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Tokyo 2021
We don’t know about you, but here at Varsity we’re pumped for the Olympics! As your trusty sports bar, we’ll have the Opening Ceremony on at 7.00pm 23 July 2021 and will be airing the scheduled program in all stores, starting with swimming at 6.00pm on the 24 July.
About
Held in both Summer and Winter, the Olympic Games is hosted by a different country every 4 years and see athletes from over 200 countries participate. Dating back to 776 BC in Ancient Greece and revived in the 19th century, the Olympics are now one of the world’s leading sports events. With the Summer Olympics finally starting on 23 July 2021 after a year of postponement, we’ve put together a handy guide to run you through the history, rules and fun facts of 7 popular events. So, let’s dive in!
Swimming
History: Swimming made its Olympic debut in 1896, with women’s events added in 1912.
Rules: There are four main strokes in competitive swimming – freestyle, breaststroke, backstroke and butterfly. In total, men and women can compete in 16 different events and are scored on a time basis – whichever swimmer (or team) hits the touchpad first, wins.
Fun fact: The first swimming goggles were originally made from tortoise shells! Back in 14th century Persia, tortoise shells were polished until they were transparent and used to make ‘goggles’ for pearl divers.
Gymnastics
History: Officially established as a sport in 1862, gymnastics were only introduced to the Olympics in 1896, with the first women’s event held in 1928.
Rules: There are three divisions that make up Olympic gymnastics – artistic, rhythmic and trampoline. Only women compete in rhythmic gymnastics, but both men and women compete in a variety of categories for artistic (6 for men, 4 for women). Gymnastics are scored by two judging panels – one evaluates the difficulty (D judges) and the other evaluates the execution (E judges).
Fun fact: The term ‘gymnastics’ is derived from the Greek word ‘gymnos’ meaning “to exercise naked”. In Ancient Greece, a lot of the gymnastics competitions were done without clothes!
Volleyball
History: Indoor volleyball was introduced to the Olympics in 1964, however beach volleyball only made its Olympic debut in 1992 as a demonstration event, and became an official event in 1996.
Rules: Beach volleyball teams are made up of two players, where a set is won by the first team to score 21 points – the first team to win 2 sets, wins the game. Indoor volleyball, on the other hand, has 6 players on the court and can substitute players, requiring 25 points to win a set and 3 sets to win a game.
Fun fact: An FIVB report found that female beach volleyball players jump 405.8 times on average per match and men jump 396.8 times per match!
Basketball
History: Basketball first appeared in the 1904 Olympic games as a demonstration sport, but only officially appeared on the programme in 1936, with the first women’s game in 1976.
Rules: Played in a round robin format, the total 12 teams are split into 3 groups of 4 teams – the teams that finish first and second in each group join the two best third-place teams in the final phase qualifiers, where games are played in a knockout format. To become the Olympic champions, a team has to play 3 games in the Group Phase and 3 in the Final Phase.
Fun fact: The average professional basketball player can jump about 71cm off the ground, has an average height of 201cm and shoe size of 14.81.
Soccer (Football)
History: Although there is evidence that football was demonstrated in 1896, it was only added to the Olympics in 1900, becoming the first team sport in the games. Women’s football however, was only introduced at the 1996 games.
Rules: The total number of 16 teams is divided into 4 groups of 4 teams for a round-robin group stage, followed by a knockout stage of 8 teams, played until the gold and bronze medal matches. Teams earn three points for a win, one point for a draw and zero points for a loss.
Fun fact: All men’s teams have to be under 23 years old, with an exception of 3 players over 23 allowed per team since the 1996 Olympics. This rule was instituted to prevent the Olympics overshadowing other soccer competitions like FIFA.
Tennis
History: First featuring in the 1896 Olympics for male competitors, tennis only added a women’s single event in 1990. The sport was removed from the program in 1924 but was reintroduced in 1988.
Rules: Both men and women compete in singles and doubles tournaments, as well as a mixed-doubles competition. A match is made up of points, games and sets. After a coin toss determining who will serve first, players have to win at least four points in order to win the game. Each point has a corresponding call – 0 is ‘love’, 1 is ‘15’, 2 is ‘30’, 3 is ‘40’ and 4 points is ‘game’.The first side to win 6 games, with a 2 game lead over the opposition (i.e., 6-3) wins the set. The match is won when the player or team has won the majority of sets.
Fun fact: Back in the 12th century, tennis was originally played by hitting the ball over the net with the palm of your hand. Known as ”jeu de paume” or “game of the palm”, it wasn’t until the 16th century that racquets were introduced.
Rugby
History: First featuring in the 1896 Olympics for male competitors, tennis only added a women’s single event in 1990. The sport was removed from the program in 1924 but was reintroduced in 1988.
Rules: Both men and women compete in singles and doubles tournaments, as well as a mixed-doubles competition. A match is made up of points, games and sets. After a coin toss determining who will serve first, players have to win at least four points in order to win the game. Each point has a corresponding call – 0 is ‘love’, 1 is ‘15’, 2 is ‘30’, 3 is ‘40’ and 4 points is ‘game’.The first side to win 6 games, with a 2 game lead over the opposition (i.e., 6-3) wins the set. The match is won when the player or team has won the majority of sets.
Fun fact: Back in the 12th century, tennis was originally played by hitting the ball over the net with the palm of your hand. Known as ”jeu de paume” or “game of the palm”, it wasn’t until the 16th century that racquets were introduced.
Catch the Olympics at Perth’s best Sports Bar
Challenge Time
Want to compete in an event as well? Join us on Thursday 29 July at Varsity Northbridge for our Devil Wing Eating Challenge!
If you think you can eat 10 of Varsity’s Devil Wings faster than everyone else, sign up now and show us what you’re made of.
