World Games 2022

[Olympian1010 7,470]

Ugh, the international sports calendar is such a mess because of all these postponements.

 

[Quaker2001 243]

1 hour ago, Olympian1010 said:

Not happy really. I was confident that I could report on the games in 2021, but I’m not sure if that will be the case in 2022. It is, what it is. I’m growing more furious with the Olympics move every day though.

 

Be furious with the virus.  And the people who allowed it to run rampant that caused all this mess.  Everything else is a function of that.  Not the Olympics' fault they had to move

[Olympian1010 7,470]

I was scrolling through Twitter today when I came across some information. WBSC pretty much informally announced most of teams qualified for Softball at the games. The tournament will feature more teams than the Olympics, and probably be of higher standard (more competitive). Here’s the full release: https://www.wbsc.org/news/the-world-games-2022-birmingham-new-name-same-games

 

Qualified Nations:  

The 2020 European Championships were scheduled to be the last qualifier, with the winner qualifying, but that will probably change. Every nation currently ranked in the Top 8 except for Puerto Rico have qualified. Italy and the Netherlands are currently ranked 9th and 10th, and would the favorites for the European quota.

[Olympian1010 7,470]

Birmingham 2022 Organizing Comittee will be livestreaming action from the past editions of the World Games every Wednesday (I’m not if that’s until July 2022, or until Covid-19 rolls over, or until the run out of footage).

[John Foyne 32]

The World Games released their "detailed" schedule for Birmingham 2022 this morning. Some changes to the programme from Wroclaw, but nothing too crazy. One change is the addition of Breaking to Dancesport. I guess they feel the need to add another "Olympic" event, like they did with softball. A few surprises. No Women's Floorball, which I thought I saw advertised on social media a few years ago, and no Men's Boules, which I thought was weird. Also, the only "invitational" sport that was published was Men's Lacrosse, which is going to be a six on six event.

 

https://www.theworldgames.org/files/Governing_Documents/SportsProgramme_TWG2022.pdf  

[Olympian1010 7,470]

Two years to go! 

[Olympian1010 7,470]

On 07/07/2020 at 05:06, JohnFoyne said:

The World Games released their "detailed" schedule for Birmingham 2022 this morning. Some changes to the programme from Wroclaw, but nothing too crazy. One change is the addition of Breaking to Dancesport. I guess they feel the need to add another "Olympic" event, like they did with softball. A few surprises. No Women's Floorball, which I thought I saw advertised on social media a few years ago, and no Men's Roller Track, which I thought was weird. Also, the only "invitational" sport that was published was Men's Lacrosse, which is going to be a six on six event.

 

https://www.theworldgames.org/files/Governing_Documents/SportsProgramme_TWG2022.pdf  

Finally, I’ve been waiting to see the competition program for what feels like forever now. Yes, definitely a focus on more “Olympic friendly” events this time around. I too am a little surprised by the omission of women’s Floorball. Hopefully we’ll see it on the program in Chengdu 2025. Men’s Roller Speed Skating Track is on the program, I think you just missed it somehow.
 

Here’s a full breakdown of the changes since Wroclaw 2017:

