Beck Beal
https://doi.org/10.5406/26396025.4.2.06
Searching for Relevance: The Olympic Games and Action Sports. A Review Essay of Belinda Wheaton and Holly Thorpe, Action Sports and the Olympic Games: Past, Present, Future
Searching for Relevance: The Olympic Games and Action Sports. A Review Essay of Belinda Wheaton and Holly Thorpe, Action Sports and the Olympic Games: Past, Present, Future.
Abstract
Thomas Bach, the current International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, has been a proponent of “updating” the Olympics. His stewardship of Agenda 2020 has placed an emphasis on reaching a new demographic: “I am delighted that Olympic Games in Tokyo will be more youthful, more urban and will include more women” (77). Action Sports and the Olympic Games investigates how the IOC’s inclusion of action sports was used to meet the objective of reaching those audiences. In turn, it examines the response to these efforts by different stakeholders within the action sports communities.
To be transparent, I have known the authors for many years as we all share an interest in the social-political dynamics of action sports (these include sports that were historically grounded in a more artistic and participant-driven activity such as surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding). Additionally, I have a high regard for their work as it is always thoroughly…