Pole dancing may soon be a recognised Olympic sport
NO STRIP club necessary. Pole dancing now stands on its own as a provisionally recognised sport, thanks to the Global Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF), which granted the activity’s international g o ve r n i n g federation “observer status” earlier this month.
“Pole Sports is a performance sport combining dance and acrobatics on a vertical pole,” GAISF writes on its website.
“Pole Sports requires great physical and mental exertion. Strength and endurance are required to lift, hold and spin the body.
“A high degree of flexibility is needed to contort, pose, demonstrate lines and execute techniques.”
Observer status is the first step inter national federations must achieve before becoming full GAISF members, which serves as a great boost for any sport hoping to one day land in the Olympics.
And that is exactly pole dancing’s goal, according to Inter national Pole Sports Federation (IPSF) president Katie Coates, who lauded the day the decision was made, October 2, as “historical”.
“The IPSF is very proud to have taken this positive step towards official recognition and the GAISF observer status will give our sport the opportunity to develop further, on the national and on the international stage,” she said. “In just eight years we have created a sport, ignited a global following and inspired a new generation of sportsmen, women and children.
“I am thankful to the IPSF and GAISF teams and excited about the future of our sport.”
The road to the Olympics isn’t short, however.
Along with a recognised governing body, sports must also gain separate recognition from the International Olympic Committee.
Provisional IOC recognition lasts three years, during which committee members decide whether to give it full recognition.
If successful, the sport’s governing body still needs to petition to become an official Olympic sport, which can take several more years.
For Coates, however, those obstacles do not sound insur mountable, considering the uphill battle she said she faced while campaigning to gain provisional recognition from the GAISF.
“I feel like we have achieved the impossible,” she told the Telegraph this week.
“Everyone told us that we would not be able to get pole dancing recognised as a sport.”
Today, pole dancing competitions are as familyfriendly as any sporting event – and just as well regulated.
The IPSF outlines its rules, judging and other criteria in its 137-page document that lays out guidelines for several categories of competition, ranging from youth to mixed doubles to para-competition.
Pole dancers are even required to take doping tests to ensure that the sport is clean.
Watching a competition is akin to attending a dance recital, where the athletes, often dressed in sparkly two-piece outfits or leotards, perform choreographed routines set to music. –
Washington Post The