Gone are the days when the only people who know how to work a pole are strippers who literally work the pole. Now, pole dancing is offered as a workout class at many gyms, and it's quickly becoming a world class, competitive sport. With its boom in popularity, many enthusiasts are pushing for pole dancing as an Olympic sport.
But, as noted in Sports Illustrated, getting a sport into the Olympics isn't easy. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has even cut many popular sports like baseball and softball. Undoubtedly the sport would receive a tremendous audience; it would be one of the few artistic performance competitions many men would actually enjoy watching with their female counterparts. Strip clubs and bikini joints may even be re-branded as sports bars. But, is mass appeal enough to earn the sport a spot in the Olympics?
This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2010.