Betting on softball, surfing, skateboarding, climbing and karate at the 2021 Olympics?

What about betting on softball, surfing, skateboarding, climbing and karate during 2021 Games? How do you do that in the USA, what sportsbooks set odds on these events? Check it in our guide below.

A SCHEME introduced to add flexibility to the program of sports at the Olympics Games will see a number of events added specifically for Tokyo 2021.

The idea of the International Olympics Committee, IOC, was to add innovation to the schedule, geared towards youth and the urbanisation of sport. The events added are baseball/softball, surfing, skateboarding, climbing and karate. You will probably be able to bet on these sports in the USA, in the states where it is legal to bet online, like NJ, PA, DE, WV etc. 

Baseball/Softball

Baseball returns for the first time since Beijing 2008 with only six teams competing. Japan and Israel have already qualified with the Americas qualification taking place in Arizona in March 2020. The softball tournament will see six female teams compete: Japan, the US, Italy, Mexico, Canada and Australia. Softball and baseball are essentially the same game with identical scoring rules.

Surfing

A sport that should attract a younger audience will be the surfing. At present San Clemente’s Kolohe Andino has qualified, with Hawaii’s John John Florence still hopeful of overcoming a serious knee injury to sneak into the reckoning. Kelly Slater, 47, is also in the hunt to make it to Tokyo to cap a legendary career in the sport but qualification is brutal – only two men and two women are allowed to represent each country. In the women’s event, Hawaii’s Carissa Moore and Santa Barbara’s Lakey Peterson are among those chasing spots.

Skateboarding

There have been 80 places allocated for the skateboarding tournament – 40 men and 40 women – with street and park tournaments. The street course is a straight track featuring stairs, handrails, benches, walls and slopes, with competitors awarded points for completing a range of stunts. The park event will take place on a hollowed-out course with a series of twists and turns allowing competitors to perform spins and tricks in midair.

Among those expected to compete is three-time world champion Nyjah Huston of Laguna Beach and Mariah Duran of Albuquerque.

Climbing

Sport climbing will feature three disciplines: speed, bouldering and lead. The speed event pits two climbers against each other over a fixed route; bouldering sees climbers scale a number of fixed routes on a four-meter wall in a specified time; in lead, competitors attempt to climb a wall as high as possible in a fixed time. Climbers will complete each discipline to determine the medallists and US teenage star Brooke Raboutou from Colorado – one of the favorites – has already qualified for Tokyo in 2021.

Karate

The Japanese martial art developed in the 1920s has surprisingly had to wait until 2021 to make its Olympics bow. There will be 60 competitors in the Kumite discipline and 20 in the Kata – equally split between men and women. Six golds will be on offer in three different weight divisions in the Kumite, and two in the Kata, with the Japanese fighters expected to dominate.

Betting on Olympic Games Sports

For many, the thought of betting on sports you have little experience of can be daunting. However, the more you know about a sport the better your chances of making money, so make sure you pay attention to the new additions to the Olympics program. Watch the sports whenever possible and keep up to date with the latest news – information on injuries and form is crucial to which team or individual to bet on.

Keep your bets simple and take account of ‘home’ advantage – the Japanese teams and athletes will have great incentive to perform in front of their own fans.

Contact your betting provider to see the odds available; look at different betting sites to see their offers for new and existing customers. Check on sportsbooks like bet365, Unibet, Pointsbet, fanduel and see the prices available on US stars in the surfing, skateboarding and climbing.   

Follow US Olympic news on teamusa and you can catch up with live action on the olympicchannel and there will be full Olympics coverage on NBC.