Pole Dancing Could Become An Olympic Sport

Pole dancing could become an official Olympic sport in the very near future.

Don’t start making crude stripper jokes just yet. The International Pole Sports Federation is taking this bid for Olympic legitimacy very seriously. In order to make sure officials don’t take issue with the sport, the technical committee essentially removing all blatant eroticism from routines.

Coach Florenza Pizanis is one of the folks hoping to get pole dancing approved as an Olympic sport. Pizanis recently penned a series of strict guidelines that bans such controversial moves as the “gluteal dance.”

The coach is also looking to do away with “hats, canes, and anything that is not considered attached to the costume.” In other words, the Olympic version of pole dancing is going to be a bit more sanitized than the stuff you can find at the club with the black windows down the street.

“We’re trying to be stricter here and become respected as a sport,” Pizanis explained.

Since people tend to associate pole dancing with sex and sleaze, the International Pole Sports Federation is looking to change up the wording ahead of the Olympic bid. Officials want folks to start referring to these routines as “pole sports.”

Although the federation wants to put a few rules and regulations on dancers, some enthusiasts aren’t exactly thrilled with the idea. Lisette Krol told The Wall Street Journal that eliminating certain elements takes the joy and sass out of the routines.

“You can perform a lot more, you can have a lot more fun, you can be a little more crazy,” the 27-year-old Irish dancer explained.

This isn’t the first time someone has attempted to get pole dancing recognized by the Olympic committee. A group of Mormons tried their best to get “vertical dancing” into the 2012 games by putting together a petition. Unfortunately, their bid for legitimacy didn’t pan out.

Do you think pole dancing should become an Olympic sport?

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