Was adding lacrosse and flag football to the Olympics the right move for the future? The Summer Olympics have been held every 4 years since 1896. Summer 2024 is when the Olympics will be held again in Paris, France.

     Recently it was announced that lacrosse and flag football have been added to the Summer Olympics in 2024 for men and woman. These sports are very well known and rapidly growing. The Olympics added these sports in hope of gaining new viewers.

     How does the Roosevelt community feel about these additions?  We interviewed teachers and students to find out.

     Mr. Knight, a 6th grade social studies teacher and lacrosse coach, said, “I think it’s great, I think both flag football and lacrosse are really taking hold in sports. I think there are a lot of people playing these sports and that should be reflected in the Olympics.”

     Taylor Morris, a 7th-grade student at RIS, states, “I think I will watch it more because lacrosse is being added, just because I love lacrosse.”

     Shea Flynn, a 7th-grade student, said, “It’s good because new sports are added so more people will be interested in the Olympics. It will make me watch the Olympics more because I play lacrosse so it will be cool to watch it.”

     Mrs. Helwig, a 7th-grade language arts teacher and soccer coach, said, “I think it’s great that there are more opportunities for men and women to compete in other sports, especially sports that are very popular in the United States.”

     Annie Sherman, an 8th-grade student at RIS, states, “I think it’s really great because those sports deserve to be more known worldwide.”

     In  1940, flag football was played for the first time. It was first played in Fort Meade, Maryland. Today flag football is one of the fastest-growing sports for kids to play, according to Greg Rosenstein and Torrey Hart from theathletic.com

     According to worldlacrosse.sport lacrosse has been an Olympic sport in the past. The only Olympics that have had lacrosse played was in 1904, 1908, 1928, 1932, and 1948. Now especially lacrosse is a sport that is growing rapidly and becoming very well known. For lacrosse, about 1.89 people will play it in the U.S. in 2021, according to worldlacrosse.sport. It was officially a sport in 1867 and has been played ever since. Lacrosse is the oldest organized sport in North America, which is ironic because they are just now adding it to the Olympics. 

     Lacrosse is a contact sport for men while lacrosse for women is a non-contact sport. It is a very fast-paced game that is played with a stick and a ball. The goal of the game is to get more goals than the other team. To score a goal you have to shoot the ball with the stick into the opponents goal without going in their crease. Some of the main tactics in lacrosse are passing, catching, ground balls, and scoring. In lacrosse there are 12 players from each team playing against each other. There is 1 goalie, 4 attackers, 3 midfielders, and 4 defenders. There are two 25 minute halves. 

     Flag football is a non-contact sport. You are not allowed to tackle, dive, block, or screen. In the NFL flag football league they play teams of 5 people. The game consists of 2 15-25 minute halves. The clock only stops for halftime, injuries, or timeouts. This causes a very fun and competitive game. Since flag football is a non competitive sport instead of tackling their opponents each person wears a belt with flags that hang on the side of their waist, for the other team to grab.  The ball is dead when the ball-carrier’s flag is pulled, the ball-carrier steps out of bounds, a touchdown or safety is scored, the ball-carrier’s knee hits the ground, or the ball-carrier’s flag falls off. There are no fumbles. Lastly, one of the most important rules of flag football is that the players cannot obstruct or guard their flag. 

     The LA28 (2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics) chairperson Casey Wasserman said, “They’re relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the U.S. and the globe,” “They will bring new athletes to the Games, engage diverse fanbases and expand the Games’ presence in digital spaces, further amplifying LA28’s mission to deliver an unparalleled experience.” 

     Worldlacrosse.sport states, “LA28 will mark the third Olympic appearance for North America’s first sport that is now played in nearly 100 countries around the world, after it was contested in 1904 (St. Louis) and 1908 (London). Lacrosse was later featured as a demonstration sport in three Olympics: Amsterdam 1928, Los Angeles 1932 and London 1948.”

     Swimswam.com states, “Flag Football is the future, and the tip of the spear for American Football’s international growth, with approximately 20 million flexible players across over 100 countries with gender balance in participation,” LA28 Sports Director Niccolo Campriani said during the IOC session officially announcing the five new sports.” 

     Adding lacrosse and flag football to the Olympics can be beneficial to them. It not only will intrigue more people to watch which will increase the number of people watching, but it can also inspire people to play sports they have never tried before. 

     In the 2028 Olympics do you think there will be more sports added?