I was once again listening to sports talk radio the other day, and the hosts were discussing what could be done to save the Olympics. Viewership is way down, and it doesn’t seem to carry the same excitement that it did 20 years ago.
I think there are a few things that could be done, and one is to eliminate sports that perhaps should not be in the Olympics (sorry, artistic swimming) and perhaps look for new ones.
Well, I just discovered a sport that is entertaining to watch and looks like it requires incredible athletic skill.
The name of the sport is Sepak Takraw, and it is a blend of volleyball and soccer. In fact, another name for the sport is kick volleyball.
Here is a description and other excerpts from Wikipedia:
Sepak Takraw is a team sport played with a rattan (synthetic plastic ball) between two teams of two to four players on a court resembling a badminton court. It shares similarities to volleyball and footvolley with its use of a rattan ball and allowing players to use only their feet, knees, shoulders, chest and head to touch the ball. At a first glance, Sepak Takraw appears to be a mixture of volleyball (since there is use of a net) and soccer (players use their feet).
In Myanmar, sepak takraw is known as “chinlone”. Chinlone has played a prominent role in Myanmar for about 1,500 years!
In the beginning, Sepak Takraw wasn’t meant to be a competitive game. Instead, it was a casual game with an emphasis on physical activity. The game acts as an exercise to improve dexterity and loosen the limbs after long periods of sitting, standing, or working.
International play is now governed by ISTAF, the International Sepak Takraw Federation. Major competitions for the sport such as the ISTAF SuperSeries, the ISTAF World Cup, and the King’s Cup World Championships are held every year.
Sepak takraw is now a regular sport event in the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games, with Thailand having won the most medals for the event.
It seems like it’s time to spread this game to the rest of the world.
Here’s a brief video clip of a game in action; the athleticism is incredible.
If the TV show Wide World of Sports were still on today, this is the sort of sport that it would feature. I miss that show…
*image from Nikkei Asia
Yeah, I couldn’t have played this when I was young.
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I’d watch one of these games if it were on tv…
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This would be a fun sport to watch. Definitely better than watching Curling. Sorry, but how that sport made it to the Olympics I don’t know.
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it’s beyond me as well…
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Who would have thought that shuffleboard would be an Olympic sport. Arthur plays that. Arthur could curl!
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now if there was real shuffleboard, I’d try out for the team…
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That could be your first gold medal. 🙂
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and hopefully the start of many… 🙂
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Hey, I like curling.An olympic sport you can just about drink a beer while playing.
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Maybe they need to see if they can balance a glass of beer on their head while playing. That might add to the “excitement” of the game. 😄
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then the players would have to adjust to the spilled beer on the playing surface. Would add a whole new level of strategy to the game… 🙂
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Exactly! The Olympic Committee really should consult me for advice.
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hot coffee would make it even more interesting… 🙂
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But you don’t want to wasts coffee by spilling it!
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maybe iced coffee… 🙂
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Iced coffee is very good! Don’t want to waste that either. 🙂
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I admire your sustainability efforts…
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You should! LOL!
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🙂
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it seems like it would be fun to play, but it certainly doesn’t scream “athletic” when I watch it…
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Maybe combine it with the shotput so they have to hurl the stones instead of sliding them.
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They could see how many people they may knock out by hurling them.
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Maybe there could be a different kind of hurling in the olympics as well.
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I probably shouldn’t ask what you mean.
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😂
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Your kind of hurling may require people to wear full body armor.
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You could try out for the coffee cup toss
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With all the practice I have had I would get a gold medal for sure! Look up!
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More like malpractice if you ask me.
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Heyyy! Are you ducking?
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I decided to pelican today
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😶🤚!
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three cheers for Jason, he got the head smack!
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No cheers needed! 😛
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🙂
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😂👍
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🙂
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🙂
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coffee included?
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🙂
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people might watch that…
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and give players the chance to block those throws – that would add some excitement – and injuries
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Incredible athleticism! I would watch this for sure. I have to imagine their careers would be short. Also, I wonder if they have a fourth member to substitute during the games.
This was probably the least amount of the Olympics I’ve ever watched, though I prefer the Summer Olympics over the Winter Olympics.
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it does seem like tht sport would take a toll on your body.
and I was the same way, I watched very little of this year’s Olympics, but I am much more of a summer Olympics as well…
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Fuuuuuun! The hacky sack craze has evolved in to this!
