I understand that to make disc golf a sport in the Olympics would be a tough task. And I'm not even going to get ahead of myself on that. Now, ignoring the whole drug-testing argument, which we can all recite verbatim, what is it that stands in the way of disc golf becoming a demonstration sport? If the Olympics came to Chicago, Illinois in 2016 what would stand in the way of this? Is there the same requisite number of participating nations for a demonstration sport?



-Chris.

I was thinking about this last night actually, how would Disc Golf become an olympic sport. I found this page about recognized sports and think it may be the first step. http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/recognized/index_uk.asp

I think this would be tough though as people already don't like our drinking and drug policies but in order to do this people would have to be tested.

The thing I was looking for with this topic though, is discussion on what else we need. Right now I know we've had multiple threads on things like the Olympics, and drug use has become the topic du jour in every one of them. I mean, you can say "Well you can't discuss anything else until you've discussed this." And I agree with that sentiment, but its already been discussed.

What else is there? Is there anything else we need to do? Is it really that drug testing is the LAST hurdle?

drug testing is a red herring imo, there are any number of qualified representatives who can pass drug tests- wasn't a problem for the world games.

there are myriad other more legit reasons dg will never be in the olympics, primary of these is the general reduction in number of sports offered.

Golf is trying to become an Olympic sport in 2016. I suspect golf will become an olympic sport before frisbee golf.

there are myriad other more legit reasons dg will never be in the olympics, primary of these is the general reduction in number of sports offered.


If you're wrong, I'll be eating a bag of . . . :(

Is it really that drug testing is the LAST hurdle?


Actually, WADA compliance is only the FIRST hurdle :eek:

Reduction of sports is only because London doesn't want to build arenas and stadiums -- they are apparently low on funds. If baseball and softball were being cut permanently, then why would they be allowed to apply for reinstatement in 2016? And if Chicago does host in 2016, expect them to be back as medal events.

there are myriad other more legit reasons dg will never be in the olympics, primary of these is the general reduction in number of sports offered.


If you're wrong, I'll be eating a bag of . . . :(



i've been wrong before... does a feed sack constitute a bag? :D

drug testing is a red herring imo,


Actually, this opinion is incorrect. IOC / WADA would expect the PDGA to test it's members for drug use on an continuing basis. No member (technically) would be exempt and any member in any sanctioned event could be subject to testing (members may even be required to make themselves available for out-of-competition testing).


there are any number of qualified representatives who can pass drug tests- wasn't a problem for the world games.


Looks like the red herring is on the other foot: Demonstration sports at the World Games are held to a lower standard than full participant sports. In the Olympics this may also be true but there is little tolerance for violations.

Recognition of the International Federations (IFs)
In order to be recognised, these organisations must apply the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code and conduct effective out-of-competition tests in accordance with the established rules. The recognition of IFs newly recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) shall be provisional for a period of two years or any other period fixed by the IOC Executive Board. At the end of such period, the recognition shall automatically lapse in the absence of definitive confirmation given in writing by the IOC.

As far as the role of the IFs within the Olympic Movement is concerned, their statutes, practice and activities must be in conformity with the Olympic Charter. Subject to the foregoing, each IF maintains its independence and autonomy in the administration of its sport.

There's been no demonstration sports at the Olympics since 1992, and there are no plans to have them in the future.

Chap

doesnt hurt to dream ;)

dont different sports get to test for different substances? why couldnt we just get our favorite excluded? they probably care the most about performance enhancers. how did the NBA field a team?

I would like to see all flying disc sports in the olympics, an overall event with distance, MTA, TRC, discathon, accuracy , ddc, and freestyle. Many of these events would be a lot easier to cover with TV coverage since most would take place in an open field.

http://www.wfdf.org/index.php?page=antidoping/index.htm

What else is there? Is there anything else we need to do?



Click here (http://www.olympic.org/uk/news/events/117_session/full_story_uk.asp?id=1309) for partial answers to your inquiry.

As Brakel already pointed out, golf isn't an olympic sport and it's been around for how long? There's no chance disc golf will make the venue anytime soon. If I'm not mistaken, an Olympic sport has to be recognized and practiced in 50+ countries?

A distance field event has a much better chance at becoming an Olympic competition over disc golf. How many field sports involve throwing something the farthest? Bombing a golf disc over a couple-hundred meters would be a crowd pleaser for sure (though a bird-nest type arena might not be large enough...)

Here's an idea....send boxes of golf disc drivers to the respective Olympic committee of each country participating in summer events. Include an instructional DVD on how to throw a golf disc and.........well, you can see where I'm going with this.... :)

There's a better chance of Putt-putt golf or lawn darts making the olympics before disc golf.

