It is hoped that membership will pave the way to pole dancing becoming an event at the Olympics. Photo / 123rf
It is hoped that membership will pave the way to pole dancing becoming an event at the Olympics. Photo / 123rf
It was once considered a risque pursuit, performed in front of a paying clientele at late night establishments.
However, pole dancing has now been recognised by an international sporting body, following an 11-year battle by a British competitor to make the event an Olympic sport.
For the first time, the Global Association of International Sports Federation (GAISF) has granted seven events "observer status", meaning they are now provisionally recognised as sports, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The historic milestone means that the International Pole Sports Federation (IPSF), founded by Katie Coates, 41, from Hertfordshire, is now able to apply for membership of the International Olympic Committee.
If accepted, it is hoped that membership will pave the way to pole dancing becoming an event at the Olympics.
At a national level, the British federation for pole dancing is now eligible to apply for national sports recognition through the Department for Digital, Culture and Sport.
It is also permitted to apply for membership of UK Sport and the British Olympic Committee, which could allocate it national and UK Lottery funding in the future.
The announcement follows more than a decade of campaigning by Coates, a pole dancing instructor, who set up the federation in 2009 after her petition for sports status garnered more than 10,000 signatures.
Since the federation was established, pole fitness has surged in popularity, with gyms and leisure centres holding classes across the UK.
The IPSF, alongside arm-wrestling, dodge ball and a number of other events, has two years to meet GAISF's requirements to become a fully-recognised sport.
They include becoming compliant with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and increasing their membership across the world.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Coates said pole dancing had achieved something previously thought "impossible", adding that she was confident the event would become a regular fixture in the Olympics.
"In the early 2000s people started doing it as fitness and taking away the sex stigma, so no high heels and making it accessible for average people," she added.
"Pole dancing is not like everyone thinks it is, you need to actually watch it to understand.
"I feel like we have achieved the impossible, everyone told us that we would not be able to get pole dancing recognised as a sport."
Pole dancing has been demonstrated at the New Zealand Fitness Expo. Photo / Dean Purcell
The IPSF is now made up of 25 national federations including Spain, Japan and Mexico, and is due to welcome new members from the US and China next year.
In 2012, it hosted the first World Pole Sports Championship, which launched to coincide the with London 2012 Olympic Games.
Coates said athletes had already been tested by WADA and none of them had failed.
She added: "To officially become a sport you need federations in 40 countries across four continents, and they need to be recognised by the highest sporting body in their countries."
Commenting on the announcement, Patrick Baumann, president of GAISF, said: "This is an exciting time for them and for us and we will do everything within our remit to help them realise their full potential as International Federations within the global sport's family and, one day, maybe become part of the Olympic programme.
"The new sports debuting at Tokyo 2020 and at the Buenos Aires Youth Olympics are evidence that the pathway is there."
Pole position
A mixture of dance and acrobatics, pole dancing can be traced to 12th century India, where a form of gymnastics, mallakhamb, is described in a Sanskrit text written by a regional king.
In its modern-day form, pole dancing gained popularity from circus performances. And, by the Fifties, it had become a staple in stripclubs.
