i've always wondered why, when you've got things like shooting that are hardly any more 'athletic', mass participation sports such as darts and snooker, which produce incredible levels of skill at the top level, aren't included in the Olympics. In the old days people used to reply that having the likes of Jocky Wilson and Leighton Rees on an Olympic podium would 'send out the wrong message', but with today's slimmed-down darts pros, even that (highly dubious) justification no longer holds water.
What it seems to boil down to ultimately is good old-fashioned snobbery:
Working-class sports, that traditionally take place in pubs and clubs: NO.
Sports such as fencing and clay pigeon shooting and modern pentathlon that only a handful of upper class people participate in: YES.
What it seems to boil down to ultimately is good old-fashioned snobbery:
Working-class sports, that traditionally take place in pubs and clubs: NO.
Sports such as fencing and clay pigeon shooting and modern pentathlon that only a handful of upper class people participate in: YES.