Posted on 07/20/2016 6:21:27 PM PDT by NRx
There is far more to it than two armoured horse riders hurtling towards each other with 12ft lances. Jousting demands levels of athleticism, agility and equestrianism that make it an ideal candidate for the Olympics, English Heritage argues.
The organisation has launched a campaign to get jousting recognised as an Olympic sport in time for Tokyo 2020.
“We are being deadly serious,” said Lucy Hutchings, English Heritage’s head of projects. “It is an incredible spectator sport, a really fascinating thing to watch. The skill of the knight and the horses make it a great thing to witness … we absolutely believe it deserves its place at the Olympic table.”
English Heritage has held preliminary talks with the International Olympic Committee and the Fédération Equestre Internationale, and on Thursday it launches an online petition.
Hutchings said the IOC was in the process of making the Olympic programme more flexible and bringing in a rule that allowed the host nation to make its own proposals for additional events.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Awesome!
The U.S. could field a good jousting team, just gather up the various practicioners you might find at medieval and renaissance fairs, and campus groups that practice it.
I agree. If they had something like that in the Olympics, I’d probably actually watch.
Won’t happen. It will be deemed cruel and dangerous for the horses.
Jousting or Soccer?
Jousting.
Jousting or Women’s Softball?
Jousting.
Inevitably, this will lead to allowing bull fighting,cock fighting and camel fighting
I disagree. The horses are not the targets.
You might be a redneck if...
That would be good.
Bull fighting and cock fighting already have huge fan bases, much more so than most Olympic sports. Cock fighting may be a bit of the problem as none of the participants are actually human, but that may be a quibble.
I’m not sure about camel fighting, that seems a bit of a novelty, but I’d be fine with giving it a try.
A very popular sport from England to Hungary.
And the modern popularity of HEMA (Historic European Martial Arts) from the US to Russia makes it an interesting contender.
Before that though I expect a HEMA sport to come up - HEMA Longsword in fencing maybe. They might throw in Kendo for non-Euro balance.
Jousting is the state sport of Maryland.
Cant miss TV. It would immediately become my favorite Olympic event.
Honestly if I saw someone riding at full gallop towards me with a pointy stick and dressed like that, I’d probably have to change my pants. Even after I emptied my Ruger GP 100 into him.
Well, the Crusaders did it, quite well. Maybe we could a few Muzzies to run into the horsie?
MMA would be bigger.
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