RE: Path to Olympic Sports just got harder - Not exactly.

["Pardoe, Richard (prdr)" <PRDR@chevron.com>]

Richard, 

Women's sumo already exists (on the amateur level).  It is called
Shin-sumo (or new sumo).  It was started exactly for the reasons listed
- in order to have amateur sumo be recognized as a an Olympic sport, a
women's division was started. 

While shin sumo is new, it has been around for almost a year.  For
example, the following article dates from March 8, 1997:

http://www.africanews.com/monitor/freeissues/08mar97/sports.html#anchor2

(The article does have minor errors (for example,  throwing chalk
(instead of salt) before a match.

I also seem to remember that Sumo World (?) had an article on shin-sumo,
but I don't have the issues in front of me to check.  Do others have
information to help? 

Richard (Pardoe)


> ----------
> From: 	Richard Webb[SMTP:rlwebb@puc.edu]
> Sent: 	Monday, February 02, 1998 8:40 AM
> To: 	sumo@brooks.statgen.ncsu.edu
> Subject: 	Path to Olympic Sports just got harder
> 
> Hi folks,
> 
> There is an article on ESPN today noting that Juan Antonio Samarach
> (the
> man with the strangle-hold on the International Olympic Committee for
> as
> long as I can remember) has announced that any new Olympic sport must
> have
> a women's event.  The article points out that if Sumo is to become an
> Olympic sport, it must include women's Sumo which, I am afraid, would
> be
> more of a sideshow initially (as it is in that famous traveling freak
> show--you know the one with the guy who fits through a tennis racket).
> 
> To read the article, point your browser at
> http://ESPN.SportsZone.com/olympics98/news/980201/00560159.html
> 
> Richard Webb
> rlwebb@raiderfans.com         http://www.puc.edu/Faculty/Richard_Webb/
> ______________________________________________________________________
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