Discussion keeps the world turning.
This is Round Table. Hello, welcome to Round Table, where we serve a piping hot debate on the issues that Sizzle in China and beyond.
I'm your Holins. From today on, we are welcoming you to our exciting new series where we dive into the thrilling world of emerging Olympic sports.
From adrenaline pumping skateboarding to the technical moves of sport climbing, we'll explore the fascinating histories, unique rules, and why these sports are captivating audience, especially the youth.
For today's show, I'm joined by Steve Hathorley and Yushun.
Now grab your virtual compass and follow us to the heart of the discussion.
Get ready for Paris this summer, where tradition meets the cutting edge.
This year, we're thrilled to introduce a fascinating series of sports that will redefine the excitement of competition.
We will witness exhilarating heights of sport climbing, gravity-defined tricks of skateboarding, and epic waves of kayak cross.
Join us as we celebrate the spirit of competition and see history in the making.
Experience the thrill of new sports in Paris.
Don't you miss a moment of it.
According to the official website of Olympics, the Paris 2020 Forest Summer Olympics will feature 32 sports in total.
This includes 28 core Olympic sports.
That were also contested in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics and four additional sports proposed by the Paris Organizing Committee.
For today on, we're starting to give you some info about these new or additional or emerging, depending on the real status of the sport and what's playing how these different words actually matter and are actually different when it comes to additional sports in the Olympics.
And to start that conversation, I think it is fair for us to have a little background info about Olympics.
Because personally, I am not a super hardcore sport fan.
Let's just get that out there right away.
Right away, I don't know much.
But I don't know if it's fate or if it's just destined to be.
I have covered several Olympics related events, including the Winter Olympics in Beijing, as well as the Paralympics.
I've had this fair share of personal and work-related experience related to this very special and very grand ceremony.
Basically, it's a sport carnival, which is why I prepared a little fun Olympic trivia for the both of you.
Who's going to win? Who's going to win?
And I did have a very specific question and additional point planned for you, Steve.
It has something to do with Beijing-related Olympic knowledge.
I feel like you shouldn't know.
Okay. So let's start with the very, very simple ones.
Where did the Olympics originate?
Steve. Do we say our names first?
I don't know. Steve. Steve, go ahead.
Greece. Okay. Additional point for the time.
1896. Actually, the first Olympics were held in Greece in 776 BC.
But the first official Martin?
Yes. Yes. What? The time that you said.
1896. 1896. 1896. It does go back further than, actually, it goes back a lot further to the year 700-something.
Yes. 776 BC. But yes, one point for Steve.
Sorry for being so quiet.
I didn't even realize the game is on.
Listen, you can justify your failure.
I was thinking, are we just answering the question, or I'm waiting Steve for answer?
Of course, anyway. Yeah, let's just keep going.
You know it's crazy, right?
I'll, I believe you, because this is kind of like giving you the point kind of question.
But yes, Greece. And following Athens, Paris was the next city to host the Olympics in 1900.
Since then, and including 2024, how many times has Paris hosted the Olympics?
Two times. And Steve, do you have an answer?
You said the year 1900 was one.
This year will be two. And I think there was a third one.
So I'm going to say three.
Quick and smart guess, because there is a third one, and it is in 1924.
So for Paris, maybe- Do you want to make an excuse for this time too?
No. Okay. Just random guess.
Oh, in that case, you shouldn't.
Here is the third question, because I'm going to give the fourth question directly to Steve.
So the third question is for you.
And I think you can get it.
What is the Olympics official model?
Oh no. I'm not pretty sure that- No, I'm not sure.
I think, oh no, is the official Olympics model.
No, no, they're all four parts.
The right order of all of these four models.
So, faster, higher. Oh no.
Isn't that a deaf punk song?
You know the other two, yes you do.
Go ahead. Faster, higher, stronger, and together.
Yay! Yay yay! What flavor you should.
I didn't know that at all.
Oh really? I've never heard that before.
Well, actually originally it was faster, higher, and stronger, and then together was added onto the first three part, because apparently that is part of the Olympic spirit.
It's something very important, and we can all share and celebrate.
