Global Games - To Be Decided

[heywoodu 16,465]

So, the 2024 Summer Olympics and the 2025 World Games are over, now what? Of course the Winter Olympics are nearing, but that doesn't help summer sports. We've got two of these, so far: the Olympics, unsurprisingly only having Olympic sports on the program, and the World Games, known as 'kind of the Olympics but with non-Olympic sports'. Super cool, but...there are certainly more sports!

 

Say we at Totallympics were billionaires, and had the opportunity to create and organize new big events. What everyone has been missing for years in the world of sports is, of course, a global multi-sports event for non-Olympic and non-World Games sports. This is where we find them, the very first Global Games (name under construction, suggestions are still welcome).

 

Since I personally have the creativity of a pile of dead leafs, I asked ChatGPT to come up with a sports program, which it neatly grouped together in a few main categories. There is, however, lots of room for change, suggestions and additions (not removals, we've got space in the program, it will be three weeks if need be, so for now, let's just add things).

 

Keep in mind in the Olympic Games we already have small sports (think modern pentathlon), in the World Games we have sports most people around the world likely have never even heard of (tug-of-war, MotoSurf, korfball, to name a few), so in the Global Games we absolutely can have very small sports. If they have some international following and participation, that would absolutely be a pro, but it is certainly not a condition.

 

Anyhow, here is the very first set-up for the sports program. I'm not necessarily a fan of every single addition there, but hey, it's the Global Games, we don't need to all love everything, every sport that wants to is welcome and there's always gonna be some people enjoying it  

 

Spoiler

Ball & team sports

• Australian Rules Football — 9-a-side (short field).
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed.

• Gaelic Football — 9-a-side (indoor arena size).
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed.

• Hurling / Camogie (Arena format) — 7-a-side.
  Events: Men’s (Hurling), Women’s (Camogie), Mixed Shinty-Hurling.

• Sepak Takraw — Regu and Doubles Regu.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s.

• Dodgeball — Foam ruleset.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed.

• Roller Derby — Flat track.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Open.

• Footvolley — 2v2.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed.

Racket & paddle

• Padel — Singles & Doubles (indoor).
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles.

• Pickleball — Singles & Doubles.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles.

• Racketlon (table tennis + badminton + squash + tennis, additive scoring) — but replace squash leg with padel to stay outside LA28.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles.

• Teqball — Singles & Doubles.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Doubles.

• Speed-Badminton (Crossminton) — Singles.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Relay (aggregate).

Combat & strength

• Armwrestling — Left & right arm by weight class.
  Events: Men’s (multiple classes), Women’s (multiple classes).

• Submission Grappling (No-Gi) — Round-robin pools, EBI overtime.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s weight classes, Absolute Open.

• Lancashire Catch Wrestling — Heritage rule set.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s by weight.

• Savate (Assaut & Combat) — French kickboxing style.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s by weight.

• Mas-Wrestling — Pulling duel.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s by weight.

• Strongman/Strongwoman — standardized multi-event (log lift, yoke, deadlift, carry).
  Events: Men’s/Women’s; Team Mixed.

Precision & target

• Darts — Steel-tip.
  Events: Men’s Singles, Women’s Singles, Mixed Pairs.

• Batak Reaction Test (athlete reaction sport) — head-to-head ladder.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s.

• Speed Pool (timed run format) — stays away from cue sports in WG by using a distinct “time-attack” discipline on non-WG ruleset tables.
  Events: Open, Mixed Team Relay.

• Footgolf — 18-hole stroke play.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Team.

Endurance & outdoors

• Obstacle Course Racing (stadium & 5K trail OCR) — World-standard obstacles, tested lanes.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s Stadium (3K), Trail (5K), Mixed Team Relay.

• Trail Running (short course) — 10–15 km.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Team (3x).

• Vertical Kilometer — 1,000 m climb, shortest route.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s.

• Mountain Bike Uphill Time Trial (climb-only format).
  Events: Men’s, Women’s.

• Roller Ski Road (classic & skate) — individual time trials.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s Classic 10 km, Skate 10 km, Mixed Sprint Relay.

• Indoor Rowing (ergometer) — standardized Concept2 distances.
  Events: Men’s/Women’s 2,000 m, 500 m, Team 4x1,000 m Mixed.

Urban & action

• High Diving — 20 m (women), 27 m (men) platforms into deep pool.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s.

• Slackline — Trickline battle & Longline distance.
  Events: Open Trick, Open Longline, Mixed Team.

• Freestyle Scootering — Park & Street.
  Events: Men’s, Women’s, Mixed Best-Trick.

• Street Luge (closed-course) — timed runs.
  Events: Open, Mixed Team Time.

