WHEN it was announced in 2015 that bowling was among those being considered for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, I thought that the sport would finally be an Olympic event 32 years after being a demo sport in the Seoul Olympics.
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be as Tokyo organizers wanted a sport that didn’t need any new venues to be constructed. I guess they don’t bowl much in Japan? Maybe Paris 2024 then? Nope. Do you know what organizers of the Paris Games have recommended to the International Olympic Committee for inclusion? Breakdancing, skateboarding, surfing and sport climbing.
Bowling isn’t in the agenda too and it seems it’s getting clearer now that the sport won’t ever make it to the Summer Games.
Which is sad. I was hoping that bowling would become an Olympic event someday for the simple reason that we are good at it. We’ve had World Cup champions and I think we’d have a clearer shot at ending the gold medal drought in the games in bowling rather than in boxing, which has always been dogged with controversial decisions.
I’ve read somewhere that because bowling doesn’t appeal to the youth is one of the major factors of it being excluded from the Olympics. Do you know of any bowling superstars? I guess not.
Another argument against the sport is that the youth in developing countries don’t have access to the sport that won’t hurt their pocket, but hey, not everyone can afford a compound bow but they’ve been shooting arrows in the Olympics for generations.
Chris Viale, who led the lobbying for the sport’s inclusion in Paris, told Bowlers Journal, that they will be targeting the 2028 Olympics, which will be in Los Angeles.
Will the sport have a greater shot at getting included, since the 2028 Games will be in America? I hope so. But then again, back in 2015, it sees the sport was a shoo-in for Tokyo before it got the unceremonious boot.
Still, I’m hopeful though that the sport will be included in the Olympics in my lifetime and that one day, we are going to see a Filipino win that Olympic gold medal.
PALARO WEATHER. I have a fan beside me as I write this and I’m still sweating profusely. This weather is one big excuse to go dive into a swimming pool full of ice.
The Palarong Pambansa will be held in Davao City late next month and I sure hope the organizers have factored in the El Niño in their preparation.
It’s good though that in the previous Palarong Pambansa, the Department of Education has barred the holding of outdoor games between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., the hottest stretch during the day.
I hope so too that aside from that, they’d also look at giving the athletes ample rest periods in between games, especially during crucial knockout matches when athletes give their full effort.
And since Davao City is the host, I expect President Rodrigo Duterte will again be the keynote speaker. I hope there won’t be a repeat of that Palaro when some athletes fainted because he arrived late and they were already standing under the sun for too long.