posted
This is just a curiosity question I've always had. Why is basketball played in the Summer Olympics when it is a winter sport? (If the European leagues play it in the summer, then that's pretty much the answer to my question, but I haven't been able to find that information anywhere.)
Hockey is played in the Winter Olympics, forcing leagues to stop play so that players can play for their respective nationalities. Same with baseball and softball in summer before they were removed as Olympic events, though MLB never gave any time off to players for the Olympics.
So is basketball considered a summer sport internationally, or did they just arbitrarily throw it into the Summer Olympics?
Posts: 345 | From: Washington, DC | Registered: Jul 2006
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posted
Basketball is a part of the Summer Olympics because (like hockey) it was originally contested in outdoor arenas, but (unlike hockey) it didn't favor freezing temperatures.
The first Olympic basketball finals (in 1936) ended up being played in the rain, with the U.S. beating Canada for the gold medal.
posted
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I always thought that all Winter Olympic events, without exception, must occur on snow or ice. Anything else must be in the summer games. A quick internet search for a list of Winter Olympic events revealed several versions. While not all of them agree completely, none of them list any events that are not played on snow or ice.
Biathlon Bobsleigh Curling Ice Hockey Luge Skating Skiing
-------------------- Ok guys, try to remember this time. It's pillage first, then burn. Posts: 179 | From: Holdrege, NE | Registered: Jan 2006
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quote:Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but I always thought that all Winter Olympic events, without exception, must occur on snow or ice.
I think that's the tradition, but I don't think there's any rule specifically mandating it.
In any case, I don't know that basketball could have been said to have a particular "season" when it was added to the Olympics in 1936, since the pro basketball leagues didn't really come along until later. If anything, basketball was probably played the less in the summer than in other seasons back then, since it was primarily a college sport (and most schools weren't in session during the summer).
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