Windsurfing Inclusion In Olympics

Boardsailing is a sailing category that is yet to be included as an Olympic event. Many are pitching hard for the inclusion of the same in the reviews that are being held after the conclusion of the Rio 2016 Olympics. There are certain factors that are considered in order to include a certain sports category, affordability and access being two principal factors that also define international participation on a broad scale.

At the 2016 Olympic event the board sailor was given their own venue. It was a beach area with palm trees and was a grassy patch where the sailors gathered who were like athletes. Board sailors are not yacht sailors and they are more lifestyle oriented, akin to beach volleyball players. While beach volleyball games get full stadiums in Rio, even the boardsailing event gained a lot of attention. The racing not only looked great when it was aired, but also drew large crowds to witness the races as well.

After the 2016 Rio games, the review boards usually consider all the factors that surround the different games, especially the new ones and decide whether these should be included in the forthcoming Olympic Games. The ten events in board sailing have been approved and would be included in the 2020 Games that would be held in Tokyo. World Sailing would be reviewing the events for the next Olympic Games to be held in 2024. They would look into the changes in requirements of board sailing and how the participation and evaluation parameters should be. Though windsurfing has been part of the Olympic Games from 1984, the selection criteria keep changing as equipment keeps changing that also affect the parameters of the games and the guidelines to be set for the competitors and the suppliers of equipment for the games.