So yeah, it is precisely faster, higher, stronger, and together.
Yay, well done, you shouldn't.
And now, first, Steve, how many Olympics has Beijing hosted and when?
2008. 2008, that's the Summer Olympics.
Yeah. You said you covered the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Yes. And I was going to stop you and say, wait, wasn't that a Summer Olympics?
But then I thought, oh wait, no, of course you would know better than I.
But when were the Winter Olympics in Beijing?
Not after 2008, it would have been before.
It's actually after 2008.
It's really? And you shouldn't go ahead.
Would you do the honor? Yeah, of course.
And we have the name of Beijing 2022, like I said.
Oh my gosh, now that you say that, you know, I remember all the cool looking infrastructure that was developed, the ice rink, the skating rink was particularly amazing.
Yeah, I haven't gotten a chance to go see those buildings yet in Beijing, but I really, really want to.
I'm a bit ashamed that I forgot about the 2022 Winter Olympics.
No worries. Actually, the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing was a huge success as well with all the new stadiums and the reused ones.
And after that, we had had this quite, I feel like winter sports, or snow and ice sports frenzy here in China, not only in Beijing, more people have seen the beauty and excitement and the charm of these different sports and started to be a fan and practice it and watch it and have fun.
That's what happens, right?
When these wonderful sports get the exposure that they deserve and people watch it on TV, they learn about the sport, then they start to become interested and they start to learn it themselves.
Yes, that's why we're super excited.
And we are giving you some information you might know or you might not about the upcoming Olympics.
And the next question is, why do we have the Olympic torch?
Anybody? My silence suggests confidence no.
To relay the spirit of Olympics.
Actually, it's really, really close.
It is a reminder of the game's Greek origins.
So in ancient times, a flame burned throughout the games are a tribute to the goddess.
Since 1928, the tradition has continued in the modern Olympics, but instead of an older, the flame burns in a special torch.
Wow. Yes, and there is a little, how do I say, cro-annicked note about it.
The reason that no living pigeons were released on the Olympic opening ceremony was because there has been this accident in 1988 in Seoul that we've seen the accident of these lovely birds being grilled on site.
Why are you into the flame?
Yes, directly into the flame.
That is why we do not see any live animals featured in the opening ceremonies where I had least near the torch.
But nevertheless, I think in the future, when the torch, or maybe when the torches are lit by electronic devices, it did it all turn.
We have to keep at least some traditions, don't we?
Or you can try digital torch in certain parts of the relay ceremonies.
Nevertheless, maybe you can bring the pigeons back, you never know.
And the last question is, the Olympic symbol was designed to include everyone.
You see the five different color circles, and the Olympic rings were first produced in 1913 from a design created by the game's modern founder, and who is the modern founder of the Olympic?
Oh my gosh. I thought you were going to ask about the colors of the rings, and I was like, yes, thinking about it, right?
Who was the founder of the Olympics?
We also call him the father of the modern Olympics, Pierre de Coupartin.
Yay! The only reason I know that is because a few days ago, you came to me and you said, steam, how do I pronounce this guy's last name?
So I put two and two together, and here we are, Pierre de Coupartin, the founder of the modern Olympics.
Modern Dail Olympics, wow.
Yes, and that little trivia has also something to do with the fact that CGTM Radio is producing a series of short videos, introducing some traditional Chinese sports.
And they are using this very fun idea of introducing Coupartin into these ancient time Chinese arenas, having him experiencing the traditional Chinese sports.
So introducing you the real roles of these sports and how you play them and how they are quite unique and also popular throughout thousands of years here in China.
Really cool idea. So look forward to that little series of animation.
And I think now we are on the same page that we do not know that much about the Olympics.
Yet we do want to prepare ourselves for this grand ceremony for this grand party.
So my next question is towards you shouldn't actually.
We talked about that today we are going to discuss how calm there are some emerging new sports, new events in the Olympics.
So why don't we say these are new sports?
Why are we saying these are additional sports precisely?
First of all, there are some sports that are totally new and also there are some new events that is under the category of existed sports.
So there are some new sports and there are some additional sports.
