5 Science Fiction Sports We'd Like To See In The Olympics - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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5 Science Fiction Sports We'd Like To See In The Olympics

Faster - Higher - Stronger - Futuristic.
It might not be a normal Olympics this time round, what with the year's delay and lack of crowds cheering on the athletes, but just like every other iteration of the international sporting competition there are a whole host of weird and wonderful sports that you just don't see broadcast outside of the Olympic Games. So in that regard, when has this contest ever been normal?

Among the new sports making their debut at the 32nd Olympic Games in Tokyo are sports climbing, 3x3 basketball and skateboarding. Did anyone ever think, even just 20 years ago, that skateboarding would one day be an Olympic sport? With that in mind, just think what futuristic sports could perhaps make the cut for the 37th Olympiad in 2040. Perhaps one of these...

Rollerball
First seen on screen in the 1975 science fiction movie, Rollerball is a bit like Roller Derby on speed. The futuristic sport's creator, William Harrison (who wrote the screenplay as an adaption of his own short story, "Roller Ball Murder" which had first appeared in the September 1973 issue of Esquire magazine), has already provided a well established set of rules for the Olympic committee.
  • Rollerball is played by two teams of 10 players each (five skaters, two catchers, and three motorcyclists).
  • The game is played in three 20-minute periods, making for one hour of total playing time.
  • A steel ball is shot into a circular arena (whose "sidelines" for both teams are located in its center). One of the catchers must capture the ball before it rolls into the "gutter", whereupon it is declared a "dead" ball and a new one must be fired.
  • Once a catcher has captured the ball, he passes it to a skater; their team goes on offense and attempts to score a point by placing the ball in the defending team's goal, at one side of the stadium. The defending team attempts to protect their goal or steal the ball.
  • The ball must be held in plain view at all times, or else it is declared "dead" and a new ball is fired.
  • Skaters may latch onto their own team's motorcyclists and be towed to gain momentum.
  • Motorcyclists may attempt to block the opposing team's skaters.
  • Injured players are removed from the field by medics, and are replaced with "substitutes" (that is, fresh players).

Although the arena can be a dangerous place for competitors, Rollerball does have some rules regarding player conduct and fouls...

  • Skaters may use force against each other, but not against motorcyclists.
  • Motorcyclists cannot use force against skaters or each other.
  • Skaters are not permitted to forcibly engage fallen players.
  • Violating any of these three rules is punishable by three minutes out of play for the violator.
  • If the violator's team has possession of the ball, the defending team receives automatic possession and goes on offense.
  • If the violator's team is on defense, the team with possession of the ball automatically scores a point.
I am convinced Rollerball's inclusion in the Olympics is just a matter of time. If the United States of America host the event in 20 years or so and the viewing figures have slowly declined over the years, then surely Rollerball would be a shoe-in for the Olympic stage.
Hoverboarding
If Skateboarding can be an Olympic sport in 2020, then Hoverboarding needs to be come 2040. It would have to be set in its own arena with both hard surface and water obstacles, and if the arena itself is modeled on the Hill Valley Town Square then I would have no problem with that.

Like the street skateboarding contest at Tokyo, competitors would get two 'free runs', with 45 seconds to show off their skills, followed by five single trick attempts; loop-de-loops and manure cart leaping being two potential stunts to pull-off. Marked out of 10 by a team of judges all dressed as 2015 Marty McFly and we have some quality Back To The Future homage on the world's global sporting stage.
Podracing
One of the many sports missing from the modern Olympics is motor racing - although it did feature once in 1900 - and it's unlikely to be included any time soon, but if a country like Dubai host the Olympics at any point in the future then Podracing could be an absolute possibility.

One of the highlights from the Star Wars Prequels, Podracing is a pretty dangerous sport, featuring a one-man craft propelled by large engines (known as a repulsorcraft). Podracers would perform multiple laps on a race track, moving at dangerous and, at times, deadly speeds. A possible stumbling block to this science fiction sports potential eventual inclusion in the Olympic Games is that Anakin Skywalker believed himself to be the only human capable of podracing! In the Star Wars galaxy, podracing was a sport generally partaken in by aliens. So until we make contact this one might have to wait. Instead, perhaps this next sport could bridge the gap
Lightcycling
There are a whole host of really popular cycling events taking place at each and every Olympic Games, so a Tron-inspired Lightcycle category could be a future thing, right?

Taking place on a 'Game Grid' with the rider completely enclosed inside the bike (safety first - there's a protective canopy), lightcycles are incredibly fast when moving, and leave behind a solid coloured wall in their wake. They move in straight lines and only turn in 90° angles, and just to add to the 'fun' their brakes are disabled! Now we're talking!!

If you've seen Tron or played the arcade game then you know that another lightcycle could be forced to crash into the coloured wall left behind by a competitor. And we have a gold medal winner!

Frankly, given that this year's Olympic Games are in Japan, I'm a little disappointed such a technologically advanced country didn't include this sport already.
The Running Man
The Modern Pentathlon is nuts! Combining fencing, swimming, horseback riding, running, and pistol shooting. All taking place in a single day! I mean, who thought it was a good idea to combine those five sports? It's like they were picked at random from a hat and just as easily could've been darts, cat-shaving, Bake Off Showstopper, toe-nail growing, and waterboarding.

Basically, if something as random as the mix-match of events forced together for the Modern Pentathlon is included in the Olympics, then why not make the athletes and the audiences day all the more interesting (although admittedly in two very different ways) and just tweak the format into The Running Man.

Set within a huge, sprawling gladiatorial arena with the athletes pursued by "stalkers", the Olympic version of The Running Man could see the competitors still have to successfully navigate and master five sporting events during the day-long contest (and everything within the Modern Pentathlon would all be perfect; fencing, swimming, horseback riding, running, and pistol shooting) but with the added incentive of trying to stay alive whilst doing so.

Like Rollerball, if the ratings ever drop then this one is just a matter of time.

Which futuristic sporting events would you like to see in the Olympic Games? Why not let us know in the comments below...

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