THE OLYMPIC IMPACT
As skateboarding enters the Olympic pantheon, along with three other sports set to make their debut at the Tokyo games, it will reach a huge new audience – but what benefits will that bring? We examine the financial politics behind the podium, plus profile the newcomers to sport’s greatest global event.
The upcoming Summer Olympics are already breaking records. Covid-19 pandemic permitting, Tokyo 2021 (still officially Tokyo 2020), scheduled from 23 July to 8 August, will go down in history as the first and (hopefully) last edition of the modern Olympics to be held in an odd-numbered year. But the competition is also preparing to host an unprecedented 37 sports. These include four brand-new additions – skateboarding, climbing, karate and surfing – as well as one return: that of baseball/ softball. The reinstatement of baseball (for men) and softball (for women) was hardly a foregone conclusion, after being excluded from London 2012 and Rio 2016. And its regained status promises to be short-lived, having already been dropped from Paris 2024 in favour of breakdancing, or “breaking” as it’s known in its competitive form. In other words, once an Olympic sport, not necessarily forever an Olympic sport.
As well as setting out the principles of Olympism, the Olympic Charter lists the 28 international sports federations that can take part in the Olympics, and until a few years ago only sports belonging to these
member federations were admitted. Some sports, such as swimming, water polo, diving and synchronised swimming, are represented by the same federation, in this case the International Swimming Federation. This accounts for the difference between the number of federations and the number of sports and disciplines contested. Under previous regulations, one federation’s entry into the “Olympic club” required the ousting of another, ratified by a two-thirds majority vote of the International Olympic Committee’s (ICO’s) Executive Council. However, since this provision made it almost impossible for new sports to enter, in 2014 the president of the IOC, Thomas Bach, decided that each edition of the Olympics would be able to admit extra sports provided this did not increase the number of scheduled events beyond sustainable limits (also in terms of associated costs).
These changes were introduced as part of the Olympic Agenda 2020, aimed at making the Games more modern, “urban” and attractive to a youthful public. In line with this ethos, all the newly admitted sports are fast-paced, acrobatic and resonant with the tastes and lifestyles of the younger generations. “With the new rules for adding or removing an event from the Games, all you have to do is change the number of medals awarded for individual sports. And it no longer takes a two-thirds majority of the IOC’s Executive Council – just a simple majority,” explains Luca Basilico, skateboarding manager of the World Skate organisation, to L’Uomo Vogue. But that doesn’t mean it’s a simple process. “In our case it took ten years, maybe more,” he adds.
So, what are the criteria for admission? For the IOC to give the green light, first of all a sport has to be represented by an international federation and comply with the code of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The federation then has to conduct a campaign to promote the sport, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. In addition, the Olympic Charter requires a sport to be practised by men in at least 75 countries on 4 continents, and by women in at least 40 countries on 3 continents. A sport’s popularity is therefore another key factor, because in the big business of the Olympics, recognisability has its economic return. This is clearly revealed by the IOC balance sheet. In the three-year period 2013-2016 (the most recent data available because the last
Olympic cycle ended after Rio 2016), the turnover was 5.7 billion dollars, with 73 per cent coming from TV rights alone (see the infographic below). Tokyo 2020 won’t be any different. So far, the IOC has grossed 4.5 billion dollars from broadcasting rights, including 1.3 billion dollars from Discovery for European audiences and 1.1 billion dollars from NBC for US viewers.
But where does this money go? Ninety per cent of the revenue is shared out among the Olympic federations, with an average of 3.4 million dollars being distributed daily over a 4-year period. These precious resources make a huge difference, especially to less firmly established sports. Of the 28 Olympic federations, only a handful can claim to be financially independent: football, tennis, basketball, volleyball and few others. For the rest, IOC funding is crucial. “But there’s a catch. The new arrivals, called ‘additions’, don’t receive any funds,” says World Skate’s Luca Basilico. “This is because the IOC’s Agenda 2020 stipulates that the resources are exclusively reserved for the Olympic federations.” He is nonetheless hopeful: “After Tokyo and Paris, we expect to be confirmed for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. Only then will we be able to contend for a place in the club of 28.” Time will tell. Meanwhile, here are some points of interest on the four sports making their Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.
