Pole dancing is now an official sport! But will it also be part of the Olympics?

Pole dancing has been officially declared a sport by the Global Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF), and now, the British campaigner behind this move, Katie Coates, is keen to see it be a part of the Olympics

Pole dancing has been officially declared a sport by the Global Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF), and now, the British campaigner behind this move, Katie Coates, is keen to see it be a part of the Olympics.

Coates, president of the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), began her campaign to get recognition for pole dancing as a sport, back in 2006, with a petition carrying 10,000 signatures. "In the early 2000s, people did it as fitness and took away the sex stigma, so no high heels. But to officially become a sport, you need federations in 40 countries across four continents but most nations won't recognise the federations unless it is officially a sport.

Now, we have 15 federations approved. It won't be a problem to get to 40 in two years," Coates told British tabloid, The Sun. On pole dancing's Olympic future, she said: "The Olympic committee work in eight-year cycles, so it won't be the next Olympics or the one after that, but who knows. Look at skateboarding, they snuck that in quietly for 2020."

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