Sports Climbing :

 

I've heard the arguments to split Boulder& Lead, and understand them, but to me it goes in the same box as weightlifting, The best overall climber creates  more interesting dynamic. So I'd keep as is. I do worry the speed event may get tedious after a while, not withstanding its a spectacular skill. But we'll stick with it a while yet for all that.

 

No change

 

Cricket : As with baseball, the ICC have to play ball, and the tournament should be eight teams each - cricket gets by quite nicely with squads of 13 and 14. I'd love both tournaments to be played as a super eight -  a full round robing, but that depends on the appetite of the hosts. 4 x 2 is just as good if the hosts aren't fussed on volume.

 

For qualification:

Host

Top ranked Asian

Top ranked European/African

Top Ranked Americas

Top Ranked Pacific.

 

final three by qualification tournaments, one Asia-only, One Africa-Pacific, One Euro-American

 

/2

[JoshMartini007 2,559]

Unpopular opinion (even for me): Remove rowing eights

 

When the world championship struggles to find double digit entrants you know the event is not global enough for the Olympics. I hate to say it, but the numbers don't lie. It is by far the least played event on the Olympic schedule.

[sounak 40]

  On 8/14/2024 at 10:09 PM, intoronto said:

My program review:

Aquatics: Remove 800m freestyle for men and women. 

Archery: No changes

Athletics: Get rid of the two mixed events, replace with a cross-country event for men/women (no new quotas, anyone who qualifies for steeplechase/5000/10000 can compete)

Badminton: No changes

Boxing: Change the scoring system

3x3 basketball: Increase to 12 teams per gender.

Basketball: No changes

Canoeing Sprint: Added a third canoeing event for men/women but no increase to quota

Canoeing slalom: In an ideal world we'd drop this discipline, but for now no changes.

Cycling: Add a second event for Mountain biking with no new quotas

Equestrian: Its 2024, drop the sport. Why does MP need to when there is a whole sport that uses horses?

Fencing: No changes to the events, but the qualification system needs to change to award continental quotas first in team events, then the top 4 remaining teams

Field hockey: In an ideal world its dropped, but for now no changes. (In an ideal world water polo would go, but FINA is one of the top federations, so it won't)

Golf: I don't think this sport needs a mixed event, but it will likely get it for 2028

Gymnastics: Quota cuts to Artistic and Rhythmic. No changes to events

Handball: No changes

Judo: No changes

MP: NO changes

Rowing: I wouldn't make changes, but LW events will be replaced

Rugby sevens: No changes

Sailing: Major quota cut, hardest sport to follow.

Shooting: No changes, maybe some quota cuts

Skateboarding: Id bring the quotas back down to 20 per event.

Soccer: Men's teams down to 12, to make it uniform across the board.

Surfing: Id personally remove this sport.

Table tennis: Quota cuts, 67 in each singles event is way too much

Taekwondo: No changes

Tennis: No changes

Triathlon: Quota cuts. 48 per field is more than enough

Volleyball: No changes

Weightlifting: No changes

Wrestling: Remove Greco-Roman wrestling

 

 

Expand  

I think in terms of popularity, field hockey is very popular. It is competitive as well (not like basketball). Why would you want it dropped?

[mpjmcevoy 362]

  On 8/14/2024 at 10:26 PM, mpjmcevoy said:

OK...I apologise in advance, I LOVE this kinda crap, so this might go on a bit.

 

Principles :

 

1. While athlete numbers should not explode, the current quota limits are not sacrosanct, for the reason outlined in Principle 2

2. Having day -2 and -1 is all a bit silly, and there were actual nations eliminated in competitions prior to the Opening Ceremony. That is ridiculous and anti-Olympian. So yes, we need to bite the bullet and go to a three week/23 day Summer Games. This will have the advantage that we can bring athletes in and out of the village in shifts - perhaps with some kind of mid games ceremony for those leaving before the end, arriving after the start. In any event, having athletes in and out in shifts means no need to expand Olympic village

3. Venues should give bang for the buck - if you're gonna bother building and outfitting venues, use them as much as you can, if only to get more ticket sales - the idea of reducing events held in big builds is bonkers. Likewise, do not be afraid to spread team sports beyond the city like football does.

4. New sports and events should show some global reach to get in, but we shouldn't bin events with a history that currently lack it. Respect the history, even if we change it going forward.

