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IOC releases report on sports hoping to remain in Olympics

On Monday, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released a hefty report assessing the 28 sports hoping to stay in the Olympics and the five sports trying to get in, but making no case for any change.

The 265-page review by the IOC's program commission lists facts and figures across a range of 33 criteria but offers no recommendations for adding or dropping any sport.

The report is designed to serve as a guide for IOC members when they vote on the sports program in Singapore next month.

Each of the 28 sports contested in Athens last summer will be put to a vote; any sport failing to get a majority will be dropped for the 2012 Olympics.

The five sports on the waiting list are golf, rugby, karate, squash and roller sports. No sport will be added unless one is dropped.

No sport has been cut from the Summer Olympics since polo in 1936.

Removal from the program would be devastating for smaller sports which rely on the Olympics for prestige and revenue.

The Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), which represents all 28 sports, is lobbying for the existing program to be upheld.

"The perception that the report is a bit bland or tame is saying something in itself," said ASOIF director Robert Fasulo, a member of the IOC program panel.

"For us, that's a good sign. Our hope is the report will reaffirm the strength of the program. If you've got a winning formula, you don't need to change it," he said.

The IOC said the report "simply outlines the facts," he said.

In 2002, IOC president Jacques Rogge proposed that baseball, softball and modern pentathlon be removed and golf and rugby be added, but IOC members resisted and no vote was taken.

Monday's report culminates a two-year review of the sports program covering issues such as global popularity, television and media coverage, ticket sales and anti-doping policies.

Some sports were cited for a low level of participation in parts of the world, high venue and technology costs, low hours of television coverage and scant media coverage.

Track and field, swimming, artistic gymnastics and basketball were among those cited for substantial TV and print coverage.

The report pointed out problems in judging and scoring in boxing and gymnastics.

The IOC also cited "major flaws" in judging at the gymnastics in Athens, referring to the scoring controversy which dragged on for months over Paul Hamm's gold medal in the all-around.

According to the report, baseball fails to bring Major League players to the Olympics and needs to needs to make more effort to increase public interest and understanding in areas where the sport is not popular.

That was an apparent reference to the entertainment offered by bikini-clad dancers at the venue in Athens, which offended some players.

It also issued notes of caution about some of the sports on the waiting list.

For golf, the IOC said, there is "no certainty" that the top players would take part in the Olympics.

The roller sports federation, which proposes speed skating events in the Olympics, has a "very low" number of national bodies and its strategic plan "appears to lack integration."
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