backswing_aplenty
Birdie Member
Too many variables in course to be an Olympic sport. Just like bowling, which is the most participated sport in the world, will never be an Olympic sport.
The games in the Olympics are very controlled as far as scoring and playing field goes. There's already enough variables in course length, basket dimension, left hand right hand, disc size/characteristics etc. that we all fuss about as it is. Trying to convince the IOC and come up with standardized baskets, disc parameters, and course parameters would be a start, but there's still the left hand/right hand, forehand/backhand situation.
If an "Olympic Style" of DG was created with accuracy and trajectory being the main focus and not # of strokes there might be some headway. They would have to create a specific type of course to play on, you could use the same baskets but with some stricter parameters, like an "Olympic Size" basket with specific styles of targets and obstacles to shoot through and around.
Also the sport isn't quite worldwide enough and it's not any countries major sport, as with say Curling in Canada and the Nordic countries, or Badminton and China, Thailand, East Asia. Water Polo is huge in Holland, Bulgaria, Russia. Boxing in Latin America, all the winter sports from the Nordic countries, Switzerland etc. These sports are the national pasttime. Just because the US isn't good at a sport doesn't mean it's not popular.
Bowling's in the same boat with oil patterns and ball specifications. Unless a target oriented form of the game is utilized bowling will be in the same boat at Disc Golf and ball golf.
Sorry for the tirade, I'm spent a lot of time reasearching and pushing for Bowling to get into the Olympics, but it's invariably compared to Golf as to why it won't get in, and the same applies to Disc Golf. Would be great, but the stroke play style would have to be modified to a target based system of scoring to have any chance in the Olympics.
*backswing
The games in the Olympics are very controlled as far as scoring and playing field goes. There's already enough variables in course length, basket dimension, left hand right hand, disc size/characteristics etc. that we all fuss about as it is. Trying to convince the IOC and come up with standardized baskets, disc parameters, and course parameters would be a start, but there's still the left hand/right hand, forehand/backhand situation.
If an "Olympic Style" of DG was created with accuracy and trajectory being the main focus and not # of strokes there might be some headway. They would have to create a specific type of course to play on, you could use the same baskets but with some stricter parameters, like an "Olympic Size" basket with specific styles of targets and obstacles to shoot through and around.
Also the sport isn't quite worldwide enough and it's not any countries major sport, as with say Curling in Canada and the Nordic countries, or Badminton and China, Thailand, East Asia. Water Polo is huge in Holland, Bulgaria, Russia. Boxing in Latin America, all the winter sports from the Nordic countries, Switzerland etc. These sports are the national pasttime. Just because the US isn't good at a sport doesn't mean it's not popular.
Bowling's in the same boat with oil patterns and ball specifications. Unless a target oriented form of the game is utilized bowling will be in the same boat at Disc Golf and ball golf.
Sorry for the tirade, I'm spent a lot of time reasearching and pushing for Bowling to get into the Olympics, but it's invariably compared to Golf as to why it won't get in, and the same applies to Disc Golf. Would be great, but the stroke play style would have to be modified to a target based system of scoring to have any chance in the Olympics.
*backswing
