Ok – hold on tight.  I have big news.

I am not the creator of this big news.  It’s been out there – but it’s possible you might not have heard about it.

               *Side Note 1 – isn’t that why you read my blog anyway?

Something BIG is about to happen in the world of sports.

There is one Olympic event that is going to go through a big change after the 2024 Paris Olympics.  And I am here for it.

Because – OH MY GOD!!!!

Normally I am not a fan of changes in an established sport. 

An example of that would be the changes that took place this past year in Major League Baseball.

There were a number of changes.  One of those changes was not being allowed to shift the infield as they did in the past.  That’s crap.

If the coaches are doing a good job and they can have the pitcher pitch to a batter in a certain way that can’t direct the ball to a certain field, and only hits to one side, then that coach has done their due diligence.  By not allowing the shift, you’re helping the batter and hurting the defense. 

Why even have fielders at all?

Right?

Another rule change is the pitch clock for the pitcher to engage.  On that I could be a fan.  Not sure.  But it is what it is, so my opinion doesn’t matter.

               *Side Note 2 – I guess MLB doesn’t know about my blog and about how it’s “Because Jim Says”.

On to the BIG NEWS

The Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne, which is the governing body of the Modern Pentathlon, is set to make a change to the field of disciplines that are the event.

Now – I know what you are thinking.  You’re thinking of the Pentathlon that is a track and field.  No – that stays the same.

            *Side Note 3 – changes to a track and field event would not be taken lightly.  NO NO NO

I am speaking of the “Modern Pentathlon”

Currently, this event consists of: Fencing, Swimming, Horse Riding, Shooting and Running.

            *Side Note 4 The five events in the modern pentathlon—fencing, swimming, horse riding, pistol shooting, and running—were chosen to reflect skills that cavalry soldiers of the 19th-century ought to possess and refine.

Now to me – THAT sounds like a sport I’d like to watch.  And yes, I have.  When it’s available, which is not often.

But alas, something had to be done to make this a more viable sport.  The sport had to make a change to keep up with the times.

BUT OH NO – it’s not just the Modern Penthalon that is going through change. 

See, in order to be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Weightlighting and Boxing have also been tasked with demonstrating they’ve made changes to the governance or organizational culture.

But perhaps that is for another post.  Stay tuned.

Now – you know my criteria for sports – there has to be a well defined scoring technique.  A stop watch, an opponent-vs-opponent or some type of specific measurement where a winner scores highest, or lowest (golf).

As many of you that know me will attest, I am not a fan of “judged sports”.  Too much is left to the decisions of the judge.

It’s an ages-old argument.  In this example we will take a gymnastics routine:

Competitor 1 does a very difficult routine, executes it almost perfectly, just the smallest of mistakes 1 time.

Competitor 2 does a slightly easier routine, and executes it precisely with no mistakes

Who wins?

NO NO NO

I need a way to precisely measure who wins.

In a race, the winner crosses the finish line first.

In the high jump the person that clears the highest height wins, with a tie breaker being the fewest misses

In baseball, the team that scores the most runs wins.

But I digress….

I’m here about the Modern Pentathlon.

Most of the events they use a measured performance. 

Except for 1.  Riding horses.  NO NO NO.  This is not a test of a modern athlete – it all depends on the horse.  Horse riding, show jumping in this case, is a skill and a test of the horse, and of the relationship a horse and rider gain.

So I applaud this 1 discipline being dropped.

But it is not without controversy. 

Oh no.  Traditionalists fought hard to keep it the way it is.

This decision rocked the modern pentathlon world.  But why the change?

Modern pentathlon has been part of the Olympics since the 1912 Stockholm Games. Over the years, the sport invented by IOC founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin has gone through assorted transformations. For instance, pistol shooting was replaced by laser guns before the 2012 London Games.

This, though, tested the fabric of the sport, as the equestrian component came under fire during the Tokyo Olympics. TV footage showed German coach Kim Raisner leaning over a fence to strike the horse Saint Boy, which refused to jump the fences in the show-jumping round. That cost German athlete Annika Schleu a chance of winning the gold medal.

So we agree changes had to be made.

And what is the change?

What new 5^th discipline will replace the horse show jumping?

Well…. Upon hearing it – I am a big fan.

A BIG FAN !!!!

Wait for it…..

               *Side Note 5 – is the suspense not just killing you?

The change needed was open to athletes and coaches within the sport to make suggestions.

And the choice was…..

The choice was obstacles, where athletes navigate a course filled with ring swings, rope mazes and climbing walls. It drew on the popularity of the reality TV show “American Ninja Warrior” and obstacle-course events such as the “ Spartan Race.”

YES – an obstacle race!!!

In the Olympics.

HOLY OBSTACLE RACE BATMAN !!!

This gets the full endorsement of BecauseJimSays

Step over women’s beach volleyball – there might just be a new women’s sport that takes over the TV coverage.

Sure, men will compete too – but who cares.

• Seriously