The Road to the Olympic Games

For the past 10 days, the 2016 Summer Olympic Games have been well underway in the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Every 4 years, for 16 days, the world unites in the name of sport, as every nation sends their top athletes to compete for gold in their events. While many sports are included in the Olympic event schedule, some fan favorites are left out. Roller sports, specifically inline speed skating, have been recognized by the International Olympic Committee as a potential sport, however, they have never made it to the official roster. For decades, the roller skating community has fought for the chance to get their favorite sport onto an Olympic field, but with no success. Although roller skating has yet to make its Olympic debut, the opportunity still exists! At Sparkles in Kennesaw, we are all about supporting our favorite pastime, so we did some research to find out what criteria needed to be met for roller skating to be considered an Olympic sport.

1. A candidate must apply anti-doping measures outside of competition to be eligible for consideration. They must follow established and recognized regulations set by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
2. The sport must be organized into an international federation that can apply for contention on behalf of the sport.
3. If both of these things are met, the sport must have a certain number of participants in a variety of countries.
4. Ranked events must be observed.
5. The sport must hold championships on an international level outside of the Olympics.
6. The sport must involve a physical means of propulsion, not mechanical.

If and when all of these points are met, then the IOC will vote on whether or not the sport will be recognized as an Olympic event. With persistent lobbying and with the passion of the athletes supporting the sport, hopefully we can see our favorite pastime make it to the Olympic games!

You never know, the next gold medalist for Olympic roller skating could come from Cobb County and have gotten their start on the rink at Sparkles Family Fun Center!