Thousands of members in the growing number of international and national organizations of pole dancers say their time has come (no pun intended).
Squash and cricket, long established activities, remain out of the exclusive Olympic club. Baseball and softball too are out, having recently been removed, primarily because of a lack of credible contenders. Seriously, if you are not in just four nations (the US, Cuba, Dominican Republic or Japan), would you even recognize a baseball bat if you held it in your hands? Still, equestrian events are an Olympics mainstay, but who do you know actually owns a horse? In fact, for most nations participating in the Olympics, a horse is food, like a cow or a pig, only bigger and faster.
Whatever your view, in terms of raw physical exertion, one pole dancing session burns about 400 calories an hour. Compare that with Curling which can’t possibly burn that much in total – for the entire team – during the entire Olympic competition. By the way … just how did Curling become an Olympic “sport”?
Still, many hard questions remain before a serious bid for the sport of Pole Dancing to be considered as an entry for the next Olympics. For instance, will the performers be barefoot or in Stilettos? Will there be a score for sexiness? Will this be a womens only sport (like synchronized “swimming”) or will men also compete (ouch)? Will there be a pairs competition and, if so, will it be a mixed pair or same gender? Would there be red-tinted lighten? All valid questions.