• Air Sports - Air Sports has seen a pretty dramatic changes since 2017. Paramotor Slalom and Glider Aerobatics have been removed from the program in favor of Drone Racing (FPV). It was inevitable that Glider Aerobatics would be removed in favor of Drone Racing, but I didn’t expect Paramotor Slalom to lose it’s place too. Paramotor was a nice addition to the program, and it didn’t cost an insane amount of quotas. My guess is that the IWGA told the FAI to remove Paramotor if they wanted 32 quotas for Drone Racing (which is what I imagine they want). 2022 will be the first time that only 2 Air Sports events will feature at the World Games (though Air Sports has been omitted all together on a few occasions).
• Softball - Obviously this has been added to the program since 2017. The last time Softball featured at the World Games was in 2013 when Cali played host. Cuba won the gold medal over Venezuela then. I don’t believe either country has qualified to participate in 2022. The 2022 tournament will feature 8 teams, 7 of which are in the top 8 teams in the world. This tournament has the potential to be better than its Olympic counterpart.
• Boules - There’s a lot to cover here. This is clearly the most dramatic change since 2017. The entire discipline of Raffa has been removed from the program. Also, all men’s events have been removed from the program, which is a further loss of 4 events since Wroclaw 2017. The women’s events in Lyonnaise and Pétanque remain the same since 2017. Overall, Boules went from 3 disciplines and 12 events, down to 2 disciplines and 4 events. I can’t really say for certain what caused the reduction, but Boules did have a rough time at Wroclaw 2017 (2 events had to be cancelled). Plus, Paris 2024’s decision not to include Boules killed any momentum they had on the international scene as well. I think IWGA has been a little underwhelmed with Boules, and so they have decided to shrink the sport’s program from 2022. Raffa will be missing from the program for the first time since 2005. Men’s Lyonnaise will be off the program for the first time since 1997. Men’s Pétanque won’t be played at the World Games for only the second time in the history (it wasn’t played in 1981, and it won’t be played in 2022).
• Canoe - Canoe Marathon is back on the program once again. It featured once before at Cali 2013. There were six events on the program then, and both Canoe and Kayak were used. In 2022, there will be 4 events on the program, and seems unclear which boats will be used still. The number of paddlers per boat (ie. K1, K2, K4) is also still unclear based on the program released by the IWGA. I think this is a solid addition to the World Games program, and it will be interesting to see how it does in 2022. Canoe will go from 1 discipline and 2 events in 2017, to 2 disciplines and 6 events for 2022.
• Dancesport - The forum’s favorite discipline from the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics is back! Breaking will feature both a b-boy and b-girl event, in what is most likely a test run for Paris 2024. Salsa was removed from the program in order to make room for Breaking. Dancesport will see an increase in events from 4 to 5 for 2022. 
• Fistball - The women will finally get a turn to play in 2022. Fistball has achieved gender equality on it’s program with the inclusion of the women’s event. Fistball has seen dramatic growth within the last 5 years, and clearly the IWGA has noticed. I’m excited for the girls to get a chance at the gold in 2022.
• Gymnastics - Overall, there will be an increase in 1 event since 2017. However, we have lost 3 events in favor of a new discipline. We lose Step in Aerobic Gymnastics, and Synchronized Trampoline (M/W) in Trampoline in favor of the addition of Parkour. Parkour will feature 4 events: Speedrun (M/W) and Freestyle (M/W). This was an expected addition to the program, but the loss of 3 events was unexpected. Parkour is popular in the United States and will probably enjoy a fair amount of success and popularity in it’s debut. Step loses its place on the program after featuring at both Cali 2013 and Wroclaw 2017. This continues the trend of reduction in Aerobic Gymnastics, after the individual events were cut from Wroclaw 2017. 2022 will be the first time in the history of the World Games that synchronized trampoline will not feature on the program! This might signal the end of the FIG’s attempts to get synchronized trampoline into multi-sports games.
