Pole dancing and Poker are on the verge of becoming Olympic Sports after gaining recognition from an international sport body for the first time.
Both activities were given the “observer status” implying that they are now provisionally recognised as Sports according to the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).
“This is an exciting time for them and for us and we will do everything within our remit to help them realise their full potential as International Federations within the global sport’s family and, one day, maybe become part of the Olympic programme.
“The new sports debuting at Tokyo 2020 and at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics are evidence that the pathway is there,” GAISF President Patrick Baumann said.
Pole dancing competition is currently being held in a number of Nations and a Pole Sports Championship was first held in 2012.
“I feel like we have achieved the impossible, everyone told us that we would not be able to get pole dancing recognised as a sport,” International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF) President Katie Coates who has led the campaign for 11 years said.
Pole, as the IPSF prefers to call it, is an athletic acrobatic sport that is performed or carried out on a vertical pole.
She added that the pole dancing is about “athleticism and technical merit” as other Olympic Standard Sports like gymnastics, diving and ice skating.
Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised on how much it should and would be separated from its origins as it is closely associated with strip clubs and erotic elements.
Leah Rose Clarke, owner of a pole dance studio, Chrome Roses Pole dancing Studio has said “Anything that is going to grow interest in pole dancing is great.
“But then I’m very aware of the roots of it and do not want to lose the authenticity of it and I don’t want people to think they have to be ridiculously fit to start.
“It came from strip clubs and it was powerful women that first started it while dancing in clubs.
“I understand that to make it to the Olympics it needs to be distanced from this but I don’t think we should disregard it because that’s where it came from.”
She has gone on to win two national titles in the sport and now judges competitions across the country.
She was a Miss Pole Dance finalist in 2014 and 2015.
There are three major criteria to be met before a sport can be recognised and eligible for the Olympics.
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It must be signed up to the World Anti-Doping Agency
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It must be a full member of the GAISF
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It must have 50 national federation
Presently the IPSF has signed up to the Anti-Doping Agency, its already recognised by the GAISF and currently active in up to 20 countries.
About Pole
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The World Pole Sports Championships is in its sixth year.
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Judging is split into four categories: flow; compulsory moves; creativity and deductions
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There are 11 required moves in a pole dance, but points are awarded for creative ways of linking them
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46 pole dancers competed at the first Worlds in 2012; there were 229 in 2017
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Five men competed at the first Worlds in 2012; there were 40 in 2017
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All but three pole sport federations are run by women
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3,000 athletes compete at pole sports during a yearly cycle
Pole’s authorities argue that it is not only a sport, but that it is a sport appropriate for all ages and audiences. The IPSF runs competitions for ages from 10 to 65.
