The 2024 Olympic Games, which are said to be held in Paris, may include a number of new sports. In an effort to appeal to a younger, broader audience, the Olympic Committee has recommended that break dancing, surfing, sport climbing, and skateboarding be added to the Olympic program.

The proposal was introduced to the I.O.C (International Olympic Committee) at the end of March.

New rules set by the Olympic Committee also allow participating host cities to propose new sports for the roster. The 2020 games in Tokyo will feature softball, baseball, and karate (these sports will not be seen at the 2024 Games as host-recommended sports are only valid for one Olympic Games). LHS senior Maddie Zingale commented on the proposal saying, “I think it’s cool they want to add more sports to the Olympics. I used to play softball and I would love to watch it in the Olympic setting.”

To a similar tune, senior Faith Hampton says, “I would love to see surfing in the Olympics,” she adds, “I think it would appeal to a very large audience as well.”

Sports such as break dancing, which was first proposed by Paris, have been recommended in an effort to implement more artistic and creative activities; the committee has said that they want to give more culturally relevant sports a place in the Olympic Games.

It is great to see such a popular event as the Olympics taking steps to include sports that are often underrepresented. The new sports roster has been well received by the board and is expected to go to a vote by the next I.O.C session in June of 2019.