• Ju-Jitsu - We’ve seen men’s and women’s duo cut from the program in favor of mixed duo for 2022. All three featured on the program in 2017, but it seems as they the men’s and women’s event were cut in favor of reducing quotas and adding events elsewhere. Both the women and the men will have 4 events in the fighting discipline. The women only had 3 fighting weight classes in 2017, so this is an addition of 1 for them. The men had 6 fighting weight classes in 2017, so this is a loss of 2 weight classes for them. Both the women and the men will have 4 events in the Ne-Waza discipline as well. Again the women have seen an increase of 2 weight classes since 2017. The men have seen a reduction of 3 weight classes since 2017. Overall, Ju-Jitsu has seen a decrease of 2 events from 2017 to 2022. However, they have achieved full gender equality. Since there was a decrease in 2 events, I would have preferred to have seen men’s duo and women’s duo remain on the program. Those seem like  unnecessary cuts to the program. It will be the first time since 1993 that men’s duo will absent from the program. Women’s duo will also be absent after it’s presence at the last 5 editions of the World Games. I should note that mixed duo has been on the program since 1997.
• Kickboxing - Here’s another large reduction of events from 2017 to 2022. Kickboxing had 12 events in 2017, but it will only have 6 events in 2022. 1 women’s weight class has been cut, while a further 5 men’s weight classes have been cut from the program. Kickboxing will have full gender equality in 2022 though. Clearly the IWGA was not impressed with Kickboxing’s debut in 2017. 
• Lacrosse - Men’s Lacrosse has been added since 2017. Lacrosse will also have full gender equality in 2022. Lacrosse is very popular in the United States, so the sport should have no problems becoming an instant hit at the games.
• Muaythai - Overall, Muaythai has seen an increase of 1 event since 2017. The sport had successful debut at Wroclaw 2017 by most accounts, and so the IWGA have chosen to reward it. The women will have 3 additional weight classes added to the program, while the men will have 2 weight classes cut from the program. Muaythai will have full gender equality in 2022. 
• Racquetball - Racquetball ball sees it’s return to the World Games after a short absence in 2017. It’s probably a welcome return after Racquetball was recently cut from the 2023 Pan American Games. I’m sure the IRF will hope for a successful tournament that once again increases their international appeal. Only the Single (M/W) events will be contested in Birmingham though.
• Roller Sports - Artistic Skating has seen it’s program reduced by one event. The Dance event will not feature on the program in 2022 after a appearing every edition of the World Games. This is the second event to feature at every World Games that has been cut by the IWGA. Speed Skating Road has also seen some changes to it’s program. The 500m Sprint (M/W) and 200m Time Trial (M/W) have been cut in favor of the 1 Lap Race (M/W) and the 100m Race (M/W). I think this will prove to be a very popular change amongst skaters and spectators. The distance of the elimination race has been reduced from 20,000m to 15,000m. Personally, I prefer the 20,000m, but because of the amount of skaters 15,000m might be a better distance for the World Games. Speed Skating Track has seen some minor distance changes too. The time trials will now be contested at 200m, instead of 300m, and the elimination race will be 10,000m instead of the 15,000m. I’m a little annoyed with the time trial going from 300m to 200m, but oh well. Overall, Roller Sports loses one event from it’s program from 2017 to 2022.
• Tug of War - We have seen the elimination of indoor events for the 2022 World Games. The Women’s 540KG event remains the same, except for the fact it’s outdoors instead of indoors now. The men have seen the elimination of the 700KG event, while retaining the 640KG event. For the first time in the history of the World Games, we’ll see a mixed event on the Tug of War program. The Mixed Event will be contested at 580KG. Tug of War will have the same amount of events in 2022 as it had in 2017. Tug of War will have full gender equality for the first time in 2022. It will be interesting to see the dynamics of the Mixed Team for sure.
• Finswimming - Finswimming will see the addition of the Mixed 4x50m Surface Relay for both men and women. That means it will have 2 more events in 2022 than it had in 2017. I’m a little surprised that another Surface Relay was added before a Bi-fin relay.

