Should Pole Dancing be an Olympic Sport?

Just had to ask after reading a few threads recently.
There could be some interesting costumes... er uh gymnastic outfits.

I had to say no. Not because it's not difficult, but because it needs to be judged. I love gymnastics and figure skating, but don't particularly care for ice dancing or rhythmic gymnastics. I like diving but not synchronized swimming, which is really, really physically demanding. There are just too many judged dancy-type sports already.

I would say no. I don't qualify any activity in which the scores are judged to be a sport. If ten people can watch an activity and all ten can come up with separate scores then the scoring isn't objective.

There's a lot of silly olympic sports, so my vote is "why the heck not?"

Quote: FarFromVegas

There are just too many judged dancy-type sports already.

I vote for pole dance vaulting. You know, vault, then do jig, or strike a pose. Yeah, in mid-air of course.

I would consider serious pole exercises -- I don't know that I would use the word "dancing" -- as equivalent to many of the women's gymnastic "sports". For any of these -- rhythmic gymnastics, floor exercises, balance beam, uneven bars, and vault -- there are (or can be) required maneuvers, established degrees of difficulty, and judging by a panel. If you don't like judged events, you probably don't like any of the gymnastic events. I don't see any reason to reject pole exercises and accept floor exercises as Olympics-worthy.

No less ridiculous than the floor-sweeping sport they have in the Winter Games. Or judging "style" in the Sky Jump <sigh>

Quote: FinsRule

There's a lot of silly olympic sports, so my vote is "why the heck not?"

How about an Olympic horse race ?

For those of you who have trouble thinking of "pole dancing" as something different from "stripping" or soliciting tips in a "gentlemen's club", take a look at this video. Sorry, I don't know why it takes 30 seconds to get to the action; skip through that part if you like. There is also more than a minute of credits at the end, but the routine runs about three minutes.

Think about the floor exercise and balance beam events you have seen as part of the Olympics. Do you really feel that this is not as much a sport as the gymnastics events already included? I don't think it's so different from what earned Nadia and Olga international acclaim and helped make that part of the Summer Olympics so popular in the U.S.

I agree, Doc, but why do you not consider stripping as also worthy of Olympic quality ?

Sad but true, I remember some 7th or 8th grade gym teacher
telling us about the Olympic sport, Team Handball.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_handball

So I say, why not Pole Dancing ?

Quote: Gabes22

I would say no. I don't qualify any activity in which the scores are judged to be a sport. If ten people can watch an activity and all ten can come up with separate scores then the scoring isn't objective.

Boxing--- scoring not objective....
MMA----- same
Basketball----- is it a charge or defensive foul?
Football------ pass interference or not?
Baseball---- random and variable strike zones....
Soccer----- is the guy writhing in pain on the ground an Oscar winning actor or actually hurt?

"Scoring" is determined by the above factors, and is in almost all sports.
The lone exception (tongue in cheek) is the NYTimes crossword puzzle competition, of course.

Quote: Nareed

No less ridiculous than the floor-sweeping sport they have in the Winter Games. Or judging "style" in the Sky Jump <sigh>

It's called Curling, and people in the Northern States take it very seriously. And it's not really floor-sweeping, think of it more of as darts on ice.

Quote: SOOPOO

Boxing--- scoring not objective....
MMA----- same
Basketball----- is it a charge or defensive foul?
Football------ pass interference or not?
Baseball---- random and variable strike zones....
Soccer----- is the guy writhing in pain on the ground an Oscar winning actor or actually hurt?

"Scoring" is determined by the above factors, and is in almost all sports.
The lone exception (tongue in cheek) is the NYTimes crossword puzzle competition, of course.

I think that is why boxing is no longer as popular as it once was. I know that is why I stopped watching boxing. MMA, I don't know enough about it. As far as football, baseball and soccer, individual foul calls are very subjective, but a TD is worth 6 pts, a FG is worth 3, same with basketball, a shot inside the arc is worth 2 pts, outside is 3 and a FT is 1. Nobody watching football, baseball, basketball or soccer is going to dispute what the score is or who won when the game is over. In boxing you have that, and while it is an athletic endeavor, the subjective scoring i.e one judge could score it 10 to 9 for fighter A, while another could judge that same round 10 to 9 for fighter B. I hope that clarifies my point. I am not talking about individual calls in the game, I am talking about the actual scoring of the game. You watch a gymnastics competition and many of the judges have different scores for the event. If you can't agree on how it is scored, it ceases to be a sport in my eyes.

Quote: SOOPOO

"Scoring" is determined by the above factors, and is in almost all sports.

OMG, that is soooooo wrong.

All sports, and I do mean, ALL SPORTS, have at least one referee, becasue all sports, and again I mean ALL SPORTS, have rules that are enforced. But in most sports the referees' decisions, though important, do NOT determine the value of a score.

