Le Force is strong with this one.
For Irish people of a certain age, P.E was utterly crap because we never got to play what we wanted. Despite the fact that everyone was crying out to play football, your teacher would invariably settle on something like netball or basketball.
No disrespect to those sports, of course, but the opportunity to play GAA or soccer was often fairly limited.
Well, if you’re living in France, you can now pick up a stick and try to beat the living snot out of someone instead. Fun for everyone!
How is this possible?
Well, the country’s fencing federation has officially recognised lightsaber duelling as a competitive sport.
Granted, we’re not sure if the actual weapon from Star Wars that can deflect blasts, slice off limbs, and melt steel is actually real, but the French are improvising.
They’ve given the iconic weapon the same status as the foil, épée and sabre, the traditional blades used at the Olympics.
The main reason why this very cool decision was made is because the French authorities feel that the physicality of lightsaber combat can be seen as an effective way of getting young people active.
Truth be told, we’d embrace the Dark Side and let the Sith hit the fan because as we all know, the bad guys are cooler and more powerful.
Plus, we’d also like to use Darth Maul’s double-bladed weapon. Nobody could beat us with that… cue Obi-Wan Kenobi slicing us in two.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
