Sports acrobatics should be an Olympic sport because it accepts many
different people. Many people believe that sports acrobatics only require fit
and slim bodies. This statement is not true at all because “this sport is a partner sport requiring athletes of all
ages, shapes, and sizes” ("What is Acrobatics" 3). In acrobatics
having a big solid base is extremely important because they are sturdy to hold
and lift their partners. This sport can get every type of athlete involved to
live a healthy life.
Many sports in the Olympics have
regulations depending on height, weight, and age, but sports acrobatics
includes everyone. For example, track runners are tall with extremely long
legs, which they have an advantage over the other runners. But in sports
acrobatics there are many advantages of being tall, short, skinny, and husky. A
very popular sport in the Olympics is gymnastics. The global image of a gymnast
is a woman under five feet and fewer than ninety pounds. Many gymnasts go on diet to
acquire the perfect lean body, which many of them are already have. “Gymnasts are especially
vulnerable to eating disorders”(Hoffman 1) because they want to maintain the
perfect gymnast physique. Sports acrobatics should be an Olympic sport because
it accepts all body images.
From my own experiences, my coach
would accept everyone who wanted to participate in acrobatics. In the gym there
were heavy girls that would practice daily. My coach would never discriminate
them about their weight or tell them they need to be on a diet. He was very
supportive and would place them in groups where he felt they would succeed the
most. Many times out in public my coach would recruit people to come to try out
sports acrobatics. Many times he would ask parents with children to try the
sport. In the gym we even had parents with children that competed. I love how
this sport never turns away any athletes because of their figure or age.
Also sports acrobatics raises self-esteem for acro
athletes. Acro athletes have a very high self-esteem because they know how
important they are within the group. "They each have their own job, but they have to
work together or they will accomplish absolutely nothing (Ouellette 15)."
Each partner has a specific task during each skill and has their
partner/partners relying on them. In the sport of gymnastics the gymnasts have
difficulty with their self-esteem. Gymnasts are toughly judged on their
performance and they always feel the blame since they are the only one out on
the apparatus. Sports acrobatics athletes that have a high self-esteem will be
more confident in with them and be more opened to try new things. Sports
acrobatics should be implemented into the Olympics because it accepts all body
images and gives athletes a high self-esteem.
Word Count: 469
Works Cited:
"The
Effects of Gymnastics on Teen Behavior." Everyday Life. N.p., n.d.
Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
Olsen, Kirsten. "2 Marylanders Find an
Unusual Answer; the Uncommon Sport of Acrobatics Provides the Life Style they
Sought." The Washington Post (pre-1997 Fulltext): 0. Jan 07
1988. ProQuest. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.