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hacky sack on steriods!
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I have never watched the Olympics, Jim. My son said the viewing ratings were way down this year. I’ve noticed my husband, whose always watched in the past, hasn’t this year. I haven’t asked him why.
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part of it may be that it is so easy to get updates on our phones the minute someone wins a gold medal, that it might hurt viewership…
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So basically no hand foot-volley ball. This will be interesting to watch because I can’t play either haha and it’ll be entertaining to see how high a person can jump with their legs in the sky to kick a ball. I’ve also never heard of artistic swimming. I only watched Olympics in the past for the athletics sports mostly running.
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it does look like a challenging game. artistic swimming is what used to be known as synchronized swimming. My favorite sport to watch has always been swimming…
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I love this sport. The pace, the athleticism, the acrobatics are all smashingly entertaining. As usual, these professionals make it look easy, but I can assure you none of those skills are. I would be all for this replacing any number of other less athletic sports currently in the Olympics. Thanks for sharing, Jim!
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my thoughts exactly!
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I’d watch this, it’s far better than things like gymnastics. But only if it didn’t have American commentators – sorry, but the guys on that video are enough to turn anyone off! The comparison with curling is pointless, too – different Olympics. I can’t see this game being played on ice or in snow. And anyway, removing curling would take out the only sport in which we won medals!
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I agree, those commenters were pretty bad, but they were entertaining…
and as for curling, it’s just hard to imagine why it is an Olympic sport…
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The word for them that came to my mind was ‘nauseating!’
And as for curling, why not? The US had teams there, but I guess it needs loads of money and tv coverage thrown at it before interest rises. Either that or play it better 😉
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curling just doesn’t scream “athletic”…
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Maybe not, but I think it deserves its place as much as, say, equestrian events, where basically someone sits down and lets the horse do all the work. And take out curling and we have no medals!
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don’t get me started on equestrian events…
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I love the sportscaster’s blue language, when describing the game. That’s better than the Wide World of Sports. Just once I’d like to hear a football announcer holler some invectives when the visiting team gets a touchdown.
What a crazy sport, though. I wonder how many players get accidentally kicked in the teeth by their teammates? I think you’d have to be made out of rubber to play this game without being injured.
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there are some amazing moves made by the players, and if you avoid getting kicked in the mouth, my guess is the ball might get kicked in your face on occasion. and it was fun to listen to those guys, but as you point out, I doubt if we would ever hear that on live TV…
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I’d never play that game, but I might get a kick out of watching it.
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I’d like to see a team of Sepak Takraw players against a volleyball team, each playing their own way…
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I’ll bet the volleyball players would win.
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it would be fun to watch…
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I would love to watch this and no way I could ever move like that, so I would be in awe of every move
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This looks like a lot of work. I might watch a game, butI will be too exhausted to watch more than one. In fact, the one that I just watched may be it.
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it is quite intense…
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Wow, that’s really something else!
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👍
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Wow, what an interesting sport. Genuinely never heard of it before, but looks really cool and wouldn’t mind trying (and more likely failing) it!
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it seems like it would take a lot of work just to be able to play, let aloe be good at it…
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I’d watch it! Great combination.
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I agree!
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Very interesting! Certainly not a sport I could compete in, or even play in!!!
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even in my twenties, this is a sport I would never even attempt…
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I agree!
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👍
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This looks like a good Olympic sport indeed. I watch very little sport, other than rugby, cricket and motor sport. But we did watch the men’s final of the Australian open.
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I hope to start watching cricket, but first I have to learn how the game is played…
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Yea, I like sports in which I can get invested. Synchronized jumps into the pool are a wow factor but they last a second and I find myself changing the channel. Soccer volleyball is great!
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yes, this is a bit more exciting than the artistic swimming…
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Never heard of this sport but the thing that made me laugh was your dig for artistic swimming LOL i’m not a swimming nor do I have any ties to swimming but I felt that for the artful swimmers LOL but also true… I prefer the winter Olympics as well..
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there’s no doubt artisitic swimming takes a lot of practice, but so do ballet and playing a musical instrument. I don’t think I would want to see those two skills in the Olympics… 🙂
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Well, now you’ve got my vote. It looks tricky but fun. If curling can make it, so can this!
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that’s how I think of it. relative to many sports, this appears to be more athletic, which is what the Olympcs are supposed to celebrate…
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