Olympic sports

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Archery competition held during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. Dropped from the Olympic program after the Antwerp games, it was reinstated in 1972.

The Olympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. As of 2008, the Summer Olympics include 28 sports with 38 disciplines and about 300 events, and the Winter Olympics include 7 sports with 15 disciplines and about 80 events.[1] The number and kinds of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another.

Sports, disciplines, events

For purposes of Olympic competition, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) makes a distinction between sports and disciplines. A sport, in Olympic terms, is a single or group of disciplines as represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation.[2] For example, aquatics, represented at the Olympic level by the International Swimming Federation, is a sport at the Summer Olympics that includes the swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo disciplines.[3] Skating, represented by the International Skating Union, is a sport at the Winter Olympics that includes both the figure skating and speed skating disciplines.[4]

Medals are awarded on a per-event basis; there can be one or more events per sport or discipline.[2]

For most of the 20th century, demonstration sports have been included in many Olympic Games, usually to promote a non-Olympic sport popular in the host country, or to gauge interest and support for the sport.[5] Some such sports, like curling, were subsequently added to the official Olympic program. This changed when the International Olympic Committee decided in 1989 to eliminate demonstration sports from Olympics Games after 1992.[6] Although no demonstration sports have been included since then, as an alternative, the Beijing Organizing Committee received permission to organize a wushu tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics.[7][8]

Changes

Curling was promoted to official Olympic sport at the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics.

A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines that it is widely practiced around the world, that is, the number of countries that compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport's prevalence. The IOC's requirements reflect participation in the Olympic Games as well — more stringent toward men (as they are represented in higher numbers) and Summer sports (as more nations compete in the Summer Olympics). Sports may not depend primarily on mechanical propulsion, though there were power-boating events in the early days of the Olympics.[2] [9]

Previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war.[10] These sports, known as "discontinued sports", were later removed either because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body.[2] Archery and tennis are examples of sports that were competed at the early Games and were later dropped by the IOC, but managed to return to the Olympic program (in 1972 and 1988, respectively).

The most recent change occurred on July 11, 2005, when the IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the Olympic program for 2012,[11] a decision that was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006.[12] Softball and baseball are two of seven sports, including golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports, that will be considered at the 2009 Olympic Congress in Copenhagen for two openings on the schedule for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[13]

Recognized sports

Tug of war contested at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was later dropped from the Olympic program but remains a recognized sport.

Many sports are not included in the Olympic program but are recognized by the IOC.[14] At any time, a recognized sport may be added to the Olympic program in future Games through a recommendation by the IOC Olympic Programme Commission followed by a voting of the IOC membership. When Olympic demonstration sports were allowed, a sport typically first appeared as such before being officially promoted.[5] An International Federation (IF) is responsible for ensuring that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter; from the moment their sport is recognized they become official Olympic federations and can assemble with the IOC and remaining Olympic IFs.[15] Recognized sports that are not part of the competition schedule for an Olympic Games usually become part of the schedule of the World Games.

The following sports, though not contested in the Olympic Games, are recognized as Olympic sports by the IOC:[14]

Summer Olympics

At the first Olympic Games, nine sports were contested.[16] Since then, the number of sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games has gradually risen to twenty-eight on the program from 2000–2008. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, however, the number of sports will fall back to twenty-six following an IOC vote in early 2006 deciding the removal of baseball and softball from the Olympic program. These remain Olympic sports nonetheless, with the possibility of a return to the Olympic program at the 2016 games.[12]

In order for a sport or discipline to be in included in the Summer Olympics program (but not necessarily be contested at the Olympics), it must be widely practiced by men and women,[citation needed] in at least 75 and 50 countries, respectively, spread over four continents.

Current summer program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Summer Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games; a bullet (•) denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.

Five of the 26 sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

     Aquatics —      Canoeing/Kayak —      Cycling —      Gymnastics —      Volleyball

Sport (Discipline) Body 96 00 04 06 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08
Diving FINA 2 1 2 4 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 8 8 8
Swimming 4 7 9 4 6 9 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 15 18 29 29 26 26 29 31 31 32 32 32 34
Synchronized swimming 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
Water polo 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
Archery FITA 6 6 3 10 2 2 2 2 4 4 4 4 4 4
Athletics (track and field) IAAF 12 23 25 21 26 30 29 27 27 29 29 33 33 33 34 36 36 38 37 38 41 42 43 44 46 46 47
Badminton BWF • • 4 5 5 5 5
Basketball FIBA • • 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Boxing AIBA 7 5 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 11 11
Flatwater canoe/kayak ICF • 9 9 9 9 7 7 7 7 11 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
Slalom canoe/kayak 4 4 4 4 4 4
BMX UCI 2
Mountain biking 2 2 2 2
Road cycling 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 4 4 4 4
Track cycling 5 2 7 5 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 4 4 5 6 7 8 12 12 10
Equestrian FEI 3 5 7 5 6 5 6 6 6 6 5 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
Fencing FIE 3 7 5 8 4 5 6 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 10 10 10 10
Field hockey FIH 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Football (soccer) FIFA 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
Artistic FIG 8 1 11 4 2 4 4 9 8 11 9 9 15 15 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Rhythmic 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
Trampoline 2 2 2
Handball IHF 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Judo IJF 4 6 6 8 8 7 14 14 14 14 14
Modern pentathlon UIPM 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
Rowing FISA 5 5 6 4 4 5 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14 14
Sailing ISAF 10 4 4 14 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 7 8 10 10 11 11 11
Shooting ISSF 5 9 16 15 18 21 10 2 3 4 7 7 6 6 7 8 7 7 11 13 13 15 17 17 15
Table tennis ITTF 4 4 4 4 4 4
Taekwondo WTF • • 8 8 8
Tennis ITF 2 4 2 4 6 8 5 5 • • 4 4 4 4 4 4
Triathlon ITU 2 2 2
Beach volleyball FIVB 2 2 2 2
Indoor volleyball • 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Weightlifting IWF 2 2 2 5 5 5 5 5 6 7 7 7 7 7 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 15 15 15
Wrestling FILA 1 8 4 10 5 10 13 13 14 14 16 16 16 16 16 16 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 16 18 18
Total events 43 89 96 78 110 102 156 126 109 116 129 136 149 151 150 163 172 195 198 203 221 237 257 271 300 301 302

Discontinued summer sports

The following sports were previously part of the Summer Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program. The numbers in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games; a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.

