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The Popular Restaurant Chain That Tried To Make Bartending An Olympic Sport By Sara Traynor Sept. 14, 2025 9:39 am EST

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Bartenders definitely deserve their flowers, but should they receive Olympic gold medals? In 2010, restaurant chain TGI Friday's thought so. It petitioned the International Olympic Committee to get bartending recognized as an official Olympic sport. In a press release , Trey Hall, former senior vice president and chief marketing officer of TGI Friday's, said, "What other sport requires ten-hour routines, absolute precision and a fully-memorized playbook? Bartending can be a whole new playing field for Olympic sport."

While this may come as a shock to some, it isn't that big of a surprise when you c

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