| LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND-(20-4-2005) Since 1936, sports have been regularly added to the Olympic programme. At its extraordinary Session in Mexico in 2002, the IOC decided to: cap the numbers for the Games of the Olympiad to 28 sports, 301 events and 10,500 athletes and to systematically review the composition of the sports programme after each edition of the Olympic Games to ensure that its composition continues to be relevant and meet new expectations.
33 criteria
As requested by the IOC Session in 2002, the Olympic Programme Commission worked on defining 33 criteria to be used as the basis of the evaluation questionnaire. These criteria were at the time sent to the International Federations and relevant stakeholders for review and comments. In August 2004, the IOC Session accepted the final list of evaluation criteria during its meeting in Athens;
Questionnaire
This questionnaire was submitted to the 28 Summer Olympic International Federations.
In order to widen the analysis to other sports that potentially could add to the quality and popularity of the programme, the IOC decided to study further five Recognised Federations i.e. the International Golf Federation, the International Roller Sports Federation, the International Rugby Board, the World Karate Federation, and the World Squash Federation. These five Recognised Federations were also requested to complete the evaluation questionnaire. The deadline for submission of the answers to the questionnaire was 15 November 2004;
Olympic Programme commission
All questionnaires were reviewed by the Olympic Programme Commission, which drafted a first report. As part of this fair and transparent process, each federation received the analysis of its sport and was able to comment, amend or provide additional or new information;
Report distributed ahead of the Singapore session
The report is being finalised and will be distributed ahead of the 117th IOC Session in Singapore to IOC members for study and decision, to the International Federations and will be made public;
No recommendation from Programme Commission
In accordance with the previous decisions of the Executive Board, the Olympic Programme Commission report does not contain recommendations concerning the admission or non-admission of one of the sports currently on the Olympic programme. The report is rather an evaluation of the 28 sports currently on the programme and the five applicant sports, and may be compared to the report by the candidate cities Evaluation Commission.
KEY PRINCIPLES
Any decision regarding Olympic sports is the responsibility of the IOC Session; any decision regarding disciplines and events is the responsibility of the Executive Board. In order to be considered for the Olympic programme, a sport must be recognised as an Olympic sport. The list of Olympic sports contains actually 28 sports;
According to Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter, the minimum number of Olympic sports included in the Olympic programme is 15 and the maximum is 28. It is not obligatory that there be 28 sports on the Olympic programme.
In Athens, all 28 Olympic sports were part of the Olympic programme. In order for an Olympic sport to be in the Olympic programme, a simple majority is needed.
In order to become an Olympic sport, a 2/3 majority is needed as this constitutes a modification of a rule of the Olympic Charter. Rule 46 clearly defines what are the Olympic sports and includes the list of these sports;
A sport that is not chosen to be part in the Olympic programme, remains an Olympic sport (i.e. on the Rule 46 list) and is eligible for possible future inclusion into the Olympic programme upon a simple majority.
PROCEDURE FOR THE IOC 117TH SESSION
On 8 July 2005, the Executive Board will not make any recommendations on the admission or non-admission of one or more of the 28 sports;
The IOC members will vote by secret ballot on each of the 28 sports that were part of the Olympic programme in Athens. The results of the vote will only be announced at the end of the proceedings;
If one or more sports is not admitted to be part of the Olympic programme because they do not obtain a majority (more that 50% of the votes), this sport will remain an Olympic sport: it will remain on the Rule 46 list but will not be on the programme for the 2012 Games;
If one or more sports is not admitted to the programme of the 2012 Games and therefore the total limit of the 28 sports on the programme has not been reached, there is a possibility of another sport being put on the programme. In this instance, the Executive Board will meet and determine which applicant sport (s) may be proposed to the Session for admission;
The IOC members will then vote by secret ballot on the proposal of the Executive Board. As previously stated, in order to become an Olympic sport, a 2/3 majority is needed; in order for an Olympic sport to be included in the sports programme, a simple majority is needed.
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