 

Overall, I’d say that I liked the 2017 program more than I like the 2022 program. The IWGA made a lot of decisions I like, but they also cut some events that were historically important. Plus, they also made some (in my opinion) pointless subtractions to the program. I also just don’t like some of the new events added either. The influence of the IOC is on full display here. The IWGA has recently moved towards a closer and more beneficial relationship with the IOC. I am a fan of the that move, but I think they need to be careful not to make the same program mistakes the IOC are (I.e cutting historically significant events, pursuing gender equality by cutting men’s events instead of just adding more women’s events, and cutting quotas). I still very much look forward to the 2022 World Games, and I can’t wait to see all these sports in action.

[Olympian1010 7,470]

I spent 2 and 1/2 hours researching and writing that post. I might have a slight addiction 

[John Foyne 32]

11 minutes ago, Olympian1010 said:

Finally, I’ve been waiting to see the competition program for what feels like forever now. Yes, definitely a focus on more “Olympic friendly” events this time around. I too am a little surprised by the omission of women’s Floorball. Hopefully we’ll see it on the program in Chengdu 2025. Men’s Roller Speed Skating Track is on the program, I think you just missed it somehow.
 

Here’s a full breakdown of the changes since Wroclaw 2017:

• Air Sports - Air Sports has seen a pretty dramatic changes since 2017. Paramotor Slalom and Glider Aerobatics have been removed from the program in favor of Drone Racing (FPV). It was inevitable that Glider Aerobatics would be removed in favor of Drone Racing, but I didn’t expect Paramotor Slalom to lose it’s place too. Paramotor was a nice addition to the program, and it didn’t cost an insane amount of quotas. My guess is that the IWGA told the FAI to remove Paramotor if they wanted 32 quotas for Drone Racing (which is what I imagine they want). 2022 will be the first time that only 2 Air Sports events will feature at the World Games (though Air Sports has been omitted all together on a few occasions).
• Softball - Obviously this has been added to the program since 2017. The last time Softball featured at the World Games was in 2013 when Cali played host. Cuba won the gold medal over Venezuela then. I don’t believe either country has qualified to participate in 2022. The 2022 tournament will feature 8 teams, 7 of which are in the top 8 teams in the world. This tournament has the potential to be better than its Olympic counterpart.
• Boules - There’s a lot to cover here. This is clearly the most dramatic change since 2017. The entire discipline of Raffa has been removed from the program. Also, all men’s events have been removed from the program, which is a further loss of 4 events since Wroclaw 2017. The women’s events in Lyonnaise and Pétanque remain the same since 2017. Overall, Boules went from 3 disciplines and 12 events, down to 2 disciplines and 4 events. I can’t really say for certain what caused the reduction, but Boules did have a rough time at Wroclaw 2017 (2 events had to be cancelled). Plus, Paris 2024’s decision not to include Boules killed any momentum they had on the international scene as well. I think IWGA has been a little underwhelmed with Boules, and so they have decided to shrink the sport’s program from 2022. Raffa will be missing from the program for the first time since 2005. Men’s Lyonnaise will be off the program for the first time since 1997. Men’s Pétanque won’t be played at the World Games for only the second time in the history (it wasn’t played in 1981, and it won’t be played in 2022).
• Canoe - Canoe Marathon is back on the program once again. It featured once before at Cali 2013. There were six events on the program then, and both Canoe and Kayak were used. In 2022, there will be 4 events on the program, and seems unclear which boats will be used still. The number of paddlers per boat (ie. K1, K2, K4) is also still unclear based on the program released by the IWGA. I think this is a solid addition to the World Games program, and it will be interesting to see how it does in 2022. Canoe will go from 1 discipline and 2 events in 2017, to 2 disciplines and 6 events for 2022.
• Dancesport - The forum’s favorite discipline from the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics is back! Breaking will feature both a b-boy and b-girl event, in what is most likely a test run for Paris 2024. Salsa was removed from the program in order to make room for Breaking. Dancesport will see an increase in events from 4 to 5 for 2022. 
• Fistball - The women will finally get a turn to play in 2022. Fistball has achieved gender equality on it’s program with the inclusion of the women’s event. Fistball has seen dramatic growth within the last 5 years, and clearly the IWGA has noticed. I’m excited for the girls to get a chance at the gold in 2022.