5. Try not to get too hooked on judged events - the halo effect is dispiriting to other countries. Certainly don't create too many new ones - measurement should be objective and artistic expression is for the Tate Modern, not Wembley.

6. This one is important, I cannot repeat it enough. No Breaking. Just to be clear. None. No breaking ever, anywhere. And especially not in Australia. 

7. If a sport exists in multiple valid forms, try and reflect those forms unless it causes huge bloat.

Expand  

Cycling :

 

Right...Princiople 3 applies. a velodrome is an expensive venue to build and while it's a great thing to have, it's not all that brilliant in design terms for multi-sport use. So if you're gonna build one/update one, you absolutely positively have to get bang for the buck. Secondly, given the nature of the events, cyclists can double and treble up nearly at will, so there's no need for a massive number of new quotas.

 

Track : The entire worlds' program. All 22 races. Get that bastard velo working day after day. Indeed, I'd go as far as to say the velo will now be the tentpole for the second week of the three week Games. Lengthening the program also allows recovery for the cyclists to do multiple events, thus reducing a need for extra quotas. At a bare minimum, the return of the IP and the Kilo, but really, no, all 22.

 

Road : This one is tough, as road fans are among the very few fans of any event who simply don't accept that the Olympics is going to mean some miniaturization of fields - they want their 140-180 man peloton and teams of 7 and 8, god damn it.

Well, it ain't gonna happen. And I quite like that the Olympic race is a bit odd, and a bit old school. So I'd leave the races alone, with the caveat that more of the road racers should be allowed to do the TT - it costs no extra quotas.

 

I'm afraid the tragic history of the Olympic TTT puts me off even thinking about adding it back. Irrational, but there you go. I would love an Olympic stage race, to use the country, and which would help fill up the third week (stage winners would not get medals but would still be a hefty feather in the cap), but I don't honestly think that's likely.

 

BMX : I'm pretty happy with what we have, not convinced flatland BMX freestyle would add much - I would increase the freestyle fields very slightly though, and maybe introduce a heat, semi, final structure (16->12->8)

 

MTB : Not convinced short track really adds to the menu - but if it can be fitted in the outdoor/nature venue with no extra quotas, its another days ticket sales. I wonder if an eliminator event might be more interesting.

 

 

Equestrian:

 

This sport is incredibly divisive, but it has a long history as part of the Games, and it is popular in a lot of countries. As a rule, I'm not a fan of people who don't like something being able to dictate to people who do if that something is not universally understood to be unacceptable - and however much some activists wish otherwise, the idea that using animals is inherently cruel is not universally accepted. If it were seeking admittance today, I'd say no, but it's not, it's already there.

 

That said, I'd be happy to trim it back substantially in numbers, notwithstanding principle 3

 

Proposal: reduce quotas, otherwise no change

 

 

Fencing:

 

The presentation of the sport has improved beyond all measure in recent years, as they've finally realised what they have that works on a showbiz level, and what doesn't. I do find myself wondering if a mixed event in each sword would be more efficient than six team events that suck up so many of the quota places. But leave it be for the time being, I suppose, perhaps fiddle with qualification system.

 

Proposal no change

 

 

Football (soccer)

 

Women's soccer is absolutely safe and fine and embedded in Olympic culture.

 

Men's soccer is a shitshow. It sells bucketloads of tickets, so IOC are loathe to lose it. IT gets players injured, so clubs are loathe to tolerate it. and FIFA wants to protect the primacy of its own event, so won't really help it. I repeat, it's a shitshow. But one that many countries, though from all, care quite a lot about.

 

FWIW, I think FIFA should be considering downsizing the men's tournament to 12 teams in 2 groups of six with only medal finals (still maximum 6 games per team as today, but 32 total matches rather than 31), and using the released quotas for a small futsal tourney.

 

Proposal : Shrink Men's field to 12, add Futsal

 

 

 

Gymnastics : the 'support' tentpole for the middle week, along with cycling

 

FIG are missing a trick, IMHO not including tumbling, trampoline synchro and double mini trampoline. They are fun explosive events. Aerobic and Acrobatic, not so much

 

Proposal : add tumbling, double mini trampoline, and trampoline synchro. Field need not be huge - 12 in each tumbling event and double mini event, 8 pairs in each synchro event