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Comment by nemo44x | Hacker News Reader

I’m kind of surprised bowling was an event (briefly) but now is not. I don’t keep up with it but I’ve somehow been bowling in a variety of countries. Is it the professional game is just too biased towards the USA? I believe top player is Australian?

Also I have to imagine Pickle Ball will be featured in the next Olympics. Maybe it can take break-dancings spot.

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It was an event at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, but attempts to have it made a permanent event failed, apparently partly because it requires expensive facilities that aren't always available in poorer countries. Doesn't seem to have been a blocker for sailing or ski jumping...

> Doesn't seem to have been a blocker for sailing or ski jumping...

The boats they use in the Olympics are generally standardized designs that have been around for a very long time.

The most common Olympic boat is the Laser, which has been around since the 1960s. You can make one yourself if you feel like it. They'll take out a measuring tape and if all the dimensions are correct you are good to go. You could buy an Olympic-quality one from a manufacturer for $6k or less, including all the sails. You can watch out for a Craigslist post offering one up for free if you just come get it. There are stacks and stacks of them all over sailing clubs everywhere in the world - because they've been building them exactly the same for 70 years. There are so many Lasers out there people don't know what to do with them.

The exact kiteboarding thingy they use can be bought off the shelf at plenty of sailing stores for $3k or less.

Yes, the bigger boats they are using for the two-person races can get pricy, but that's just a fraction of Olympic sailing.

I suspect if Sailing and Skiing were proposed as events in 1998 and not 1896 and 1936 respectively, they would face similar issues.

They held an event in 1936 and tried to make it an official part of the 1940 Olympics. If the Olympic games of 1940 hadn't been cancelled it might have made it in.

https://www.topendsports.com/events/demonstration/bowling.ht...

Bowling lanes are a bit more involved than a race track, but it doesn't seem that involved. It's basically waxed wood flooring with some dividers. You can just put that down in a regular stadium for a couple days.

Normally bowling alleys are expensive because of the machinery, but the Olympics aren't lacking in manpower. Just dedicate one person per lane to manually setting the pins. If you dress them up a bit that can even add some visual flourish.

The concern isn't that the country hosting the Olympics won't be able to afford a bowling alley, it's that competing in the sport would be economically out of reach for much of the world.

You're basically describing the Winter Olympics.

And all of the equestrian events in the Olympics.

Tim Duncan famously took up basketball after his swimming career was derailed when a hurricane destroyed the only pool on st Croix, and they couldn't rebuild it.

>Plus, as another poster pointed out, I think several other sports would be rejected for the same concerns if they weren't effectively grandfathered in.

Including most of the Winter Olympics.

There's no such thing as grandfathered in, events are we considered every olympics. Just because there is no world where the 400 m sprint will be removed does that mean it is grandfathered in. Wrestling was almost removed from the Olympics a few years ago. Which is one of the actual events from the ancient olympics.

I am aware, which is why I said "effectively." The bar for removing a sport is different than for adding one. For one thing, swimming and similar events have over a century of work making them more accessible.

But doesn't the same line of though still apply? Making a bowling lane in your back yard or in a community center is pretty cheap if you set the pins manually.

In terms of costs for a training spot with Olympic-like conditions it would be pretty middle of the pack and probably in the cheaper half. It's more expensive than say table tennis or marathon, but a lot cheaper than swimming, pole vault or golf, never mind the heavy hitters like ski jumping.

Making a 60ft flat level surface is harder than you'd think, and even with your human pin setters a lane would effectively allow 1 or 2 people to practice at a time.

Plus, as another poster pointed out, I think several other sports would be rejected for the same concerns if they weren't effectively grandfathered in.

it's that competing in the sport would be economically out of reach for much of the world.

I don't know anything about 'high end' bowling, but I cannot see how it could be any more expensive than many other sports at the Olympics.

My local bowling alley charges $25 an hour to rent a lane. Practicing 20 hours a week makes it $2000 a month. Admittedly, they probably have strong discounts for someone bowling that much, but that's only the price for a beginners practice spot.

Winter sports and some older competitions probably match that, but I think they try to be more aware of that for summer sports. Compare it to another recent addition, skateboarding. One of the competitor's (medalist I think?) family went without electricity for a month to afford her first board, but after that it with some luck it was affordable enough to get her to the Olympics.

The sports for 2028 have already been decided. Flag football, baseball/softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash will be added. Breaking will not be included.

Breakdancing seemed way too late, like someone old on the decision team was out of place with that one.

At that rate, Pickleball will be added in 40yrs - "Oh yeah I remember back after the Covid Pandemic, Pickleball was popular", says 60-70yr old person.

Oh hey that's my mom-in-law!

> Flag football, baseball/softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash will be added

Don't forget that modern pentathlon is dropping the equestrian portion and replacing it with a ninja-warrior obstacle course.

Running, swimming, fencing, shooting, obstacle course.

Jousting. That would have been marvelous.

I was surprised to know pétanque was never included and that it is slated for the 2026 youth Olympics.

Still waiting for pankration's comeback and the addition of Quake 3 CPMA, though.

Flag Football sounds interesting. I’m curious if much of the world will compete in it. Looks like a fun format with a small field, 5 players per side and clear rules - 4 tries to get a touchdown. And very fast I’m guessing.

Apparently 42 teams competed in the last IFAF Flag Football World Championship. More countries than are members of the International Kabaddi Federation.

I'd love to see Olympic capture the flag.

Damn you, Raygun! /s

Though tbf, I'm not sure any competition with an artistic element belongs in the Olympics. I would ditch stuff like figure skating and synchronized swimming. Gymnastics can stay, but I'd prefer it be more standardized.

All the sports you mention have had most of the artistic elements beaten out of them by standardised scoring systems. No one wins olympic gold in figure skating or synchronised swimming by being artistic, they do it by repeatedly and perfectly executing the highest scoring techniques as defined in the rule book.

Oh good, that's what I want, then.

How familiar are you with gymnastics scoring? It's quite rigid. The ongoing controversy is not really related to the objectiveness of judging, but an administrative error (assuming the IOC is truly in the wrong here).

Flag Football and 6-player Lacrosse are next up in 2028.

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