Misfits at the Olympics?
Why skateboarding, surfing, sport climbing and breaking are in essence Olympic?
In one day skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing will make their long waited tribute on the biggest stage in the world, the Olympic Games 2020ne in Tokyo. For breaking we need to wait until Paris 2024 to watch them performing at an Olympic Stage.
Much has been said about the amount of young and billions of people they can reach in the world with these non-traditional Olympic sports. Critics would say it’s a business and strategical move of them to make the Olympics more popular, like they’ve done with Snowboarding in the Winter Olympics.
But we’re not honoring these sports because of their essence and what they stand for. They actually deserve their place in the Olympics much earlier. Since the beginning all these competitors are performing on a high-performance level where they push the boundaries of their sports. As misfits or rebels, they were misunderstood in sports. All of these sports started from their roots, the streets, the ocean or the mountains. They all build their own scene and have their own community where they do their own thing. All these sports are more than the general public are seeing. They have that ungrateful stigma of going against the grain. In business they empower such things because it’s innovative and it stands for growth.
When chasing extremes they are all contributing in their own personality and style to the Olympic motto “citius – altius – fortius” (faster – higher – stronger) and are amazingly vibrant and exciting to watch and to perform. When doing so they execute technical skills or tricks with almost ease and are going from one flow momentum to another.
These sports are not just that ordinary, they are forms of arts, cultures and lifestyles that even have their own music and fashion. It influences athletes positively in enhancing self-confidence, self-discipline, self-esteem, resilience, identity, creativity, managing anxiety, emotional intelligence, and so much more. All of these performers sense belongingness in each sports culture and some of them you even can call Arthletes. Now they are recognized by the Olympic Committee they only will increase in popularity. Misfits and renegades will become roll-models, or just rebels with a cause?