And first of all, we need to know that this sport need to be recognized as a sport to be added into the Olympics.
So New Homeland walking really slowly home is not a sport.
Of course. Well for you.
It's so hard on yourself.
Yeah, the process of becoming us an Olympic sport is kind of a, it's a bit of a complicated one, isn't it?
Yeah. First of all, as I said, it needs to be recognized as a sport by the IOC International Olympic Committee.
The sport must first be governed by an international federation that is recognized by the IOC.
And then the IF or international federation must confirm to the Olympic charter and world anti-doping code and other IOC regulations.
And then with all of these evaluation and proposals and with the full IOC membership votes on the proposed sports during an IOC session.
And another, I think, interesting fact is that every year the whole city can actually give some special proposals to propose a specific sports that is only available in this year's Olympic limited edition.
Specific to the host country.
Yes. And then with the final approval, the IOC executive board reviews the organizing committees for the Olympic Games, proposals and submits them to the IOC session for a final vote.
Very long list of criteria before things finally get approved, right?
How many sports are we looking at in the Olympics this time?
Yeah. As New Orleans said, totally we are featuring Paris 24 will feature 32 sports with 329 events and a total of 10,500 athletes competing.
That's impressive. That's very impressive.
I think the first Olympics, well, not the year 770 something that you mentioned, but 1896 it had.
I think it was at nine total sports, nine total sports at that time, athletics, which was track and field cycling, swimming, gymnastics, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, shooting, and tennis.
I was doing some reading about it.
Swimming was pretty intense, actually, because what they did, they had a 100 meter event and a 1200 meter event and it was a Hungarian swimmer who won both.
And for the 1200 meter event, what they did was the swimmers were taken out to see 1200 meters away from the shore, I presume, and then told to swim back.
So instead of swim for the metal, swim for your life, the guy's name who won, his name was Alfred Hayos, if I'm saying that correctly, you just hit the nail on the head.
He said, quote, my will to live completely overcame my desire to win.
That's from olympics.com.
That's from the official olympics website.
So different motivations, perhaps in 1896, but the athletes this year, 10,500 will all still have that passion to take home the gold.
Yes. And it was during my coverage of the winter olympics that I learned that sports is kind of like the sport that you can actually recognize.
For example, swimming is one sport and one that comes to discipline.
Maybe we're talking about different styles of the swimming.
You can use different strokes and when it comes to the actual events, we're talking about how many people are swimming.
For example, it's men's 200 meters or if it's a relay of four people.
So those are the actual events.
And when it comes to the additional sport, sometimes it's a sport, sometimes it's a event into one certain discipline.
So we get to see that throughout these years, there have been this additional sports slowly added into the Olympic Games, giving us more things to appreciate, to have fun with and being able to talk about all the additional ones this year is something that Ranteba wanted to do and give you a insight or at least a preview of what you can actually enjoy for this amazing summer.
Some of the sports we're going to be enjoying watching this year, some sports will be missing as well.
Baseball is not going to be in the Olympics this time, karate is not going to be.
Baseball has kind of a, I don't know how you would define the relationship with the Olympics, but the issue they say has to do with the timing of the baseball season.
We are now in the middle of Major League Baseball's official season.
So if Major League Baseball players came to their, came to the Olympics to play for their countries, it would have to either number one disrupt the season in the sense that the players wouldn't be with their official teams or number two, they'd have to pause the season so the players could come and play for the Olympics and then go back and the owners of the teams don't really want to do that.
So baseball not going to be in your Olympic card this time around.
And also there, because there are some rules on how a sports is recognized as Olympic sport.
And there is a rule that including bends on purely mind sports or sports that dependant on mechanical devices or just motorized.
Yes, and chess, of course.
So these, both of these sports are not recognized sports as Olympic sports.
But with that said, we do have some exciting additions this time around too.
Definitely. For today's episode, actually we're talking about this special Olympic event.
It is an Olympic event that combines speed, agility and the role power of nature.
It has a fascinating history, some unique rules, and is definitely making waves among young athletes.
You should please lead the way and help me peddle through the adventures and triumphs of this special sport.
