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Is Playing Pool An Olympic Sport?

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Have you ever been playing pool and wondered if it was in the Olympics? Maybe you have seen pool on TV, but you were not sure if it was at the Olympics or not. Well, in this article we will go over everything you need to know about pool and if it is an Olympic sport or not. 

So is pool an Olympic sport?

Although there are many sports in the Olympics, at this time, pool is not currently one of the sports that is considered an Olympic sport. Even though the professional pool players are considered athletes, pool has not been added to the Olympics. 

If you want to know more about pool being in the Olympics, you will want to keep reading. You can also check out this video to see the reasons why pool should be in the Olympics. 

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Is There More Than One Type Of Pool Game?

Pool as a cue sport has been around for a very long time. It exists in different types that come with different rules. For instance, there is 9 ball pool and 8 ball pool. There also exist types such as the snooker pool and the straight pool.

The basic rules of any pool game are, you are not allowed to take a shot when it’s not your turn, you can only hit the cue ball once, you are not allowed to hit the cue ball off the table and you can only strike the pool ball instead of pushing it among many others. The success in Pool is mainly based on one’s talent and not on gender.

With the vast number of Olympic events in today’s era, one would imagine that Pool is also part of the Olympic sports. However, the last professional tournament of Pool last occurred in 1876 and Pool might continue to have no place at the Olympics in future years.

Billiard representatives have always been trying to get pool into the Olympics since 1950. However, up to this date, after being denied the chance to participate in the 2020 Olympics to be held in Tokyo, billiard enthusiasts are still persistent in trying to claim their spot in the next 2024 Olympics to be held in Paris.

They have even gone as far as traveling to Paris to express their concerns to the International Olympic Committee.

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Why Is Pool Not Considered An Olympic Sport?

Playing pool takes skill and there are certainly people who are at the top of their field. Well if table tennis, badminton, surfing, and curling are all olympic sports why isn’t playing pool considered an olympic sport as well?

The Olympic committee says that it does not count

There are a few reasons why Pool is still not regarded as a sport to date. With the popularity of Pool significantly deteriorating over the past years, it also has to continued to decline in likelihood of getting recognition in the Olympics.

The reason is, according to the International Olympics Committee, it does not meet the criteria for a sport. The other reasons are, it started as various branches and not every country is eligible for participating in the game of pool if it was in the Olympics.

Because not every country can participate means that it cannot be an Olympic sport as all countries have to be included. 

Playing Pool Is Still Regarded As A Game And Not As A Sport

Pool cue sports devotees have been thriving all these past years for their sport to be regarded as a sport. However, the International Olympics Committee had not been making it any easier on them as they still classify it under a game.

After the inclusion of sports such as baseball, softball, skateboarding and karate as part of the Olympic sports for the year 2020, pool enthusiasts were thinking that would be the year for playing pool as well. All of these added sports makes the total number of sports in the Olympics to a total of 33. 

You would expect that pool would also be easily included. Nevertheless, research shows that the process of admission is largely extended over an extended period of time.

The main battle is to win the heart of the International Olympics Committee. The reason why it has been so difficult for billiard sports delegates is that the majority of individuals claim that cue sport doesn’t involve enough actual movement to be considered a sport.

The billiard representatives base their argument on the fact that their sport is in full support of gender equality as it gives both males and females equal opportunities based on their talent. On the other hand, many sports differentiate men and women.

Pool started as a divided sect

The main reason why Pool suffered rejection to participate in the Olympics in the first place is that it started off as divided branches which were controlled distinctly. The International Olympics Committee used this as a reason to deny the sport a chance to participate in the Olympics, by suggesting that they had to form one main body that would totally embed and represent all the sectors.

These sectors of Pool included snooker, pool, and carambola. After a long struggle to try and join forces, the branches finally succeeded in doing so in 1980. This resulted in the formation of the World Pool-Billiard Association.

However, even after this successful coalition of all billiard sports, the representatives of the three branches continued to be denied a chance in the Olympics. 

They continued their quest, which resulted in the formation of the World Confederation of Billiard Sports in 1990. However, after that, the board faced a lot of significant setbacks which resulted in a decrease in momentum.

This got worse until it led to the abandonment of the confederation.

Even though the World Confederation Of Billiard Sports has been lately revived, the bid to be included in the Tokyo games was undeniably unfruitful. Nevertheless, the joint board still maintains an optimistic attitude as they still continue to bid to be included in future Olympic competitions.

