The Olympics is an event that is watched by about 3 billion people every year. The Paris Olympics 2028 has added five sports, baseball/softball, lacrosse, cricket, squash, and flag football. The Olympics started in Olympia, Southern Greece in 776 B.C.E. People originally attended the Olympics to worship gods, specifically Zeus who is the king of all gods. Early Greece was divided into city-states, so they were often at war. However, they made a truce to compete in the Olympics. The people that were allowed to be in the Olympics were men, they were also chosen to compete.
One of the new sports added to the 2028 Olympics is baseball/softball. Baseball is played on a diamond-shaped circuit with four bases. There are two teams of nine playing; this sport is also popular in the US, Canada, Latin America, and East Asia. The items you need to play to play baseball are a baseball, a bat, and a pair of gloves. The teams take turns in offense, in offense, they participate in baserunning and batting. On defense, they work on pitching, and they are on the field. There are a total of nine innings. The rules apply to softball and baseball. The only thing that is different about softball is that it is a modified version of baseball, a smaller field, a larger ball, seven innings, and the pitching is underarm. This is changing the Olympics because there are about 500 million people worldwide who are fans of baseball. Sadie Meyer, a junior said this about softball “I love softball and I think it is super fun, and every time I go to practice I have a blast.”Adding baseball to the Olympics can bring a new group of people to follow and watch the games.
Another sport coming to the Los Angeles Olympics is lacrosse, boys and girls. Lacrosse originated with the indigenous people of North America. To play this sport, you need a ball which is small and made out of rubber and a lacrosse stick. There are two teams of ten people on the field at a time. The stick for boys has a pocket, and the stick for girls has little to no pocket. People use the stick to pick up, carry, throw, catch, and shoot the ball. Each goal is worth one point, and the goal is to outshoot the other team. I asked a lacrosse player at Lafayette what she thinks about lacrosse. Julia Finley, a sophomore responded, “This is my first year playing, I love it and it is super fun. I think it is a great sport for new athletes, it also is a great way to make friends. ”Lacrosse is the fastest-growing varsity sport right now, with lacrosse being added to the Olympics, it can bring even more people.
The third sport is cricket, to play cricket, you need a bat and a ball. The first cricket team was referenced in 1611, there were two teams of 11. Cricket is played on an oval field. There is attack and defense; the attack’s job is to score runs that get goals. The defense’s job is to bowl and field the ball to prevent the other team from scoring. Cricket is popular in former British colonies like India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Australia. The Olympics can make other countries more aware and potentially bring more people to play it.
The fourth sport that was added is squash; this sport is on a court that is 9.75 meters long and 6.4 meters wide. To play, you need a ball and racket; the ball must hit the front wall. The opponent must hit the ball before the second bounce, and you can hit it as soon as the ball is in play. All players can use all of the court after the serve is over. All shots must be below the line, and if it hits the line, it is out. Squash is not crazily popular. Only about 20 million people play it. With squash being in the Olympic games, it can shine more light on squash.
The last sport is flag football, there is a kickoff after every score and halftime. Players can kick, carry, and throw the ball upfield. A defender can knock down a pass in the air and if a player has gone out of bounds or has their flag pulled the ball is then dead. There are two teams of five to eight players. The field is 60-80 yards long and 20-30 yards wide. Flag football is getting added to the Olympics, this can bring more attention to the sport and allow kids to potentially play.
The Olympics have five rings and they stand for the five inhabited continents of the world, Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Oceanic. The rings also symbolize the union of the five continents. All of the games mentioned will be included in the Paris 2028 Olympics.
