The Tokyo 2020 Non Athletics Thread

[carterhatch]

With the Tokyo Olympics now over, other sports are already vying to be included in future iterations.

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Cricket in the Olympics: ICC to bid for sport's inclusion in Los Angeles 2028

Netball Australia intent on having their sport at Brisbane's Olympics in 2032

With skateboarding and speed climbing apparently now mandatory, as it keeps it real, bruv, then where will it end?

May I suggest that the IOC actually just franchise out their brand so that every internationally recognised sport (including mixed team knitting and non-binary tiddlywinks) can run an Olympic tournament, quadrennially, though not necessarily at the same time in a two week period, there, everyone will be happy!

See you in Paris.

[larkim]

Also team sports don't benefit from the fact that so much of the international team base for teams coming from the UK arise from the arcane England / Scotland / Wales / NI split. AIUI the GB Hockey team is effectively the England team, but that relies on England qualifying. Perhaps not an issue for hockey, but for some other sports it could well be that the home nation teams miss out on qualificaiton through the normal routes, whereas if we fielded a GB team in all competitions there might be a higher chance of qualifying.

[Grassmarket]

The issue with team sports is that it’s impossible to get an Olympic team without having a club league that is amongst the top 5 in Europe otherwise we will never get past the highly competitive European Qualifiers. Only Ice Hockey has got to that level post 2012. Basketball is nowhere near it, although women's is better than mens. Volleyball & Handball exist in Britain but they are pretty much EU nationals only.

[Taffy2]

Well done you. If you listen to many of the stories, their success I'd down to belief and opportunity.

[carterhatch]

it was called 'Sporting Giants' leading up to London 2012... there was also another called 'fighting chance' to identlfy martial artists who could transer skills to Olympic Taekwondo ... there were others... see my post below

[carterhatch]

Taffy2 I used to follow any talent ID intiatives avidly, sending UK Sport various suggestions leading up to 2012. The woman in charge just brushed them off, but one or two were certainly similar to ideas I'd given .... currently, to answer you, there are certainly not enough high profile initiatives...

What would i do ...

Starting with riding Holly Bradshaw's success, I would be working with former gymnasts with 'tasters' for PV and triple jump... but then I am not the 'expert'. Having pre match tryouts in throws at Rugby League and union games (someone like Saracens has the ideal facilites) and we might discover a B-team sunday league lock forward who is a natural at javelin... and taking sports into the inner city, was my original motivation, it was all well and good UK Sport running assessments at Loughborough, but the young people I was working with were never going to attend such an event. Kids who might have had their lives turned around by sport just weren't (aren't) being reached.

anyway... I tried.

[trickstat]

Not as far as I am aware. That was part of a scheme I faintly remember that was looking for tall people (men and woman each above a certain height) for a certain number of sports, of which rowing was one.

[carterhatch]

I was thinking today how, that aside from Hockey, we are poor at the olympic team 'ball' sports, basketball, handball, volleyball, I know there are some compelling reasons (in the lead up to 2012 the talent identification campaign 'sporting giants' tried to encourage rugby types to try out handball) but it is a pity that we dont qualify in our own right, as I enjoy watching, particularly Handball - which according to Balding on BBC is the 'most popular sport after football in europe'.

[Taffy2]

Do they still carry out those talent spotting schemes that spotted Helen Glover?

[Runner88]

For France to get just half the medals that GB got must be galling for them. Similar performance to Germany and Italy but just goes to show how remarkable the GB medal haul is compared to our most comparable rivals.

[trickstat]

Where France did do well was in some of the team ball sports. They won golds in handball and volleyball yesterday and I think they got the silver behind the US in the men's basketball.

[SprintRelayFan]

I couldn’t believe We’d had that many! Had forgotten then all!

[Ulster-Scot]

Kenny also did it before in the WC sprint to the french guy Gregory Bauge, can't remember the year tho

[Taffy2]

Belgium Holland, Italy and Australia have had a good games, France, Germany, South Korea, Kenya and Ethiopia have underperformed. Toban extent the USA have also underperformed. Russia will win more medals in Paris if they are allowed to send a full team.

It's much tougher now to make finals and get on the podium. This time, GB didnt get medals in Tennis, Golf and Badminton, we underperformed in Rowing, canoeing and kayaking. Athletics is in the balance. Overall GB were superb surely even the eternal pessimists are happy.

[alfie]

Yes , gymnastics is correct. Was 7 in Rio. (Includes trampoline)

Rowing and canoeing were of course down. But I suspect the base remains - just needs a bit of a tweak here and there. Can't win everything...