Time for New Change in the Olympics

Some people believe that sports acrobatics should not be an Olympic sport because many people are not aware of the sport since acrobatics get very little coverage. But the truth is that sports acrobatics is becoming a very popular sport in the United States and around the world. Also in the past several years’ sports acrobatics have had media coverage with other popular Olympics sports such as gymnastics. After the 2012 London Games there was A Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions that included “Olympians, world champions, men, women, and acro athletes”(Cast 1). Additionally, sports acrobatics have done many exhibitions after the gymnastics national championships that have been aired. There are many sports that are in the Olympics that people find extremely boring or do not care about such as curling. Sports acrobatics could replace these boring sports with something new and exciting. Since people have not heard about sports acrobatics it may cause a new interest and make the sport bigger. Sports acrobatics should be in the Olympics because it is very electrifying and fun to watch.

Also many people believe that since sports acrobatics in not an original sport and does not follow the Olympic tradition it should not be part of the Olympics. But this statement is false. Throughout Olympic history there have been many changes that have broken Olympic tradition. For example, during the first several years of the Olympics only men were allowed to compete, but the rule was changed to allow women to compete too. Furthermore “the International Olympic Committee accepted the duet event for the 1984 Olympics” (“History of Synchronized” 15) that added synchronized swimming to the Olympics. Synchronized swimming was not an original sport to the Olympics, but was still added because if its difficulty and uniqueness. Other spots that have been added to the Olympics are badminton, table tennis, and canoe/kayak. Something a person would find appalling is how “wrestling may be the world’s oldest sport, but it won’t be an Olympic sport after 2016” (Eldred 1). This does not make any sense. Wrestling has been part of the first sports in Athens and now the committee has decided to get rid of the sport. There have been many traditions that have been broken and new ones that have been made too. Sports acrobatics should be part of the Olympics because it can create a new tradition and the new change can improve the Olympics.

Word Count: 403

Works Cited:

"Cast | Kellogg's Tour of Gymnastics Champions." Kelloggs Tour of Gymnastics Champions Cast Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

"History of Synchronized Swimming | ISport.com." History of Synchronized Swimming | ISport.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

"Wrestling Out of Olympics." DNews. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

Sports Acrobatics Global

Throughout the world many countries are facing the same problem; many nations are pushing for sports acrobatics to be part of the Olympics. Sports acrobatics is very popular throughout the world and has incredible world-class groups. In the United States clubs are doing exhibitions and shows trying to publicities to make the society become more familiar with the sport. Especially during the United States Gymnastics National Championships they allowed our best athletes to compete to bring awareness to the sport. Sports acrobatics deserves attention and a place into the Olympics.

During the recent 2012 summer Olympics in London, many teams had trouble with their Olympic participants. For example, the host team Britain had  “falling numbers of participants in Olympic sports including gymnastics, swimming and rowing” (Falling Numbers 1). Personally, it was quite sad to see Britain only win one medal in the men’s gymnastics in front of their home crowd and the Royal couple. During my acrobatics career I was able to meet athletes from a club called Whales that were located in England. Whales have fantastic groups that could be a great asset to the British team if sports acrobatics was put into the Olympics. By adding sports acrobatics into the Olympics this would give countries more opportunities to win medals for their nation and to create better competition. Also it would increase the number of Olympic athletes and the variety of different new nations into the Olympics. During the Olympic ceremony, people can see that there were several countries with just a few athletes. Countries such as Azerbaijan, Israel, and South Africa could be expanded with sports acrobatic athletes. Sports acrobatics should be in the Olympics because of the new variety of athletes that could increase the participants.  

This drive to push sports acrobatics into the Olympics is global and has gone on for many years. Sports acrobatics was “exhibited at the 1992 Olympics” (Olsen 5) to expose the sport to a vast range of audiences. Many people believe that Olympics sports are a tradition since it has been around for thousands of years. But these sports are slowly decreasing athlete participants. Why not add sports acrobatics to the Olympics to increase new athletes to participant and bring new countries together.

Word Count: 373

 Works Cited:

"Falling numbers for Olympic sports." Evening Standard [London, England] 3 Nov. 2009: 47. Global Issues In Context. Web. 5 Nov. 2013.

No Discrimination with Sports Acrobatics

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.