Sport 96 00 04 06 08 12 20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 96 00 04 08
Baseball • • • • • • 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
Basque pelota 1 • • •
Cricket 1
Croquet 3
Figure skating 4 3 included in the Winter Olympic Games program
Golf 2 2
Ice hockey 1 colspan=20included in the Winter Olympic Games program
Jeu de paume • 1
Lacrosse 1 1 • • •
Polo 1 1 1 1 1
Rackets 2
Roque 1
Rugby union 1 1 1 1
Softball 1 1 1 1 1 1
Tug of war 1 1 1 1 1 1
Water motorsports • 3

Demonstration summer sports

The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Summer Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

Gliding was promoted from demonstration sport to an official Olympic sport in 1936 in time for the 1940 Summer Olympics, but the Games were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.[17][18]

Winter Olympics

Before 1924, when the first Winter Olympic Games were celebrated, sports held on ice, like figure skating and ice hockey, were contested at the Summer Olympics.[19] These two sports made their debuts at the 1908 and the 1920 Summer Olympics, respectively, but were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics program as of the first edition.[20] The International Winter Sports Week, later dubbed the I Olympic Winter Games and retroactively recognized as such by the IOC, consisted of nine sports. The number of sports contested at the Winter Olympics has since been decreased to seven, comprising a total of fifteen disciplines.[21]

A sport or discipline must be widely practiced in at least 25 countries on three continents in order to be included on the Winter Olympics program.[2]

Current winter program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Winter Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically, according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games (the blue cells indicate that those sports were held at the Summer Games); a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. On some occasions, both official medal events and demonstration events were contested in the same sport at the same Games.

Three out of the seven sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

     Bobsleigh —      Skating —      Skiing

Sport (Discipline) Body 08 20 24 28 32 36 48 52 56 60 64 68 72 76 80 84 88 92 94 98 02 06 10
Biathlon IBU     1 • • • 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 3 6 6 6 8 10 10
Bobsleigh FIBT     1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3
Skeleton     1 1 2 2 2
Curling WCF     1 • • • 2 2 2 2
Ice hockey IIHF   1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2
Luge FIL     3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Figure skating ISU 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
Short track speed skating     • 4 6 6 8 8 8
Speed skating     5 4 4 • 4 4 4 4 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 10 12 12
Alpine skiing FIS     2 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Cross country skiing     2 2 2 3 3 4 6 6 7 7 7 7 7 8 8 10 10 10 12 12 12
Freestyle skiing     • 2 • 4 4 4 4 6
Nordic combined     1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3
Ski jumping     1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
Snowboarding     4 4 6 6
Total events 16 14 14 17 22 22 24 27 34 35 35 37 38 39 46 57 61 68 78 84 86

Demonstration winter sports

The following sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

Military patrol was an official skiing event in 1924 but the IOC currently considers it an event of biathlon in those games, and not as a separate sport. Ski ballet, similarly, was simply a demonstration event falling under the scope of freestyle skiing.

References

  1. ^ "Sports". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Olympic Sports, Disciplines & Events". HickokSports.com. 2005-02-04. Retrieved 2007-03-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Aquatics". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  4. ^ "Skating". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  5. ^ a b "Demonstration Sports at the Olympic Games". Top End Sports. 2007-01-26. Retrieved 2007-03-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Albertville 1992". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
  7. ^ "Wushu to be part of Beijing Olympic Games". News Guangdong. 2005-10-14. Retrieved 2007-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Rogge says wushu no "Olympic sport" in 2008". Xinhua News Agency. 2005-10-16. Retrieved 2007-03-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ What Events are Olympic? Olympics at SportsReference.com. Accessed on 15 Aug 2008.
  10. ^ "Olympic sports of the past". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-04-06.
  11. ^ "Singapore 2005: 2012 Olympic Sport Vote". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  12. ^ a b "Olympic programme for London 2012 confirmed". The Movement. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  13. ^ "IOC considers Baseball, softball, golf". Special Broadcasting Service. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  14. ^ a b "Recognised Sports". Sports. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  15. ^ "International Sports Federations". The Movement. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
  16. ^ "Athens 1896 - Games of the I Olympiad". Olympic Games. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
  17. ^ Welch, Ann (1980). The Story of Gliding 2nd edition. John Murray. ISBN 0-7195-3659-6.
  18. ^ "DFS-Olympia-Meise". Deutsches Museum. Retrieved 2008-03-25.
  19. ^ "A History of Winter Olympic Games: Celebration and Contrariety". WorldWeb Travel Guide. 2000. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  20. ^ "This Day in History 1924: First Winter Olympics". This day in History. A&E Television Networks. Retrieved 2008-08-01.
  21. ^ "Charmonix 1924 - Ist Olympic Winter Games". Olympic Games. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2007-03-18.

External links

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