There's been no demonstration sports at the Olympics since 1992, and there are no plans to have them in the future.

Chap



As a matter of fact, trampoline was a demo sport in Atlanta in 1996. Not sure if there have or have not been any demos since. Still, I would not hold your breath for frolf becoming an Olympic sport or even a demo....ever.

Still, I would not hold your breath for frolf becoming an Olympic sport or even a demo....ever.



Doesn't help when those within the sport call it something incorrect.

...would help if we could call it the equally incorrect "frisbee golf", whenever i explain it to a complete newcomer that's the term that comes out eventually anyway.

feldberg was going to start a campaign to call it "frisbee golf" for the same reason.

...would help if we could call it the equally incorrect "frisbee golf", whenever i explain it to a complete newcomer that's the term that comes out eventually anyway.

feldberg was going to start a campaign to call it "frisbee golf" for the same reason.



The issue with calling it Frisbee golf is Frisbee is a trademarked term.

i know that. that prevents innova, discraft, the pdga, etc from calling it that. it doesn't do a thing to stop the rest of us from doing it however.

That's why Frolf is perfect.

I just call it golf.

Name aside. Chicago needs real courses. The Lemon Lake complex is a great start. There should be a signficant PDGA event taking place near Chicago at the same time as the 2016 games and the PR machine should have already alerted sports media across the globe about the event. My prediction is that Bruce's daughter will win the pro purse at that event. The question is which one.

I love the positivity in this thread. You guys are amazing. Seriously, in the first post of this thread I already stated that we've gone over the drug issue repeatedly, anybody here can repeat the argument verbatim right down to who will say what. This thread has followed that script perfectly.

Thats why I asked for some discussion about the other requirements. This isn't to downplay the drug issue, which is indeed among the very most important if not THE most important... but we've already discussed it to death. So why not look at the other steps we need to take?

why not? because it wont matter because of the drug thing. why solve little problems when the gorilla wont go away?

here's what i think would need to be addressed (other than weed) in order to get DG into the olympics:

1) viewability. disc golf is video'd well infrequently. some history of well-produced, networkTV quality work would help.
2) viewers. there arent enough. is 5 years enough to fix this? maybe so, but i aint placing any bets.
3) seriousness. forget the drug thing. we play on public parks almost 100% of the time. there's no real big infrastructure in our sport. gymnastics has gyms - how else could they get trampoline in as a medal sport... its what real gymnasts do for practice, for pete's sake. our purses are mostly peanuts. we might not have enough business interests behind us to get in.
4) sponsorability. sure, if its in the olympics, someone will sponsor it. it would help if TV knew for sure they could sell out the advertising for the DG segments. but they dont know that, so they wont be lobbying the IOC on our behalf.

just some thoughts

It is too late to get included in 2016. The seven sports that have a shot at the last two spots have already been notified.

So why not look at the other steps we need to take?



Why bother with the dust bunny under the chair when there's an "elephant in the living room"?

We're obviously not sweeping that issue under the rug when it has been discussed over and over and over and over! If it was something we were blatantly ignoring, I'd be all for it. But it gets discussed to death! Every argument anybody can make here has already been made, repeatedly. We aren't ignoring the elephant in the room. We're just choosing to try to deal with the dead lightbulb for a moment so we can go about preparing to get him out of the room.

We're just choosing to try to deal with the dead lightbulb for a moment so we can go about preparing to get him out of the room.



If you read the document reffered to in the first response to your question, you'll see that PDGA (or whoever) "must apply the Olympic Movement Anti-Doping Code and conduct effective out-of-competition tests in accordance with the established rules." This is the only requirement listed.

The elephant is there whether the light is on or not. The darkness just allows us to remain in denial.

ORN, remember the story of the three blind men and the elephant. Unfortunately, I'm just too tired to try to turn the analogy using that old joke.

Does anyone else think that the guy at www.discgolfbuzz.com (http://www.discgolfbuzz.com) is a bad ambassador for the sport? While he may be developing a good petition to get disc golf into the Olympics, his website and video are by far poor representations of how disc golf should be explained or represented to the masses...

Judging the content, it seems the creator is more inclined to benefit from google ads then truly develop a professional space for people to learn about the game or help promote our sport. While it would be great to see disc golf in the Olympics at one point, the avenue for which the idea is being promoted seems a bit depressing for those who truly care about the way we present ourselves.

Any thoughts on this?

Also uses an online petition which is just... well... dumb.

Think about it people: Baseball couldn't stick in the Olympics because it wasn't "International" enough. Disc golf? I'm not buying my tickets just yet.