The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced a new series of virtual sporting events that will take place ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, called the Olympic Virtual Series. No, this doesn’t mean that League of Legends just became an Olympic sport — what’s happening is that the IOC is partnering with five international sports federations to host virtual competitions in games featuring their sports.
The Olympic Virtual Series will kick off on May 13th and will run through June 23rd. Here’s the lineup of federations and what games they’ll be hosting events for, as we know it so far:
- Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile will host a Gran Turismo competition
- Union Cycliste Internationale will host a competition for Zwift, which offers virtual cycling and running courses to use with indoor exercise
- The World Baseball Softball Confederation will host a competition for Konami’s eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2020
- World Sailing will host a competition for Virtual Regatta, an online sailing and regatta sailing simulation game
- World Rowing doesn’t officially have a game attached to it yet; a press release only said vaguely that there would be an “open format.” A PR spokesperson tells The Verge that details about the World Rowing competition are forthcoming
There are still many things we don’t know about the Olympic Virtual Series. It’s still unclear who will be competing, how you can try to sign up to compete, what prizes will be offered (will somebody become a Gran Turismo gold medalist?), and which events will happen when. The IOC promises that more details will be announced soon.
More sports could get involved in future virtual series. FIFA, the International Basketball Federation, the International Tennis Federation, and World Taekwondo have “confirmed their excitement and commitment to exploring inclusion in future editions of the OVS,” the IOC said.
Source: The Verge