Day 1037 - The 2012 Olympics

If you could choose a new Olympic sport, what would it be?

This morning I woke up to the news that Tom Slingsby won our first individual Olympic gold last night in yachting/Laser Class.  Yay Tom!

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It took me a while to get settled into the Olympics this time around because it started when we were in Vegas so I wasn't overly focused.  But now we are spending every night on the couch as a family flicking through all the dedicated Olympic channels on Fox watching volleyball, rowing, athletics, basketball, canoe sprint, equestrian, shotput, hammer throw, marathon, archery, shooting, diving, trampolining, gymnastics, and handball.


Hang on a minute, handball?!  Handball is an Olympic sport?  Now, I've got to see that!



As far as I can gather handball is just a bunch of blokes walking around with the ball throwing it to each other.  No bouncing, no having to stay afloat, no "legs must stay still", no sprinting, nor fancy footwork. Players are just wandering around casually tossing the ball to each other and then slamming it at the goalie "dodge ball" style.  It seems to be water polo without the added challenge of needing to keep your head above water. I might be wrong of course (I only watched 3 minutes of it and then marched off to bed in disgust) but should handball be an Olympic sport?  If handball is in, when are they going to give us cheerleading!?  Cheerleading has far more skill, athleticism, team work, difficulty and energy.  

Anyway, that had me thinking.  What makes an Olympic sport?  I know variety is the spice of life and all that (and I truly do love watching and cheering on the diverse sporting options) but surely there is a criteria?

If you could introduce a new Olympic sport, what would it be?