Mind & tech sports

• Chess (rapid & blitz) — FIDE rules.
  Events: Open Rapid, Women’s Rapid, Open Blitz, Mixed Teams.

• Go (baduk/weiqi) — International ruleset.
  Events: Open, Women’s, Mixed Pair.

• Contract Bridge (pairs & teams) — WBF rules.
  Events: Open Pairs, Women’s Pairs, Mixed Teams.

• Speedcubing — 3×3, 4×4, 3×3 one-handed, Pyraminx.
  Events: Open in each, Mixed Team Relay.

• Esports (simulation & sports titles) — e.g., sim racing, football title, and a strategy title; all with anti-cheat and hardware parity.
  Events: Team and Individual finals per title.

---

Event scale (example)

• Sports: ~32

• Medal events: ~180–200 (balanced M/W/Mixed)

• Days: 10

• Athletes: ~4,500

 

Edited August 18, 2025 by heywoodu

[heywoodu 16,465]

My own first addition is clear, and I don't know why it wasn't added originally: kabaddi should absolutely be in the Global Games. I think it should be part of Combat & Strength rather than Ball & Team, but that is perfectly fine to be debated, as long as it gets added.

[heywoodu 16,465]

Hmm, not sure how teqball got added under Racket & Paddle, I noticed now. That'll be corrected

[De_Gambassi 1,369]

I'm using my voting preferences to add Rugby League Nines and Futnet as team sports. And also I'm proposing we come up with a combined AFL and GAA football event like it used to exist.

[heywoodu 16,465]

2 minutes ago, De_Gambassi said:

I'm using my voting preferences to add Rugby League Nines and Futnet as team sports. And also I'm proposing we come up with a combined AFL and GAA football event like it used to exist.

Futnet, that's long ago I heard about that! I believe Eurosport sometimes showed that for a bit and I remember it was fun to watch

 

Kind of a sort of sepak takraw meets foot volley, I think? This way we can almost come up with a whole new category specifically for kicking various sizes of balls over various forms of nets  

[heywoodu 16,465]

I don't know how I forgot it, but I am certainly adding cyclo-cross! Doesn't need any specific kind of track, it's all fine: mud, grass, bone dry sand, snow, ice, whatever, it's all fine  Keeping it simple: men's and women's race, no relays.

 

Plus, mountain bike trial is pretty impressive, they can be part of this as well.

Edited August 18, 2025 by heywoodu

[De_Gambassi 1,369]

6 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Futnet, that's long ago I heard about that! I believe Eurosport sometimes showed that for a bit and I remember it was fun to watch

 

Kind of a sort of sepak takraw meets foot volley, I think? This way we can almost come up with a whole new category specifically for kicking various sizes of balls over various forms of nets  

 

Why using your hands when you can use your feets Sports

 

• Futnet
• Footvolley
• Teqball
• Sepak Takraw

[De_Gambassi 1,369]

Other random stuff that comes to my mind

 

Team Sports :

 

- Rink Hockey (traditional 'roller hockey' on quad rollers, so much better)

- Netball (women's only)

- Futsal !!!!!

- Beach Football

- Proto-Football (Soule, etc; need someone to come up with rules)

- Cycle Polo (or anything 'polo' really)

- Pesäpallo (if the Fins find someone to play against)

 

Ball & Hands ;

 

- Basque Pelota

- Real Tennis ('jeu de paume', the grandaddy of all of them)

- One-Wall

- International Game (which mixes the various indignegous european local paume games)

 

etc. It's endless really.

[heywoodu 16,465]

10 minutes ago, De_Gambassi said:

Other random stuff that comes to my mind

 

Team Sports :

 

- Rink Hockey (traditional 'roller hockey' on quad rollers, so much better)

- Netball (women's only)

- Futsal !!!!!

- Beach Football

- Proto-Football (Soule, etc; need someone to come up with rules)

- Cycle Polo (or anything 'polo' really)

- Pesäpallo (if the Fins find someone to play against)

 

Ball & Hands ;

 

- Basque Pelota

- Real Tennis ('jeu de paume', the grandaddy of all of them)

- One-Wall

- International Game (which mixes the various indignegous european local paume games)

 

etc. It's endless really.

This reminds me of something, two things actually! I really want actual polo (the one with horses where I believe Argentina is amazing, at least when Eurosport still showed it) and also...cycleball  

 

Yes, based on a Google search cycleball is different than cycle polo, so there we go.

[De_Gambassi 1,369]

Just now, heywoodu said:

This reminds me of something, two things actually! I really want actual polo (the one with horses where I believe Argentina is amazing, at least when Eurosport still showed it) and also...cycleball  

 

Yes, based on a Google search cycleball is different than cycle polo, so there we go.

I was looking for former World Games Sports the other day, and noticed that Cycle-Ball was indeed part of the program