First time at the Olympics: what’s worth knowing about the new sports?

In 2021, the Olympic sports program may be supplemented with new sports. The official website of the competition said that break dancing, skateboarding, sport climbing, karate and surfing are tentatively included. According to the organizing committee, these sports help balance the program and introduce youth to sports. The committee is confident that the strength of the modern games is diversity, nevertheless the observation of these disciplines continues.

Breakdancing

Breakdancing or breaking, as it is recorded in the registry, has already been introduced at the 2018 Youth Games in Buenos Aires. The sport aims to attract young people to participate in sporting events on a global scale. In fact, until recently, there were no official international breakout competitions. This is due to the lack of a clear structure: there is a division into teams, but otherwise different variants are allowed. Therefore, for the Olympics in Paris in 2024, solo competitions are announced.

The complexity of this sport also lies in the music, or rather its uncertainty. The dancer does not know in advance, under what composition he will have to perform. Judges evaluate battles on three basic criteria: musicality, technique, creativity. As in any discipline, in breaking is difficult to achieve complete objectivity, so there are different systems of judging – for the Youth Olympics 2018 developed a new, unique. Whether the same system will be prepared for the upcoming Games is still unknown.

Sport climbing

The sport became an Olympic sport in 2018, and was announced as part of the Tokyo Games in December 2020. Rock climbing consists of three main disciplines.

Difficulty climbing. The athlete has at his disposal a unique vertical route, which he sees for the first time, and a limited time. Only one attempt is given and the task is to climb as high as possible.

Speed Climbing. This course usually takes a few seconds to complete. The length and slope are fixed – 15 meters and 5 degrees respectively.

Bouldering. Unlike the previous disciplines, this one does not provide insurance. The route consists of short sections and for each time is limited. It is considered one of the most spectacular.

Surfing

According to the president of the International Surfing Association Fernando Aguerre, who fought for the inclusion of this sport in the list of Olympic sports, among surfers the majority are representatives of the younger generation. That’s why it was so important to take it to the next level.

The exact days of the competition in 2021 will be known shortly before the event itself, as weather conditions are very important in this sport. Artificial wave technology will not be introduced yet, which means that real waves are needed. Moreover, the subjective assessment of the contestants is possible: much depends not on the athletes themselves, but on the wind, tides and currents. Therefore, the idea of holding the competition “under the roof” has not been completely abandoned yet.

Skateboarding

For many people, skateboarding is still associated with the street. That is why skate parks resembling a lively urban environment will be built as sports facilities.

The athlete has two attempts of 45 seconds each to complete the program. Judges evaluate performances according to certain criteria on a 100-point school: stunt difficulty, performance score (jump height, landing, etc.) and number of stunts.

Karate

This sport became widely known thanks to spectacular performances, during which karateka karateka break objects with their bare hands. Now the discipline ranks first in popularity among martial arts and is considered an effective way of self-defense.

According to the standards of the program of the International Karate Federation, from one country in one discipline can participate only one person. There are only two disciplines: kata (men and women) and kumite (men and women in weight categories).