What Does Olympic Postponement Mean For Skateboarding?
Well, it's official, the IOC has agreed that it is best to postpone the 2020 Tokyo Olympics for one year. As fas as a date, all we know right now is that it will be held in Japan sometime before end of summer 2021. Most agree, that for the health of the athletes and everyone else, this is the best bet right now while the coronavirus is running rampant across the world.
Host country Japan, and the IOC have also determined that they will still be called the 2020 Tokyo Olympics - even though they will be held in 2021. This is the first time in history that the Olympic Games have been moved like this. Back in 1916, 1940 and 1944, the Olympic Games were canceled because of war.
Qualifiers - Skateboarding has yet to have its qualifiers. At first, some qualifiers were postponed, some were canceled and no one really knew how this would all work out... So this postponement of the Olympics by one year is good news for skateboarders worrying about all that. One less pressure to think/worry about.
The tricky news is, that sometimes athletes peak. Sometimes you have a good year, sometimes you don't. Skateboarders who were in the top five or six in points this past year may not be on the podium when we return to regular competition. There may also be younger skateboarders coming up that now could potentially qualify next year.
It's like we are starting all over from square one in some ways. It's anyone's guess what type of shake-ups we may see moving forward.
Surfing may have an even harder time because they already had their qualifiers. Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks have already been announced, and celebrated, as the two women who have earned their spots on the 2020 USA Olympic team.
What happens now? Do they keep their spots or does the WSL start the clock all over again and the women (and men) have to again pre-qualify?
These are all questions that we will eventually find out the answers to as we move along, but in the meantime, please #stayhome and stay safe!