钢管舞申请加入奥运会
It's Friday afternoon, and 12 people are gathered in a pole dancing class in Washington, D.C.
一个周五的下午，有12个人聚集在了华盛顿DC的一家钢管舞课堂上。
They start warming up in front of a wall of mirrors, music at full blast.
开始前，她们先在一墙镜子前面热身，音乐开到了最大。
At first, it looks like any fitness class with the first 15 or so minutes consisting mainly of ground stretching on yoga mats.
最开始的15分钟左右时间里，这里看起来就像是普通的健身课程一样，由地面拉伸和瑜伽垫动作组成。
Then they climb up on the poles.
后来她们就开始上管了。
Some people twirl around, others fully invert, lifting their legs over their heads.
有人在做旋转，而其他人则做了一个倒V字造型，把腿部伸过了头顶。
"I think people think of it as, you know, something that's super easy - but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication," says Devin Simpson, who started taking classes around two years ago.
“我想很多人可能会认为这种舞，你知道的，好像很简单—但其实需要很艰苦的训练和努力。”德文·辛普森说道，她已经上了两年的课了。
"We put ourselves through a lot, we put our bodies through a lot to do this."
“我们经过了很多的训练，我们的身体经过了很多的适应才能够做到这样。”
Other students at Pole Pressure agree with Simpson.
这家钢管舞解压课堂的其他学生也同意辛普森的说法。
Devon Williams, CEO of the studio, likens pole dancing to gymnastics — she says it takes strength, flexibility, creativity and a whole lot of training.
德文·威廉姆斯是这家练习室的CEO，她把钢管舞比作是体操—她说，这需要力量，灵活性，创意以及大量的训练。
That's why a lot of people who participate in pole want the activity to gain official recognition as a sport and eventually make it to the Olympics.
也正因如此，很多从事钢管舞事业的人们都希望这项活动能够得到官方的认可，成为一种体育项目，甚至最终成为奥运会项目。
Katie Coates, president of the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), is leading this campaign.
凯蒂·考特斯是国际钢管舞协会的主席，也是钢管舞申奥运动的领导者。
"I'm sure that we would actually pull in such a huge crowd, just even people just being interested in what we do," Coates says.
“我相信，我们肯定能够团结很多的人们，甚至那些仅仅只是感兴趣的人们也会加入我们，”考克斯说。
"And then once they see it, people are so surprised and so impressed at the level of skill and athleticism that's required to actually do it.They all fall in love with our sport."
“一旦人们看到了之后，他们就会对这项运动所需要的技能和体育性感到震惊，后来他们都爱上了我们这项运动。”
Pole has been on "observer status" with the Global Association of International Sports Federations(GAISF) — basically the big umbrella organization that oversees official sports around the world — since 2017.
从2017年开始，钢管舞运动就处在全球体育协会的考核之中了，该组织基本上属于全球各种运动的官方总部。
This means they're temporarily recognized as a real sport until they work their way up to full membership.
这意味着，他们只是暂时被认为是一项真正的运动，但要最后获得了真是认可后，才会被真正承认。
Like with any other organized sport, the IPSF oversees rules, regulations, scoring, judging and anti-doping programs for large pole competitions.
跟其他已经获得认证的运动一样，全球体育协会会考察大型钢管舞比赛的规则，规章，记分，评判以及兴奋剂检查程序。
Coates says achieving full GAISF membership, which allows the organization to then apply to the International Olympic Committee, could take years — in 2016, sports climbing, skateboarding and surfing were among the new sportsapproved to compete in the 2020 Olympic games.
考特斯说，拿到完全的全球体育协会成员资格之后，就可以使他们的组织申请加入奥委会，而这需要花费多年—2016年时，竞技登山，滑板以及冲浪成为了新获准加入2020奥运会的项目。
The Tokyo 2020 committee first submitted the request in 2015, with the goal of including more sports that attract younger people.
2020东京奥委会在2015年时首次批准了他们的申请，目的就是希望再加入更多的运动，来吸引更多的年轻人。
And IPSF is on the right track: it's slowly meeting the criteria, which includes having smaller, nationwide federations join IPSF.
全球体育协会也加入了这个大潮流，他们正渐渐的增加了一些条件，其中包括让更小的，国内的协会也加入进来。
Recent additions include Ukraine and Mexico, says Coates.
乌克兰和墨西哥就是最近才加进来的，考特斯说道。
This fall, more than 400 people from 45 countries are expected to compete in the 9th Annual World Pole and Aerial Sports Championships in Switzerland.
今年秋天，将有来自45个国家的400多名选手参加在瑞士举办的第九届年度世界钢管舞和空中运动冠军杯。
But even as it makes progress, pole continues to grapple with negative stereotypes.
虽然取得了很多进展，但是钢管舞仍然需要对抗很多负面的刻板印象。
"I think we as a society need to get better about destigmatizing the sex work that comes along with pole dancing," says Zack, a student at Pole Pressure who asked that his last name be omitted for professional reasons.
“我认为我们作为一个协会，需要更好的去让人们摆脱认为钢管舞就跟性工作着有关的刻板印象。”
"Strippers are a part of our community and we need to accept them and love them — and also accept the athletic side of it as well. We are all one big happy pole family."
“那些脱衣舞者也是我们中的一员，我们需要去接受，并且去爱他们—同时也接受这项运动的体育性的一面，我们是一个钢管舞大家庭。”
Coates says that part of her work is to break down those taboos.
考特斯说她平时的工作之一，就是要打破这种禁忌。
And in some countries, she says pole has become completely desexualized as a sport.
她说，在一些国家，钢管舞已经完全摆脱了脱衣舞者形象，成为了一种运动。
"We have children from the ages of 6 through to 17 taking part. And that is our massive growth area," she explains.
“从6岁到17岁的孩子们都来参与了我们的运动，而这也是我们未来的一个很大的发展空间。”她解释道。
"So many children are now actually using this as an alternative form of fitness, an exercise and competitive sport other than, you know, things like gymnastics and ice skating."
“有很多的孩子都把它当成是另外一种健身，锻炼，竞技的方式，而不是把它当成像体操啊滑冰这样的运动。”
At Pole Pressure, people who come in for classes range from ages 15 to 65.
在这家钢管舞解压课堂，上到65岁下到15岁，各种年龄段的人都有。
Gymnastics or ballet can take a toll on the body over time, but Williams says pole offers more longevity, and that's why it draws in people with all different body types.
体操或者芭蕾经年日久可能会对身体造成损伤，但威廉姆斯说，钢管舞这项运动是可以很长期的，也正因如此，它吸引了各种体型的人们。
"You don't have to be in the best shape of your life. You don't have to be the most flexible. You don't have to be all these things because no matter where you're at on the pole, and your level and your movement — there's something for you," Williams says.
“你不需要处于人生中体型最巅峰的时期。你也不需要拥有极大的柔韧性。无论你处于钢管舞练习的哪一个阶段，你的水平和你的动作，这都是独属于你的。”威廉姆斯说道。
文中提到一次钢管舞的大型竞赛会在哪个国家举行？
留言回复正确答案，前十朋友可以获得红包奖励哦，赶快来试试吧。