Skip to main content

Some skateboarders want their sport out of the Olympics


Last month, Japanese officials have included skateboarding on a list of recommended additions to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While a number of celebrity skaters – such as Tony Hawk and Shaun White – have campaigned diligently for the inclusion of the sport in the quadrennial competition, it seems that the core of the grassroots have a different view on the matter.

There's an online petition asking the IOC not to include skateboarding to the Olympics, and the signature campaign has already completed more than half of its goal. The petition says:
"With due respect for Olympic Athletes, we the undersigned skateboarders and advocates strongly request that the IOC NOT RECOGNIZE SKATEBOARDING AS AN OLYMPIC SPORT, or use skateboarding to market the Olympics. Further, we ask that the IOC NOT recognize any individuals or groups claiming to be the IOC recognized governing body of skateboarding or provide funding to them.

Skateboarding is not a "sport" and we do not want skateboarding exploited and transformed to fit into the Olympic program. We feel that Olympic involvement will change the face of skateboarding and its individuality and freedoms forever. We feel it would not in any way support skateboarders or skateparks. We do not wish to be part of it and will not support the Olympics if skateboarding is added as an Olympic sport."
Skateboarding is one of five new sports set to make their Olympic debut in 2020, alongside baseball, karate, climbing and surfing.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Adorable Sculptures of Yen Yen Lo

These images are from a series of wall sculptures created by Yen Yen Lo . Here you can see her intricately textured ceramic pieces, looking downright adorable. Yen Yen Lo's eye for the unique and whimsical is delightful. Apparently they are not intended for kids under 16. Fifteen-year-olds cannot be trusted with fragile stuff. Get them a Funko Pop instead.

Details from lucid dreams

If Audrey Stomme s' paintings came alive and transformed into celebrities, they would be Alicia Vikander or Cara Delevingne — confident, perky, and unabashedly luxe. The Minnesota-based artist has a knack for blending ink and acrylic paint in striking combinations to create abstract human forms with an exciting curiosity surging through them. Her pieces brim with courage and exhibit the inherent freedom of her subconscious. Sometimes I'm not sure what I'm looking at, but it still fascinates me.

This jellyfish can age backwards and regenerate body parts

Moon jellies have amazing superpowers. They have the ability to regenerate lost body parts - just like Deadpool, create clones of themselves - just like Multiple Man and, recent research has revealed, they can age backwards - just like Benjamin Button. The discovery was made by Jinru He, a graduate student in marine biology at China's Xiamen University. According to National Geographic , Jinru collected a baby male moon jellyfish from the ocean and raised it to a full grown adult. When it died, he transferred the corpse into a new tank, and noticed a sea anemone-like polyp on the specimen three months later. Scientists believe that the discovery could give us better insight into cancer cures. If you're interested in jellyfish, check out these stunning images taken by Russian marine biologist Alexander Semenov.