Rugger and Golf in the Olympics

Big fan of both sports, well golf is nearly a sport, and in a choice between either and sychronized swimming then no question, but Olympic Sports ? I think not.

Massive fan of both but, like you say Poults, that doesn't make them ideal Olympic sports.

The main selection criteria should be that the Olympics will offer the peak achievement in that particular sport, a victory that will be rated above all other tournaments/competitions within their field. With that in mind, I disagree in that I think Rugby 7s is a perfect Olympic sport - it's just a shame they can't get their act together and get in for London 2012.

But, golf on the other hand (while I look forward to seeing it in the Olympics) doesn't really fit that criteria - the majors will always be the priority.

brumgrecian said:

The main selection criteria should be that the Olympics will offer the peak achievement in that particular sport, a victory that will be rated above all other tournaments/competitions within their field. With that in mind, I disagree in that I think Rugby 7s is a perfect Olympic sport .

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Good point, on that basis football should be dumped in favour of six a side, not necessarily a bad thing, it also occurs to me that I really don't like sevens.

I love rugby. Frankly I'd much rather harlequins won the Guinness Prem than Ex won promotion or Chelsea won the Champs league and if this Olympics deal can do anything at all to promote rugby I would be absolutely delighted.

I think yes. Whilst not a fan of either, both are proper sports where there is a winner and loser that is judged solely on events on the field of play. Isn't the Olympic motto 'faster, stronger, higher' or something like that?

Nothing about whether it looks pretty or the judges were having a bad day, anything where someone else decides the winner isn't a sport in my book, and you can include gymnastics, diving, synchro swimming and other such rubbish in that.

I like the idea of 7s in the Olympics, especially as the IRB have scrapped the 7s World Cup to ensure that the Olympics become the pinnacle of the game.

Golf - a sport I play and love - is just wrong for the Games. The Majors are the big targets and it's more corporate than top level football.

zyderman said:

I love rugby. Frankly I'd much rather harlequins won the Guinness Prem than Ex won promotion

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Don't hold your breath.

Neither should be an Olympic sport IMO.

For me, the sports in the Olympics should meet the following criteria:

They should be the pinnacle of their sport in terms of achievement
They should be decided purely on merit, without "judging".

Athletics, Swimming, Cycling, Rowing, Shooting, Archery and such-like all fit these criteria.

Football, Tennis, Golf, Rugby (for example) don't fit the first criterion.
Diving, Boxing, Gymnastics, Judo etc. don't fit the second.

Jason H said:

Neither should be an Olympic sport IMO.

For me, the sports in the Olympics should meet the following criteria:

They should be the pinnacle of their sport in terms of achievement
They should be decided purely on merit, without "judging".

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Sevens meet both these criterion comma unless you are going to suggets that refs constitute a form a of judging.

7s isn't even the pinnacle of the sport in itself. It's a bit like T20 - fun for a while if you have the attention span of a gnat, but not the proper sport.