IOC Executive Board decides Taekwondo to stay in the 2016 Olympics and proposes 2 new sports
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board (EB) proposed today the list of 26 core sports and 2 additional sports, golf and rugby, to be included in the 2016 Olympic Programme. The proposal will be submitted to the full IOC for a final decision at its Session in
This means that Taekwondo will be safe for another 2 Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Olympics. While some may lay claim for taekwondo’s inclusion as a success for the sport, it is really the success of all 26 core sports that contributed to this. Taekwondo still has a lot to do to keep its spot permanant, especially after the adverse publicity at the Beijing Olympics where 2 major incidents tarnished its image considerably, where in one, the Cuban player (2000 Olympics male heavyweight champion) kicked the referee and attacked the other judges, and in two, where the Chinese female 2000 and 2004 Olympics heavyweight champion was ruled lost after a protest overturned the initial result because 2 points were not being scored for a head kick..
Seven sports — baseball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby, softball and squash — were seeking to enter the Olympic programme. The secret ballot vote by the EB followed an extensive evaluation by the Olympic Programme Commission of the potential added value to the Games from each of the seven sports.
“All seven sports made a strong case for inclusion, and the EB carefully evaluated them in a transparent and fair process. In the end, the decision came down to which two would add the most value,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge, who elected not to take part in the vote. “Golf and rugby will be a great addition to the Games.”
The key factors in determining a sport’s suitability for the Olympic programme include youth appeal, universality, popularity, good governance, respect for athletes and respect for the Olympic values. “Golf and rugby scored high on all the criteria,” Rogge said. “They have global appeal, a geographically diverse line-up of top iconic athletes and an ethic that stresses fair play.”
During the 119th Session in
All seven sports had a chance to make their case to the Olympic Programme Commission in November 2008 and to the IOC EB in June 2009. Federations were also able to review their section of the report submitted to the EB.
The IOC EB also added women boxing from the 2012 London Olympcis, making all 26 sports now having both male and female divisions.
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August 15th, 2009 at 5:22 am
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Kim Seng says:
August 15th, 2009 at 11:00 am
The voting process to select the 2 additional sports was done by the preferential elimination process. Votes are done by secret ballot and the least votes for a sport is eliminated for each round of voting until the required number of highest votes has been achieved by a sport, in this case a clear majority of 8 votes are required out of 14 votes. (IOC President decided not to participate in the vote).
The 7 sports went through the voting process to select the 2 sports for inclusion – the sports were Baseball, Golf, Karate, Roller Sports, Rugby, Softball and Squash.
Rugby was the 1st sport voted in after 2 rounds of voting achieving 9 votes, after Roller Sport and Squash were eliminated from the 1st and 2nd round round of voting.
Golf was the 2nd sport voted in after 4 rounds of voting achieving 9 votes, after Roller Sports, Squash and Baseball were eliminated respectively in each preceding round of voting.
Roy Khoh says:
August 16th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Yay! Go Golf!
Kim Seng says:
August 20th, 2009 at 12:08 am
KEEPING TAEKWONDO IN THE OLYMPIC GAMES
Since its acceptance into the official Olympic Programme in the year 2000, taekwondo has gained increasing popularity. At the same time, it has also been subjected to many controversies. Many other sports, including martial arts sports, have been working hard to enter the Olympic Games (Karate being one of them). The big question to ask is “Will taekwondo be at risk of losing its position?”
2 sports were removed from the 28 core Olympic sports at an IOC vote back in 2005 and taekwondo only just survived the cut, which befell baseball and softball. Taekwondo received barely above the required majority vote to stay in the Olympics for 2012.
There is another vote to be taken in 2013 when the IOC will select only 25 core sports to be retained for future Olympics from 2020 as the permernant sports. With the inclusion of rugby and golf, both sports that has worldwide coverage and appeal, taekwondo faces an uphill task amongst the 28 sports where 3 will be eliminated from the core permernant list.
It is considered that taekwondo is in serious trouble unless it improves its viability and patch up its tarnished image from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.