• Gymnastics - Overall, there will be an increase in 1 event since 2017. However, we have lost 3 events in favor of a new discipline. We lose Step in Aerobic Gymnastics, and Synchronized Trampoline (M/W) in Trampoline in favor of the addition of Parkour. Parkour will feature 4 events: Speedrun (M/W) and Freestyle (M/W). This was an expected addition to the program, but the loss of 3 events was unexpected. Parkour is popular in the United States and will probably enjoy a fair amount of success and popularity in it’s debut. Step loses its place on the program after featuring at both Cali 2013 and Wroclaw 2017. This continues the trend of reduction in Aerobic Gymnastics, after the individual events were cut from Wroclaw 2017. 2022 will be the first time in the history of the World Games that synchronized trampoline will not feature on the program! This might signal the end of the FIG’s attempts to get synchronized trampoline into multi-sports games.
• Ju-Jitsu - We’ve seen men’s and women’s duo cut from the program in favor of mixed duo for 2022. All three featured on the program in 2017, but it seems as they the men’s and women’s event were cut in favor of reducing quotas and adding events elsewhere. Both the women and the men will have 5 events in the fighting discipline. The women only had 3 fighting weight classes in 2017, so this is an addition of 2 for them. The men had 6 fighting weight classes in 2017, so this is a loss of 1 weight class for them. Both the women and the men will have 4 events in the Ne-Waza discipline as well. Again the women have seen an increase of 2 weight classes since 2017. The men have seen a reduction of 3 weight classes since 2017. Overall, Ju-Jitsu has seen a decrease of 2 events from 2017 to 2022. However, they have achieved full gender equality. Since there was a decrease in 2 events, I would have preferred to have seen men’s duo and women’s duo remain on the program. Those seem like  unnecessary cuts to the program. It will be the first time since 1993 that men’s duo will absent from the program. Women’s duo will also be absent after it’s presence at the last 5 editions of the World Games. I should note that mixed duo has been on the program since 1997.
• Kickboxing - Here’s another large reduction of events from 2017 to 2022. Kickboxing had 12 events in 2017, but it will only have 6 events in 2022. 1 women’s weight class has been cut, while a further 5 men’s weight classes have been cut from the program. Kickboxing will have full gender equality in 2022 though. Clearly the IWGA was not impressed with Kickboxing’s debut in 2017. 
• Lacrosse - Men’s Lacrosse has been added since 2017. Lacrosse will also have full gender equality in 2022. Lacrosse is very popular in the United States, so the sport should have no problems becoming an instant hit at the games.
• Muaythai - Overall, Muaythai has seen an increase of 1 event since 2017. The sport had successful debut at Wroclaw 2017 by most accounts, and so the IWGA have chosen to reward it. The women will have 3 additional weight classes added to the program, while the men will have 2 weight classes cut from the program. Muaythai will have full gender equality in 2022. 
• Racquetball - Racquetball ball sees it’s return to the World Games after a short absence in 2017. It’s probably a welcome return after Racquetball was recently cut from the 2023 Pan American Games. I’m sure the IRF will hope for a successful tournament that once again increases their international appeal. Only the Single (M/W) events will be contested in Birmingham though.
• Roller Sports - Artistic Skating has seen it’s program reduced by one event. The Dance event will not feature on the program in 2022 after a appearing every edition of the World Games. This is the second event to feature at every World Games that has been cut by the IWGA. Speed Skating Road has also seen some changes to it’s program. The 500m Sprint (M/W) and 200m Time Trial (M/W) have been cut in favor of the 1 Lap Race (M/W) and the 100m Race (M/W). I think this will prove to be a very popular change amongst skaters and spectators. The distance of the elimination race has been reduced from 20,000m to 15,000m. Personally, I prefer the 20,000m, but because of the amount of skaters 15,000m might be a better distance for the World Games. Speed Skating Track has seen some minor distance changes too. The time trials will now be contested at 200m, instead of 300m, and the elimination race will be 10,000m instead of the 15,000m. I’m a little annoyed with the time trial going from 300m to 200m, but oh well. Overall, Roller Sports loses one event from it’s program from 2017 to 2022.
• Tug of War - We have seen the elimination of indoor events for the 2022 World Games. The Women’s 540KG event remains the same, except for the fact it’s outdoors instead of indoors now. The men have seen the elimination of the 700KG event, while retaining the 640KG event. For the first time in the history of the World Games, we’ll see a mixed event on the Tug of War program. The Mixed Event will be contested at 580KG. Tug of War will have the same amount of events in 2022 as it had in 2017. Tug of War will have full gender equality for the first time in 2022. It will be interesting to see the dynamics of the Mixed Team for sure.
• Finswimming - Finswimming will see the addition of the Mixed 4x50m Surface Relay for both men and women. That means it will have 2 more events in 2022 than it had in 2017. I’m a little surprised that another Surface Relay was added before a Bi-fin relay.

