Is Air Hockey an Olympic or Professional Sport?
Not every thing is Olympic gold. Being part of the Olympics brings to a sport a new status level. Once in the Olympics the sport can be revered and its participants looked upon as super athletes who did not sell out. Olympic participation raises the respect for the sport as well
Is Air Hockey an Olympic or Professional Sport? At the time of this writing, air hockey still has not been accepted by the Olympic Games. Getting into the games can be tough and there are strict requirements that have to be met before a sport is allowed to join Olympic competition.
Even though it is slighted and ignored by the Olympics, the sport does enjoy professional status and has at least 1 professional league, To get all the details just continue to read our article.
Is Air Hockey a Professional Sport?
The answer to this question is yes. Air hockey is a sport and it has at least one professional organization setting the rules, regulations and other details for its participants. This organization is called the Air Hockey Players Association (AHPA).
A quick look at their website shows that they have a section with 10 pages of rules that have to be met. These regulations also set the requirements for the size of the table, 8 foot only, the type of the puck used, only 3 of them are allowed, and the material the pucks can be made from.
The other important organization in professional air hockey is the United States Air Hockey Association (USAA). Their rules and regulations are on par with the AHPA’s rules, etc. The rules also indicate that there can be no distractions on the table at any time.
Is Air Hockey an Olympic Sport?
Right now air hockey is not an Olympic sport. That may be because it does not enjoy world wide recognition or has too few participants. That and the absence of an international federation disqualifies air hockey from becoming an Olympic sport.
Also, if that federation existed, it would have to fill out a 100 page application form and be appealing to a younger generation. On top of that, the cost to build the venue is an important factor in receiving approval to join the Games.
If your application meets all of those steps then it must be approved by the IOC Executive board before the entire Olympic committee votes on it. This just for a test run at the Olympics and does not grant permanent participation.
The last thing to know about having air hockey become an Olympic sport is that the decision for approval takes place 7 years ahead of the games. You would have to start now to get air hockey considered for the 2030 Games
Current Air Hockey Tournaments and Leagues
The AHPA hoods one major tournament every years. The last one was played in March of this year and played in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The current fees to enter were $30 for beginners and their rating had to be 1001 and below.
Amateurs are rated between 1001 and 1299.99 and the fee for them to enter the tournament was $75. A pro is rated between 1300 to 1699,99 and they had to pay $145 to enter this year’s tournament.
The final category is the Master and they are rated starting at 1700 and go up from there. Their fee was $175. You would have to contact the USAA for events in your area and possible leagues you can join.
They hold multiple events around the country allowing lesser ranked players to challenge higher ranked competitors.
Some Final Comments
If you are an air hickey enthusiast, then there are some excellent opportunities to hone your air hockey skills. If you want to turn pro, you need to follow all the rules of the 2 professional associations and play on regulation tables only.
Should air hockey be an Olympic sport. Some people would like to see it happen but they would have to help make the sport more popular around the world and start an international federation.
That doesn’t look like it will happen any time soon, so players will have to be content with the USAA and the AHPA and their tournaments.
