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Although curling is an Olympic event, it was introduced in 1924 and then resumed in 1988. It seems like a skill-oriented (rather than physical) sport. I wonder what it will take to get e-Sports into the Olympics.

"A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines it to be widely practiced around the world, that is, the popularity of a given sport or discipline is indicated by the number of countries that compete in it."

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As someone who enjoys (but is absolutely hopeless at) both an olympic sport and an esport, they shouldn't mix

One problem with eSports and the Olympics is that Olympic games tend to be relatively timeless. For example, wrestling or shotput seem like much more natural fits for the Olympics compared to Starcraft 2 or the latest League of Legends. It would be weird if patches, new releases, and private companies fundamentally changed the Olympics.

I also think games don't belong in the Olympics. I would differentiate games from sport by saying that games are purely mental exercises - that is, if I only knew which chess move to make I could play chess perfectly, whereas I may know exactly what to do in a sprint (run as fast as possible) but still couldn't sprint very well. Thus, chess is a game (purely mental/decision making) and sprinting is sport, which requires not only that you know what to do but that you physically can do what you know you need to. eSports are much closer to the "game" end of the spectrum, allowing for things like "Can you physically move your mouse with such precision and react in time".

Well the sport I do (badly) is fencing, and although it looks the same from afar it does change quite a lot

Possibly relevant: Chess might seem the least physically oriented of sports, not physical at all. But after about 40 years of age, it's hard to keep concentrating for hours - classical games often last 5 hours or more – and older players fade after the 3rd or 4th hour. One mistake and you're toast, often. See how none of the top players are over 40.[1] Two in the top 20 are over 40: Anand at 51 is world #17 – but in 2008 he was #1, and Topalov at 45 is world #19 – but was #1 in 2006. Experience doesn't seem to matter anything as much as youth! Also, the top players keep very physically fit, because they have to. It's no good winning for 5 hours if you then have a brain fade for 2 seconds. It's needs something like the stamina of a long-distance runner. It seems a top chess player can burn 6,000 calories – and lose 2 pounds – per day, playing in a tournament.[2]

[1] https://2700chess.com/

[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/20/chess-grandmaster-diet-exerc...

There was an interesting thread about e-sports in the Olympics eight months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23726597

IMO Olympic sports should have rules that everyone is allowed to use, study, modify, and share variants of, in other words they should give players the Free Software movement’s Four Freedoms¹. This way the rules are accessible and adaptable. Good candidates might be Quake or a freed NES Tetris or Super Smash Bros. Melee. The latter two have benefited from being reverse-engineered enough to be modified by their communities for better training and competitive play.

1: https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html

> It seems like a skill-oriented (rather than physical) sport.

Have you tried it? It's not nothing, physically speaking.

Golf and Archery are also considered skill-oriented sports.

Yeah, there's a level of physical exertion. Olympic archers only use 50lb bows however. Its a level of strength pretty much anyone (even non-athletes) can reach. Gone are the days of 100lb or 150lb longbows (weapons of war half-a-millennium ago).

Golf requires you to walk 18-holes while smacking the ball every now and then. I do get tired from swinging the clubs (I'm out of practice, and those weird back / stomach muscles go tired unless you practice). Still, its considered a skill-sport rather than a strength sport.

I suppose that's fair enough. The peak and average exertion for curling is well above either of those, but it's clearly not the physical strength/endurance that determines winners. Perhaps an odd entry point for e-sports though, given examples like you have given.

I was not expecting it when I started, but I recall coming home sore from curling practice.

>LF2M tank dps olypmic gold medal round

Olympics added beach volleyball because they needed ratings and advertisers.

Curling was added because it’s ok winter sport that draw enough viewers and advertisers.

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