I think what we're talking about is the sport called kayak cross.
Yay. And actually, this is one of the events under the category of canoe slalom.
And actually canoe and kayak are two different types of boat that have been used in the competition of canoe slalom.
Under the disciplines of canoe slalom, both men and women will compete in the kayak and canoe, single and also kayak cross.
And especially kayak cross is a very exciting new Olympic event, making its debut at the Paris 2024.
And as part of the canoe, slalom disciplines.
So kayak events are going to be team or are they going to be single events like single athletes competing?
And how many different disciplines are we looking at here?
So basically, there are going to be four contestants competing for one round of kayak cross.
And under the disciplines of canoe slalom, there are men's kayak single, women's kayak single, men's canoe single, women's canoe single, and then men's kayak cross and women's kayak cross.
What's the difference between the canoe events and the kayak events?
Yeah. Of course, we know that these are two different types of boats.
And then there will be different ways of competing.
So both canoe and kayak races feature on the Olympic Games program and each with its own specific rules.
Canoists kneel in the boat and use a single blade paddle on one side at a time, whereas kayakers are seated and use a double-bladed paddle.
Basically, you use different types of boats and then use different types of paddles to compete in the game.
Yes. And for this special sport, actually, we have steel water ones and wide water ones.
You can compete only with your fellow athletes or you can compete with the nature and see where the water will take you to.
It's a very exciting sport.
It could be artificial white water though.
It's still. It could. It's still fun to watch.
And talking about events that don't make it into the Olympics chest, just because you mentioned it.
One of the things that they look for, the Olympic Committee looks for, is excitement factor for the audience.
And chest doesn't have the highest excitement factor in the world if you're watching it.
But white water, kayaking or canoeing, these are things that audiences will want to watch on TV.
That's probably part of the reasoning for adding it to this year's Olympics.
I think so. Especially when we have the addition of the four-person kayak cross racing and competing.
And I think it is making the whole event even more competitive.
And that's why it is more attractive to you, a lot of these audience.
Yes. And for host cities, they can actually, of course, after very strict and serious research, decide where to actually host to these different events.
They can find their very famous and great rivers and lakes, making sure that while the audience are enjoying the events, they can also, you know, might have an interest, take an interest into the history of this very important historic sites, or maybe want to learn a little more about this place.
And when it comes to the subject of kayak and canoe, actually I want to add a little more about this thing I was reading that is Dragon Boat Racing will be featured as a demonstration sport at the Paris Olympic Games.
Very cool. Very cool, because it's one of the most iconic and widespread costumes to mark the Duan Wu Festival, or Dragon Boat Festival.
It is a sport that is quite popular in China and has gained a lot of popularity not only among the boaters, but also audiences, because we've seen that during the Duan Wu Festival period of time, there are many very fierce competitions of Dragon Boat in the mainling southern part of China, because there are more rivers and the tradition of Dragon Boat Racing was more widely accepted and welcomed there.
And one very interesting thing is that the ICF Dragon Boat World Cup is scheduled to take place in Ziguai County, Central China's Hubei Province this October, and the first international supercup of canoe and kayak will be held in Hangzhou, East China's Zhoujiang Province this October as well.
So if you've seen the Summer Olympics in Paris and if you've enjoyed the kayak cross, as well as all the kayak and canoe sports disciplines events, you can look forward to the supercup coming later.
Sounds really exciting.
And more sports on the way.
I'll take that in. And it feels like when I was watching some kind of videos of canoe and kayak sports and also alongside with the Dragon Boat Racing, it feels like they are quite similar to each other.
And maybe in the future with some changes or development, we may be able to see the combination of maybe traditional Dragon Boat sports with kayak or canoe sports.
Yes. When it comes to adding a new sport or a new event into the Olympics, we consider a lot of different effects.
And I think the preserving and promoting of tradition of culture is definitely one.
And in the meantime, we also want to add some very innovative and very, the kind of sports that are popular among the young people and among the generation C or even people born after that generation into the Olympics.
Sure. For sure to include and to attract more young audience and in the future episodes, we will talk about some of those sports as well.