Skateboarding
With the sport’s cultural roots entwined with punk rock, some athletes have questioned whether the formal approach of the Olympics might have some negative repercussions for skate culture. But at the World Skate organisation they’re ready to bet on the opposite. Expectations for this debut are certainly high, even outside the sports world. Tokyo 2020 will see 80 skateboarders (40 men and 40 women) competing in two disciplines: park and
street. All skaters will have several runs, scored on the basis of speed, technical difficulty, originality, timing, stability and overall flow of the performance. Worldwide, the sport is estimated to have over 25 million practitioners. Its popularity has possibly increased in times of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the consequent lockdowns placing heavy restrictions on team sports and indoor activities. The Tokyo 2020 skateboarding events will be held at the Ariake Urban Sports Park in the Japanese capital.
Surfing
In this sport, more than others, nature will play a decisive role. The idea of artificial waves recreated in a pool was abandoned in favour of holding the events in the waters of the Indian Ocean at Shidashita Beach, Chiba, 60 kilometres from Tokyo. This Japanese surfing paradise was carefully chosen, with meteorologists analysing large quantities of wave height data for months before reaching a decision. At Tokyo 2020, the 40 surfers taking part, once again 20 men and 20 women, will compete in multiple sessions and be assessed according to the speed, power and flow of their performance. As with skateboarding, the addition of surfing to the Olympics was surrounded by criticism that it risked losing authenticity, since this activity is as much a philosophy of life as it is a sport. And its roots go back a long way. In December 1777, the British explorer James Cook recorded in his logbook that he had sighted a native of Tahiti riding the waves standing on a canoe.
Sport climbing
Resembling rock climbing, sport climbing will be divided into three disciplines: bouldering, lead climbing and speed climbing. The contestant who performs best in all three disciplines will be declared the winner. Bouldering involves climbing on set courses, with various levels of difficulty, to be completed within four minutes. To ensure the surprise effect, the climbers are not allowed to practice on the set routes in advance. Speed climbing is more like a duel: athletes have to climb a 15-metre wall (with a safety rope), in the shortest possible time. Winning times are between 5 and 8 seconds. In lead climbing, the athletes have to climb a 15-metre wall, trying to get as high as possible in a maximum of 6 minutes. Sport climbing is represented by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC), whose 40 athletes at Tokyo 2020 will comprise 20 men and 20 women. This is perfectly in line with the principles of the IOC, which aims to achieve gender equality for the first time in Olympic history. In fact, of the 11,092 athletes competing in 339 events, 48.8 per cent will be women. The climbing events will be held at the Aomi Urban Sports Venue overlooking Tokyo Bay.
Karate
Originating on the island of Okinawa about 600 years ago, karate is coming home for its Olympic debut. The programme comprises two disciplines: kumite, which involves sparring with an opponent, and kata. In the first, each match will last three minutes and points will be awarded for successful strikes on certain areas of the opponent’s body. Kata are solo demonstrations consisting of offensive and defensive moves. Scoring will be based on ten criteria: seven for technical ability – stance, technique, transitional movements, timing, correct breathing, focus and conformance – and three for athletic skill – strength, speed and balance. Here, more than in any other Olympic discipline, style will make the difference. Male and female competitors are each divided into three weight classes. The events will be held at the Nippon Budokan, built to host the judo competition at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. This coincidence is also a good omen for karate enthusiasts: after its debut at home, judo was excluded from the 1968 Mexico City Games but returned at Munich 1972 and has remained ever since. After being rejected from Paris 2024, could karate return at Los Angeles 2028? Its over 100 million practitioners represented by 194 national federations around the world certainly hope so.
Curiously, just five sports have been part of the modern Olympics since the first edition, which was held in Athens in 1896 thanks to the efforts of Baron Pierre de Coubertin: athletics, cycling, fencing, gymnastics and swimming.