There are preparations being made for the 2020 Olympics, which is going to be held in Tokyo. This seems to be a big year for them as they've added mixed-gender sports to the games. Normally, the Olympic Games are just men and women, with both genders participating against themselves. Now while there has always been diversity in the different types of games, women have been kept to different standards in terms of participation. Now for the first time, mixed-gender events will be available for certain athletics, for swimming, table tennis and the triathlon, as approved by the IOC. The BBC writes: "IOC president Thomas Bach said the Games will be 'more youthful, more urban and include more women.'" Tokyo will have five more sports than Rio which puts the number of sports to 33.
This is an amazing accomplishment as oftentimes, especially in professional sports, men and women cannot play against each other. They have two completely separate leagues with the leagues of men having more coverage. With the inclusion of mixed-gender sports, it will not only allow for more gender equality within sports, but it will also allow for women to feel more comfortable when participating in sports. This is a new step towards women feeling more included in sports and making the sports world a more comfortable and safe environment for women.
BBC Sport's Alex Capstick states,
“Introducing the likes of skateboarding, sport climbing and BMX freestyle is aimed squarely at building a youthful audience, a constituency it's desperate to attract. Improving gender balance in the Olympics has also been a long stated ambition. It all means at Tokyo 2020 there will be an increase of more than 30 medal events, but the IOC is also tasked with a commitment not to make the Games even more bloated. So there will be fewer athletes. That means some traditional sports have been told to trim their quotas.”
Women are never really seen as having a position in sports. They are expected to join other hobbies and participate in other activities. When you open up sports to a wider audience, it allows the younger generation to see that certain things are possible if you believe. While many may frown upon the fact that there has to be a trim on quotas, by making things open to men and women, it can help for the Olympics to grow later in the years. Although it may seem like we’re taking steps back, it will allow for multiple steps forward later on.
