Once the Paris Olympics are over, our attention will turn to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. One of the big questions about this event is whether the return of the games to LA will lead to the introduction of new sports for us to enjoy.
Lacrosse and Other Local Sports Being Considered
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) always aims to raise local interest levels by including sports that are popular where the games take place. Several games have been proposed for LA, with lacrosse one of the most intriguing. This game was originally played by Native Americans with up to a thousand players on each side before European settlers changed the rules. It was played as a demonstration event at several Olympics in the 20th century and is set to be included in 2028 as an optional sport. Given the location of LA and its history as a former frontier town, can we also expect to see sports that were once popular in the Wild West included?
Horse riding, roping, and shooting were among the leisure activities enjoyed here in the past. Popular Western movies include glimpses of some of these sports, while the Wanted Dead or a Wild slot shows us other images of this period. The use of guns, train robberies, and bandits remind us of the lawless nature of the American Frontier. The symbols and the duelling feature focus on the gunslinging ability of cowboys, but rodeo events helped make the likes of Bill Pickett into the equivalent of modern sports stars.
Three of the Recently Introduced Sports to Continue
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics saw the introduction of surfing, sport climbing, and skateboarding. After successfully making their debut in Japan, these sports were also included in the Paris games and have been confirmed by the IOC for 2028 as new permanent sports. Each of these sports is popular in California, so their appearance in the LA Olympics helps add to the local appeal.
Surfing began in Polynesia, with many Western travellers discovering it when they travelled to Hawaii. The first world-famous surfer, Duke Kahanamoku, won a gold medal in swimming at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm and stated his wish that surfing would become an Olympic event. This was the start of a long battle to get it included as an Olympic sport, which finally ended with the Tokyo event.
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New Sports
The Los Angeles 2028 Organizing Committee was given the opportunity to propose five optional sports for 2028. As well as lacrosse, they choose flag football, squash, Twenty20 cricket, and baseball/softball. The IOC has approved those sports and preparations are well underway to get everything in place for the event in LA. Flag football is going to be a new sport for many non-American viewers. This is a version of gridiron football where tackling is removed and player contact is far more limited.
These new sports should help to add more local flavour to the games in LA and may also help to increase their popularity by creating millions of new fans around the planet.