See here. In football an official will determine wether a touchdown was valid or not, but not how many points it's worth. You might as well argue that the 100 meter dash is determined by judges, since there is a person whose sole duty is to call out runners who do false starts.

Geez!

Quote: SOOPOO

Boxing--- scoring not objective

Theoretically, amateur boxing scoring is objective. However, it becomes, "Was that punch worth a point or not?"
(Almost forgot: the tiebreaker is subjective.)

Quote: Nareed

All sports, and I do mean, ALL SPORTS, have at least one referee

What about Ultimate Frisbee? Or are all of the players considered "referees" since they make their own calls, even at world championships level (although this may have changed recently)?

Quote: rxwine

I vote for pole dance vaulting.

If it's Allison Stokke then YES please!

Quote: ThatDonGuy

What about Ultimate Frisbee? Or are all of the players considered "referees" since they make their own calls, even at world championships level (although this may have changed recently)?

I can speak to this, as I play a lot of Ultimate. "Observers" have become commonplace at the national level of Ultimate in the US. Generally observers do not make active calls, the teams still officiate each other. But if they get into an argument (which happens all of the time), they can appeal to the observer and he or she will make a call one way or the other. Observers are fairly recent and as far as I know, even the national championship games were self-officiated well into the 2000s.

Interestingly, at the world-championship level, there are NO observers. This is because the ruleset used at the world level is governed by the WFDF (World Flying Disc Federation), and specifically disallows any kind of official on the field. Whereas the championship series in the US is governed by the USA Ultimate rules (formerly the UPA - Ultimate Players Association), which has no such ban, but still encourages self-officiating. My 2 cents is that the sport would be much smoother with observers or active referees - in fact this has been tried a lot recently. There is league running right now called the AUDL - American Ultimate Disc League - that has officials that make active calls, just like refs in other sports. I haven't seen any of these games though, so I don't know how it's going. They are trying to popularize Ultimate as a spectator sport, which I don't think is ever going to work, but that's just like, my opinion man.

At the level of Ultimate I play (recreational in local city leagues and nearby regional tournaments), the self-officiating works well enough. Sure, people get into arguments and tempers flare when everyone is competitive. But a big part of the founding principles of Ultimate is "Spirit of the Game" - basically meaning good sportsmanship.

Okay, I'm sure you've all stopped reading by now, so here's an awesome video clip from the 2010 World Ultimate Club Championships in Prague:
Andrew Fleming Layout Score

Quote: buzzpaff

I agree, Doc, but why do you not consider stripping as also worthy of Olympic quality ?

We should have an entire event - Sexlympic Games!

Complete with Olympic sex.

When I first saw this thread title, I laughed it off, while the pervert in me screamed, "YES!"

Quote: Doc

For those of you who have trouble thinking of "pole dancing" as something different from "stripping" or soliciting tips in a "gentlemen's club", take a look at this video.

After seeing this, I've changed my opinion.

It's very different than the titilating pole dance I'm used to. It's both interesting and beautiful.

If gymnastics, figure skating, and other artistic forms can be Olympic events, then I say "Yes" to Pole Dancing.

Quote: AcesAndEights

I can speak to this, as I play a lot of Ultimate. "Observers" have become commonplace at the national level of Ultimate in the US. Generally observers do not make active calls, the teams still officiate each other. But if they get into an argument (which happens all of the time), they can appeal to the observer and he or she will make a call one way or the other. Observers are fairly recent and as far as I know, even the national championship games were self-officiated well into the 2000s.

Interestingly enough, this is pretty much exactly how soccer referees came into existence. Back in the late 1800's when disputes arose it was decided that the teams would "refer" to a non-participant to give the decision. Eventually the "referee" was 'invited onto the pitch' and given charge of the match.

Quote: Nareed

OMG, that is soooooo wrong.

All sports, and I do mean, ALL SPORTS, have at least one referee, becasue all sports, and again I mean ALL SPORTS, have rules that are enforced. But in most sports the referees' decisions, though important, do NOT determine the value of a score.

See here. In football an official will determine wether a touchdown was valid or not, but not how many points it's worth. You might as well argue that the 100 meter dash is determined by judges, since there is a person whose sole duty is to call out runners who do false starts.

Geez!

Duhhhh.... I think it is MORE important in the outcome of a game if the touchdown was scored or not.... OF COURSE the value of a touchdown is 6 points and unchanged... So on the last play of the game when you are down 4 and score a touchdown, if the ref says 'no touchdown', YOU LOSE THE WHOLE GAME. IT IS OVER. If one of 6 judges botches a gymnastics score you still have a chance if the other 5 judges have it correct. Please save your "OMG" for something that actually deserves it. To quote you....... "Geez!"