Pole dancing granted 'observer status' in bid to become Olympic sport
Pole dancing could soon become an Olympic sport after becoming one of seven events to granted "observer status".
The status was granted by Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), meaning it is provisionally recognised as a sport.
The International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), the governing body of pole sports, filed its first International Olympic Committee (IOC) application in August of 2016.
According to IPSF president Katie Coate , the IOC thanked the organisation for such a “comprehensive application as part of the 2016 IOC recognition procedure”.
Could pole dancing be a new sport in the Olympics? @KTCoates1 discusses the activity's new "observer status" & how the sport would be judged pic.twitter.com/1PEZLrpcVn
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 17, 2017
Ms Coates said that the application was part of the larger goal to continually grow and evolve pole sports.
“We knew our first official IOC Application would be, in essence, to simply start this prestigious process and it would be quite an undertaking, however, we were determined to submit the most comprehensive application possible,” she said.
“We knew in meeting the extensive criteria of the IOC, we would raise the bar for our sport as a whole just by completing the application process as the IOC criteria includes the implementation of a solid and extensive infrastructure to support our sport.
She added: “We could not be more thrilled with this response and look forward to the meeting in January. We realise that the IOC is a vast establishment and the recognition process is rigorous and lengthy to say the least, and we are honoured to be invited.
“We look forward to the continued growth of Pole Sports as a whole during these challenging and engaging next steps.”
