All the hate on social media for the Olympics version of skimo makes sense, but perhaps in its passion ignores an element of practicality. When climbing was added to the summer games there were many complaints about the format, and that it was missing the point of the sport. Incrementally that appears to be getting better (though competitors will probably always be pulling on plastic so there will always be detractors). It’s the same thing here: adding a baby version you can easily control and officiate first. Proponents of the more wild or complex outdoor sports, whether skimo, trail running, climbing, etc. need to keep that in mind. New sports needs to be accessible (both contextually for the public and logistically for the organizing committees) at the first go and only then expand after lessons have been learned and an audience proven. The Olympics seems fairly risk adverse on this front.

That being said, I'd also love to see a wild and crazy individual category like what could be found on the ISMF World Cup. For that matter, why not make a possible future trail running component something that'd fit into the skyrunning category?