eSports
Charlie Fripp, ESPN 6y

Olympic Committee: eSports "could be considered" an actual sport

esports

The International Olympic Committee has been mulling the idea for some time that esports could eventually be included in the Olympic Games at some point.

Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee told the South China Morning Post that while he is open to the idea of including esports, it has to be on a non-violent level.

But over the weekend it seemed that more members are opening up to the inclusion of competitive video games.

In an official memo from the 6th Olympic Summit, held in Lausanne, Switzerland, a number of topics which are important to the future of the Olympic Movement were discussed - including esports.

According to the memo, "eSports are showing strong growth, especially within the youth demographic across different countries, and can provide a platform for engagement with the Olympic Movement."

As close to as we will ever come to esports being recognised as an actual sport, the memo from the Olympic Summit stops short of actually doing so.

"Competitive eSports could be considered as a sporting activity, and the players involved prepare and train with an intensity which may be comparable to athletes in traditional sports."

The rest of memo reiterates previous statements, in that the games being played should be violent in nature (so no Mortal Kombat or CSGO), and that the industry should be regulated to ensure compliance with the rules and regulations of the Olympic Movement.

While it's not much, at least now everybody in esports know what goals need to be met in order to be considered an actual sport and be included in the Olympic Games

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