The worldwide DanceSport community’s dream of providing some of its young top
athletes with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the Youth Olympic
Games (YOG) is about to turn reality. In its meeting of 6 December 2016, the
Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to add the
DanceSport discipline Breakdance to the programme of the Buenos Aires 2018 YOG.
Nearly two decades after it was recognised by the 106th IOC Session that was held in
Lausanne, SUI, the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF) received the news of one of
its disciplines making it to the programme of the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic
Games (BAYOG) in the same city. Having gone full circle with its ambition to see
dancers compete alongside the other athletes for the most coveted medals in sports,
WDSF reaches this milestone with the satisfaction of a job well done by those who
campaigned over many years. And it does so with the conviction that its small
contingent of athletes and officials will deliver on what is pledged by putting on great
competitions at the Urban Park venue in early October 2018.
When DanceSport’s governing body last applied for a berth on the Olympic Sports
Programme – in June 2015, as one of 26 IOC Recognised International Federations – it
did so with the disciplines Latin and Standard, and for the Tokyo 2020 Games. It may
have been on the merits of this ultimately unsuccessful application that WDSF was
given another opportunity to submit one for participation in the Youth Olympic Games
2018. A comprehensive proposal to have DanceSport feature in the context of the
multi-sport games with the different “DNA” was presented to the Buenos Aires Youth
Olympic Games Organising Committee (BAYOGOC) in September 2016. Several
disciplines were proposed to be featured in up to nine different scenarios ranging from
the Ceremonies to Medal Competitions and just about everything in between.
The members of BAYOGOC and, later on, the Coordination Commission for the games
found Breakdance to fit their vision and to match the particular YOG DNA best. An
assessment that has now been confirmed by the IOC Executive Board’s decision to
approve the quota of 24 athletes competing in three events (Men, Women, Mixed
Team) in Buenos Aires 2018.
“Millions of dancers around the world will be delighted over this Olympic embrace,”
WDSF President Lukas Hinder said upon learning of the decision. “It certainly is the
fulfilment of a long-held dream and it will allow us to showcase the full breadth of
DanceSport to the world at large.”
Over the years, DanceSport developed into an all-encompassing brand made up of
very different styles and forms of moving to music. Right after it celebrated its 50th
anniversary in 2007, WDSF embarked on successive restructuring and development
programmes that aimed, and continue to aim, to broaden the scope of the sport
further, making it more accessible, more ageless, more global and more relevant.
A milestone in this quest was reached when WDSF organised the first edition of its
proprietary World DanceSport Games in Kaohsiung, TPE, back in 2013. Medals in over
a dozen different disciplines were contested by nearly 800 athletes representing 48
nations. Four contrasting DanceSport disciplines will be on the programme of The
World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, POL: Latin, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Salsa and Standard.
Now Breakdance is about to make its première in the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth
Olympic Games. DanceSport does fit everywhere. After all, it is performed to THE
RHYTHM OF TIME!
Find out more about the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games!
http://buenosaires2018.com