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John Millen

Only 466 days to go

Sports the Olympics forgot

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does its best to make sure the modern Olympics are a fair and exciting mix of sports. But they can't please all of the people all of the time and it is inevitable that some sports are not represented at the Olympics. The IOC deliberates long and hard before a sport is brought into or taken out of the Olympic programme. Judo, for example, was added in 1964. Taekwondo and the triathlon first made their appearance at the Sydney 2000 Games. The 2000 and 2004 Summer Games showcased 28 sports, and the list will be the same for 2008 Beijing. But baseball and softball have been removed from the schedule to give a total of 26 for the 2012 London Olympics. You can hear fans of these two popular sports already expressing  their disappointment.

A

What about golf?

There's no doubt that golf is one of the world's most popular sports. Every week, thousands of players head to the nearest golf course to hit that little ball over the greens. Golf is also a popular sport  on TV and international competitions like the US Masters and the Open give the sport a high profile. Golf has been included in the Olympics only twice, in 1900 and 1904, before being  removed from the Olympic programme.

Golf has a long history, and  tournaments have been an important part of the game since the middle of the 19th  century. There have been many attempts  to get golf back into the Olympic Games, but so far none has been successful.

1. Golf is played with (a ball / a shuttlecock).

2. You play golf on a  (course / pitch).

3. Golfers usually play (eight / 18)  holes in a game.

4. A golfer hits the (shuttlecock / ball) with a (racquet / club).

5. The person who carries a golfer's (racquets /clubs) during a game is called a (buggy /caddie).

B

Other missing sports

Tug-of-war is  a contest between two teams in which one team tries to pull the other over a line marked on the ground. The sport has been included in the Olympics six times, but moves to get it back on the list have been unsuccessful. Football, of course, is an Olympic sport but its rougher brother, rugby, last appeared in the Olympic Games back in 1924. Polo, a kind of hockey played on horseback, is one of the world's oldest sports  and goes back hundreds of years. Polo was last featured in the 1924 Games. Another sport that vanished after the 1924 Olympics is lacrosse, a game using a stick with a net on it to catch and throw a small ball. These are just a few of the sports that have come and gone over the years. There simply isn't enough room in the Olympic Games for all the sports that human beings play.

1. Tug-of-war features two teams pulling a  (rope / string).

2. In rugby, the players are allowed to (touch / burst) the ball with their hands.

3. A lacrosse stick has a (bag / net) at the end to catch the ball.

4. In polo, the players strike a ball while riding a (camel / horse).

5. Tug-of-war is usually a (team / individual) sport.

C

My Olympic fact file

Correct these four statements before you put them into your Olympic Fact File

1. Golf is included every time in the Olympic Games.

2. Judo first appeared in the Olympic programme in 1984.

3. There will be 28 sports represented at the 2012 London Olympics.

4. Football is not an Olympic sport.

Answers: A. 1. ball 2. course 3. 18 4. ball, club, 5. clubs, caddie; B. 1. rope , 2. touch, 3. net 4. horse 5. team



The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games