 

Overall, I’d say that I liked the 2017 program more than I like the 2022 program. The IWGA made a lot of decisions I like, but they also cut some events that were historically important. Plus, they also made some (in my opinion) pointless subtractions to the program. I also just don’t like some of the new events added either. The influence of the IOC is on full display here. The IWGA has recently moved towards a closer and more beneficial relationship with the IOC. I am a fan of the that move, but I think they need to be careful not to make the same program mistakes the IOC are (I.e cutting historically significant events, pursuing gender equality by cutting men’s events instead of just adding more women’s events, and cutting quotas). I still very much look forward to the 2022 World Games, and I can’t wait to see all these sports in action.

Wow. Great work @Olympian1010! I was going through some of the stuff just now and also comparing it to the 2017 programme. I was also really surprised about the elimination of Men's Boules. But I also get it. It's not the most exciting sport, and I doubt it can contain the interest of American crowds for long. I also really, like REALLY don't like the additions of these new trends sports - drone flying (also not a sport, and does not belong any where near a multi-sport event), parkour, and breaking. I agree with you that the IOC is putting pressure on the IWGA to "test" out these new trend sports for them. I don't like it, not at all.

 

As for Kickboxing, it was an invitational sport at the 2017 version, and I guess the Wroclaw LOC was able to be more flexible with the scheduling. I think that the Birmingham LOC really wanted to stress gender equality with the combat and strength sports, but totally missed on the team sports. No reason there shouldn't be Women's Roller Hockey and Floorball on the programme, it makes zero sense to have develop venues for both but only have one gender use it. However, I did some math, and my math is probably wrong. BUT, I counted 18 mixed events, 91 male events, and 98 female events (so the ladies actually have more events).

 

 

The additions of Softball and Raquetball to the main programme will help sell tickets as they are sports most Americans are familiar with. I'm not sure if Birmingham is just scrapping their invitational sports programme, or not announcing it yet. I mean they added Men's Lacrosse on this list, but on their website they also have Duathlon and Wheelchair Rugby. They also had Wheelchair Basketball listed up until last year. Birmingham's choice of invitational sports are kind of a yawn, and are the exact opposite of what is supposed to be put on the invitational programme, sports that culturally relevant to your city. I think Wroclaw did a great job in 2017 with American Football, Kickboxing, Indoor Rowing, and Speedway. But then again, I am biased. 

[Olympian1010 7,470]

24 minutes ago, JohnFoyne said:

Wow. Great work @Olympian1010! I was going through some of the stuff just now and also comparing it to the 2017 programme. I was also really surprised about the elimination of Men's Boules. But I also get it. It's not the most exciting sport, and I doubt it can contain the interest of American crowds for long. I also really, like REALLY don't like the additions of these new trends sports - drone flying (also not a sport, and does not belong any where near a multi-sport event), parkour, and breaking. I agree with you that the IOC is putting pressure on the IWGA to "test" out these new trend sports for them. I don't like it, not at all.

 

As for Kickboxing, it was an invitational sport at the 2017 version, and I guess the Wroclaw LOC was able to be more flexible with the scheduling. I think that the Birmingham LOC really wanted to stress gender equality with the combat and strength sports, but totally missed on the team sports. No reason there shouldn't be Women's Roller Hockey and Floorball on the programme, it makes zero sense to have develop venues for both but only have one gender use it. However, I did some math, and my math is probably wrong. BUT, I counted 18 mixed events, 91 male events, and 98 female events (so the ladies actually have more events).

 

 

The additions of Softball and Raquetball to the main programme will help sell tickets as they are sports most Americans are familiar with. I'm not sure if Birmingham is just scrapping their invitational sports programme, or not announcing it yet. I mean they added Men's Lacrosse on this list, but on their website they also have Duathlon and Wheelchair Rugby. They also had Wheelchair Basketball listed up until last year. Birmingham's choice of invitational sports are kind of a yawn, and are the exact opposite of what is supposed to be put on the invitational programme, sports that culturally relevant to your city. I think Wroclaw did a great job in 2017 with American Football, Kickboxing, Indoor Rowing, and Speedway. But then again, I am biased. 

I’m indifferent to the trend sports. I really like drone racing. It’s one of the few sports whose world championships I’ll go out of my way to watch entirely. It’s also very popular in the U.S., Europe, and East Asia. The sport is regularly broadcast on ESPN, so Americans will be familiar with it. It’s a perfect edition to the program in my opinion. Parkour I take issue with becuase it’s the FIG abomination. They way they contest events is a joke, even though I like the spreedrun format. They’ll probably use some ugly ass artificial structures for the course, which I despise. I’m okay with breaking. It’s the one format of dance that was expressly invented for competition. It’s insanely popular in cities around the world. It makes sense to add it to the Dancesport program. I will admit that the judging format leaves a bit to be desired though. I do agree the IOC is using the World Games as it’s test dummy, and I’m not a fan of that either.