Guatemala City, Guatemala - The International Olympic Committee changed the way it adds and removes sports from future Summer and Winter Games.
Until Friday, it took a two-thirds majority to approve a new sport. However, now only a simple majority will be needed to add or remove sports.
Baseball and softball were the first sports dropped from the Olympics since polo was cut in 1936. They remain on the program for the 2008 Games in Beijing, but won’t be part of the program for the 2012 London Games. However, they could return for the 2016 Olympics.
The number of core sports has been increased from 15 to 25 from the Games of 2020 onwards. For the 2016 Games, the 26 core sports from London will be proposed. The maximum number of sports included in the program remains capped at 28.
In the future, the executive board of the IOC will vote for 25 core summer sports. These 25 core sports will need a simple majority to be included in the Olympic program.
IOC president Jacques Rogge complimented the new system for “providing a better flexibility to change the Olympic programme through the introduction of up to three new sports.”
Seven core sports - biathlon, bobsled, luge, curling, ice hockey, skiing and skating - will be included in the program for the Winter Games. The voting procedure by the session for these sports is the same as for the summer sports.
