Student Thoughts: The Olympics should feature brains and brawn

John Sutija / Contributing Writer

opinion@fiusm.com


The 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan are years off, and we still have the Rio Summer Games between now and then. But Thursday, June 18, was the last day for new disciplines to apply for 2020. After two years, 26 disciplines are candidates, but only one can be approved – a decision to be made before the June 22. The entries are:

Gridiron (American) Football, Baseball and Softball – both formerly Olympic disciplines, Korfball and Netball – relatives of Basketball – Racquetball, Squash, Polo, Underwater Hockey – similar to Water polo – Roller Derby, Surfing, Water Skiing, Wake Boarding, Free Diving, Spear Fishing, Indoor Hockey, Airsports – which could mean Ballooning, Hang Gliding or Parachuting – Ultimate Frisbee, Bowling and Lawn Bowling, Billiards, Tug of War – which was an Olympic discipline from 1910 to 1920 – Rock Walling, Sumo Wrestling, Karate, Wushu, Chess, Bridge – the card game – Dancesport – which is a name created to make Ballroom Dancing sound more Olympic, and Orienteering – map and compass navigation.

Some of those toward the end may sound a bit less like Olympic events, but they pose an interesting question; If the Olympics are about the best from all over the world, why don’t they also include the brightest? The short answer is, they used to.

The long answer is that in 1906 the founders of the Modern Olympics first discussed the place of the arts in the Olympics and in 1912 the first Pentathlon of the Muses was incorporated into the Olympic games. Non-Athletes were called to present works inspired by the games in the categories of Architecture, Literature, Music, Painting, and Sculpture and medals were awarded. This practice continued until 1954; the officially cited reason being that the Olympics were a place for amateurs to showcase their ability, but the pentathlon was comprised mostly of professionals. While cancelled, some of the spirit lived on in the Olympic Cultural Program, but the OCP doesn’t allow for the same exposure as the PoM did. Where the PoM was a place for all competing countries to send artists, the OCP is for the host nation to flaunt its own cultures. Perhaps it is time for the committee to reverse the decision and allow the arts to flourish.

The idea of the Olympics as an amateurs-only competition, while noble, seems a bit silly when there are some people – some countries – that spend years training exclusively for these events. Many involved with the Olympics either are or become fully professional athletes. If the arts were to be reintegrated into the Olympics now, why shouldn’t professional designers, artists, writers, and performers be the main candidates? I doubt anyone can honestly complain about adding more art to the world. Post-Olympics, facilities could be converted into museums to let that art continue to teach people years from now. The Olympics are notorious for ruining cities with massive construction projects that take years to complete before being abandoned after less than a month of use. Instead, we could create an installation that can be visited and appreciated.

The ancient Greeks knew the value of the arts and learning, including in their Olympics song, theater and debate events. These weren’t part of the original roster, though, they evolved from the clerical aspects of games into entertaining alternatives to physical events. The Olympics should return to its roots.

With its established, respected global presence and coverage, the Modern Olympics are the perfect place for smaller countries to show all their worth. Buddhists believe that ignorance is the source of all suffering – there is no better way to learn about a people than to study their arts, and the world could do with less suffering. Let’s start small. Let the Olympics be a place where countries can show off more than their muscles.

About the Author

Sam Smith
The Beacon - Editor-in-Chief

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