Pole sports

Pole sports, or poling, merges dance and acrobatics using a vertical metal pole. Athletes climb up, spin from, hang off, flip onto, jump off, and invert on poles. Poling requires agility, strength, balance, endurance, and flexibility. A 2017 study of 52 female pole dancers indicated that pole-dance fitness improves strength and posture. Poling can serve as a form of cardiorespiratory exercise and can improve muscle strength and flexibility. Pole-sports athletes include men and women of a variety of ages and physical abilities, including para-athletes, who perform alone or with others (for example, in doubles competitions).

Poling developed into a fitness activity and sport during the 1990s and 2000s, with national and international pole competitions. Poling has become a dance, fitness activity and sport, and continues to evolve. The International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), formed in 2009 by Tim Trautman and Katie Coates, is endeavoring to make poling an Olympic sport. The federation has held world championships since 2012, and poling was one of seven sports granted observer status by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) in 2017. Professional pole-sports leagues have been formed, notably Oksana Grishina's O.G. Pole Fitness (which holds its annual championship at Mr. Olympia) and the Pole Championship Series (which holds its annual championship at the Arnold Sports Festival).

In a pole competition, each athlete generally performs a routine to music. Athletes are judged on their ability to perform complex movements (e.g. spins and strength and flexibility poses), choreography, style, and expressiveness. Poles in IPSF pole-sports competitions are brass, 45 mm (1.77 in) in diameter, with 4m (13.12 feet) of usable height. In competition, athletes regularly use a static (non-spinning) pole and a spinning pole. Their skin helps performers grip the slippery poles, and athletes wear clothing which exposes the skin on their shoulders, waist, arms and legs. The IPSF requires competitors to cover their pelvis, gluteal muscles and (for women) breasts. When using Chinese poles (which differ from IPSF poles), thicker clothing protects the body.