LA28: 5 new sports added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Like cricket, baseball and softball are also bat-and-ball sports often viewed as quintessentially American. While closely related, rules, equipment, and field dimensions differ. Baseball is played on a diamond-shaped field with four bases arranged in a square, 90 feet apart while softball is generally played on a smaller field, 60 feet apart, and the game is typically shorter.

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Additionally, the ball used in softball is larger and the pitching style differs significantly. In both sports, two teams of nine players each take turns batting and fielding to score runs by hitting the ball and running through the bases. The primary objective is to score more runs than the opposing team.

A variant of gridiron football, flag football is a modified version of American or Canadian football where it’s less physical and more accessible. Five to eight players play on each team depending on the league’s rules and the smaller team size compared to traditional football makes for a faster gameplay.

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Instead of tackling players to the ground, players remove a flag or flag belt (flag from an opponent’s belt) to end a play. Known as a less aggressive version of football, the sport encourages limited contact between the players, thus reducing the risk of injury and allowing a wider range of participants to enjoy the game including children and recreational players.

The oldest organised sport in North America with a rich history rooted in Native American culture, lacrosse is a fast-paced contact team sport played with a long-handled stick called a lacrosse stick or a crosse and a small rubber ball called a lacrosse ball. The aim is for the players to use the head of the lacrosse stick to carry, pass, catch, and shoot the ball into the opponent’s net (goal).

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The men’s games can take place outdoors or indoors and are contact sports hence all players wear protective gear. The women’s game is played outdoors and doesn’t allow body contact but allows stick-to-stick contact. Lacrosse sixes is played by both men and women on a smaller field while intercrosse is a mixed-gender non-contact sport that uses an all-plastic stick and a softer ball.

With about 20 million people who play squash regularly worldwide in over 185 countries, it’s no wonder it has been added to the LA28 schedule. A high-intensity racket-and-ball sport which requires agility, strategy, and stamina, squash is played by two players (singles) or four players (doubles) in an indoor, four-walled court with a small and hollow ball made of rubber.

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The objective is for players to alternate in striking the ball with their rackets onto the playable surfaces of the four walls of the court, aiming to make it difficult for their opponent to play a valid return. A rally continues until one player fails to return the ball correctly and a game is won by the player who first reaches 11 points with a margin of at least two points. The first player to win three games wins the match.

LA28 is scheduled for July 14, 2028, with its opening ceremony and will run until July 30, 2028. The Paralympic Games will begin on August 15, 2028, and close on August 27, 2028.

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