Not every country can afford to participate

There are intense debates on whether it is worth it to consider having cue games as part of the Olympics, as this might result in a repetition of boring games. This is because it’s unlikely that a lot of countries will want to participate in the cue-sports at the Olympics considering that a few countries can afford to do so.

Because of this, there are estimates that this may lead to one country dominating the sport every Olympic season. This will, in turn, make Pool a less competitive sport, and in turn be less interesting.

This is why at the end of the day, it might not be worth considering making it part of the sports in the Olympics.

Has Playing Pool Ever Been An Olympic Sport?

Pool or eight ball is a fun game to play if you are stuck inside for a day, or just prefer indoor games. It is not only extremely popular here in the United States but is played throughout the world. 

There are many different names for billiards throughout the world but in the U.S. we call it pool. There are many different games you can play on a pool table, but the most common is eight ball. 

Not only is it a great game to play in your house but there are also tournaments that you can go and compete in to show that you are the best. If you have competed in local and even national tournaments you may be wondering if there is something bigger you can attend. 

While pool or billiards has never been an Olympic sport, it has come close many years. There are many people fighting for pool to be an Olympic sport but at this time it has never been in the Olympics. 

Just because pool or billiards is not in the Olympics does not mean that it is not popular. Surfing and skateboarding are both extremely popular throughout the world but yet were not a part of the Olympics until recently. 

There are a lot of qualifications that a sport has to have in order to become an Olympic sport, and be in the Olympics. As of right now The Olympic committee just does not think that pool meets all of the requirements to be considered an Olympic sport. 

What Type Of Sport Is Pool?

Some people do not believe that pool is a sport at all, but by definition pool fulfills all the requirements to be called a sport. Some people prefer to only call it a game, and not a sport. 

They want to call it a game as it is not as energetic as most other sports like table tennis or fencing. If you do consider it a sport though, what type of sport is it? 

Pool is classified as a cue sport. This is because it is played on a table with 6 pockets which pool balls are hit into. You also use a cue or stick to hit these balls which is where the name originally came from. 

There are many different cue games that can be played on a pool table. They include pool balls and all have different rules about when and where to hit the balls on the table. Some of the more popular cue games are eight-ball, blackball, nine-ball, ten-ball, seven-ball, straight pool, one-pocket, and bank pool.

All of these different pool games fit into the category of being a cue sport. That is because they are all played with a cue and on a similarly built table. 

Overall pool in the United States is very popular and many people love to play the game for fun as well as for a competition. It is also a popular bar game that people can play while they drink to pass the time. 

What Are The Two Types Of Balls In Pool Called?

Pool is super fun to play, and even if you are not good at the game you can still have fun playing. That is because the game is something that can be learned when you are quite young and many people will simply play the game for fun. 

Not everyone wants to play pool for money or even for a chance to be the best. Many people simply play the game because it is fun and they like playing against friends and family. Some people will even play the game against random strangers just for fun. 

When you are playing a game and learning about the different rules of pool, you probably learned about the different types of balls in pool that you can use. What are these two types of pool balls? 

The two types of pool balls that are used today are standard pool balls, and Aramith pool balls. Standard pool balls are fairly inexpensive while a nice set of Aramith pool balls can cost quite a bit of money. 

Just because they can be ten times the price of standard pool balls, does not mean that they are ten times better. While Aramith pool balls are better than standard pool balls, most people will only purchase the standard ones for their table. 

These two balls are what most people use when you are playing pool. Some people prefer the cheaper balls and do not think that there is a difference between the two balls. There is a difference just in the weight and smoothness and overall quality of the pool balls. 

The Aramith pool balls are the top of the line pool balls and are what they use for every tournament. This is why if you are practicing for a tournament you will want to purchase one of these sets to make sure you know how they feel and act when you hit them. 

The last thing you would want is to compete in a tournament and look like a fool because the pool balls act differently and not the same as what you are used to using. While this should not change your game that much, for some people it is more of a mental block that causes them to change how they hit the cue ball and miss their shot. 

Conclusion

Even though pool enthusiasts have suffered a series of rejections for decades now, they still keep on pushing and hoping for better results. Even though they are trying, at this time, Pool is still not considered as an Olympic sport.

The odds are, the chances of that happening are very low, but in the future anything can happen. The committee has been trying long enough to make it happen, that eventually it is bound to happen.

We all hope that with the continued dedication and persistence of skilled pool lovers, pool competitors might one day be given an opportunity to showcase their talents at the Olympic games in the future.

Even though it is not an Olympic sport right now, we are all hoping that in the near future we will be able to watch it in the Olympics.