fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com, pexels.com- Roman-Davayposmot
Chalk this one up to inclusion and cultural diversity.
Once unimaginable, the day may be coming when the uncle with the dirty funny finger can stand up in public and clap for his favorite pole dancer in respectable company.
Where you ask?
Nice guess, but probably not Las Vegas unless they are going to have the Olympics there.
Yes that’s right. There is a movement to have Pole Dancing…oops I mean Pole Fitness included as an Olympic sport, (Alcohol not included….votes and tips welcome).
It appears mensfitness.com is bringing the subject up tongue and cheek. Maybe. “Pole dancing should be made an Olympic Sport because it meets the fine Olympic criteria for athletics and athletic competition. It takes Agility, Acrobatics, Aerobics, Balance, Choreography, Determination, Dance, Energy, Engagement, Flexibility, Focus, Floor Work, Foot Work, Gymnastics, Grace. Healthy Mind, Body and Spirit, Poise, Physical Fitness, Rhythm, Upper and Lower Body Strength, Core Strength, Hand Strength, Stamina, Style, Yoga, Showmanship, and So Much More. The Time is here for 2016.”
Ooooooooooooooooooooh kay, if you say so.
Maybe a little serious, maybe not but the next person responding to their suggestion is very serious.
“Back in the fall, the Pole Fitness Association was circulating petitions to get pole dancing in the 2012 Olympic Games. Now, it seems the International Pole Sports Federation is seeking to do the same for the 2016 Olympics.
Initially, when one thinks of pole dancing it may conjure up images of dancers in strip clubs, but pole dancing has been gaining popularity in the form of a physically demanding fitness trend.
Offered in group or private classes at both specialized fitness studios and mainstream gyms, pole dancing (or pole fitness as it’s often called) is a total-body workout that includes strength training, fat burning and flexibility training. Pole dancers lift and support their entire body weight—showing a tremendous amount of athleticism.
After checking out a few videos such as the one below, I have to say, pole dancing reminds me of artistic gymnastics. Both require an incredible amount of core and upper-body strength, both may involve equipment such as rings, a balance beam, bar, or pole, and both offer a degree of showmanship.” Melissa Greer (Online Comment)
Okay Melissa, you make some good points and even have some serious support.
As reported by the globally respected telegraph.co.uk, “The World Pole Sports Championships have been set up with a specific aim in mind: to change the perception of pole-dancing – or, as the organizers prefer it to be known, “pole sports” or just “pole” – and eventually to see it become an Olympic discipline.
More than 150 athletes from 30 countries are taking part in these World Pole Sports Championships, including an Irish double act who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent. It’s a sign of the times that the tickets have completely sold out. “We’re going to have to find a larger venue next year,” says KT Coates, president of the IPSF.”
Before we sit back in our chairs, drink in hand listening to pulsating music, we can’t completely rule out the possibility.
The article continues, “The strategy seems to be working: a few days after the event the IPSF is officially recognized as the governing body of pole by the Federation of International Gymnastics and by SportAccord, the umbrella organization for both Olympic and non-Olympic international sports federations. Meanwhile, pole athletes have been invited to compete in the 2017 World Urban Games alongside established sports such as basketball and cycling. So perhaps the Olympics are not a total pipe dream after all.”
Okay, we’re starting to be a……..well not believer but open to the notion that stranger and far less interesting things have happened before.
Even the elite CBS news saw fit to report about this swing in the poles. “Pole vaulting: Olympic event since 1896. Pole dancing: Olympic event starting in 2016?
It’s not out of the question. Last year, the Pole Fitness Association circulated petitions to get the dance form into the 2012 Summer Games. Alas, the IOC must have deemed pole dancing more Las Vegas than London because it did not make the cut. But the campaign goes on.”
Maybe the idea is starting to get a grip.
Think the Olympic Committee should give the thought a twirl?
Another respectable news source theguardian.com informs, “As Rio prepares itself for the football World Cup, another, very different sporting event took place in the city this weekend. The third annual Pole World Cup saw more than 150 men and women from 36 countries competing for a £20,000 top prize. Yet competitors don’t call their moves “dancing”, and you won’t find any sexy costumes here – this is pole fitness, a sport that’s gaining momentum internationally and is even pushing for inclusion in the Olympics.
In the past five years the International Pole Dancing Fitness Association has been pushing for pole fitness to be included in the Olympics by improving its instructor accreditation system and promoting the sport through international competitions.”
Okay, this is starting to sound plausible. I mean after all, look at some of the other sports that are asked to be under consideration.
On June 12, 2015, The New York Daily News reports on the list of sports under consideration. “Baseball and softball could be included in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But how about korfball, billiards or even American football?
The full list of applicants:
Air sports, American football, baseball-softball, bowls, bowling, bridge, chess, dance sport, floorball, flying disc, karate, korfball, netball, orienteering, polo, racquetball, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, sumo, surfing, tug of war, underwater, waterski and wakeboard, and wushu.”
After looking at that list does Pole Dance Fitness Competition sound so far-fetched? I mean which do you think would get more viewers if there was a show down between Pole Dance Fitness and wushu, korfball and especially orienteering?
How would you like to sit for hours watching the last one?
Okay, I think I’m being swayed. Hope springs eternal.
If Pole Dance Fitness Competitions can be circled in, maybe I’ll put my nicest business suit on and take a seat next to the uncle with the dirty funny finger and smile because Lap Dance Fitness is not far away.
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Sources: brainyquote.com, Wikipedia, fciwomenswrestling2.com, FCI Elite Competitor, photos thank you Wikimedia Commons.
http://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/fitness-trainers-and-instructors.htm
http://www.mensfitness.com/life/entertainment/pole-dancing-aims-to-become-an-olympic-event
https://www.change.org/p/make-pole-dancing-an-olympic-sport-2016
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/11208931/Pole-dancing-strip-club-sleaze-or-Olympic-sleaze.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/media/olympic-dreams-six-unlikely-sports-vying-to-make-it-to-the-games/
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/29/pole-fitness-dancing-pole-fitness-olympics
http://jezebel.com/5930171/its-gonna-be-a-while-before-pole-dancing-is-in-the-olympics
http://www.polarityfitness.com/blog/2015/2/16/5-reasons-why-pole-fitness-is-good-for-you
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macaca_fuscata_juvenile_yawning.jpg#/media/File:Macaca_fuscata_juvenile_yawning.jpg
