Skating Your Way to the Olympics

There’s a possibility that skateboarding will be in the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo. Most skateboarders are no stranger to skating in competitions (therefore, in front of a panel of judges), however all skateboarder’s participating in the Olympic games will have to comply with the International Olympic Committee’s World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)’s criteria of remaining free of all substances.

According to WADA, the prohibited list that athletes must comply to is an “International standard identifying substances and methods prohibited in-competition, out-of competition, and in particular sports”. Recently WADA has made a significant move by raising the in-competition threshold for cannabis to 150 nanograms per milliliter 150 nanograms in order to “catch athletes who smoke during the period of competition, not to punish athletes for what they do on their own time outside of the Olympic games”, explains spokesman of WADA Ben Nichols. So while some may wonder if cannabis might have an affect on skateboarding becoming an Olympic sport, however given WADA’s current anti- doping policy.

Currently, there are several out-of-competition “games” such as the X-Games and the Winter Dew Tour that allow skateboarders to compete without having to be compliant with WADA’s anti-doping policy. As of July 2016 several prominent figures in skateboarding such as Tony Hawk, Chris Cole, Ryan Decenzo, and Leticia Bufoni have commented on their excitement for the possibility of skateboarding becoming an olympic sport. On August 3rd, 2016 the International Olympic Committee agreed to add skateboarding, baseball/softball, karate, sports climbing and surfing to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo—now the big question is, will these skateboarders have issues with the WADA policy on cannabis? The future of skateboarding is certainly going to be a ride worth looking forward to!

SOURCES
IOC approves five new sports for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Olympic Athletes Face Relaxed Rules For Marijuana Testing in 2016
ISF OPTIMISTIC ABOUT SKATEBOARDING’S CHANCE TO MAKE IT ON THE 2020 OLYMPIC PROGRAM