18-Apr-05
Olympic hopes take a knock ...
Squash's hopes of becoming an Olympic
sport appeared to receive a setback today, as IOC President Jacques
Rogge declared in Berlin that it was unlikely that any sports would
be dropped from the programme for 2012.
Squash is one of five sports vying for inclusion, but no new sports
will be added unless an existing sport is dropped.
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Olympic Stories
11-Jan:
Olympic Optimism
15-Mar:
Squash steps up
Olympic bid
18-Apr:
Olympic Hopes
take a knock
28-Apr:
Dramatic venues a
boost for squash
18-May:
Squash and the
Olympics - a perfect match
08-Jun:
Olympic sports gang up
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Report from AP ...
BERLIN (AP) - IOC president Jacques Rogge reassured international
federations Monday that it's unlikely any sports will be dropped
from the Summer Olympics.
The IOC recently completed a report reviewing the 28 sports
contested in Athens last year to consider whether any changes should
be made for the program of the 2012 Olympics.
Some federations fear their sports could be in danger of being cut
when the International Olympic Committee assembly finalizes the
program in Singapore in July.
Rogge went out of his way to dispel those concerns at the end of a
joint meeting of the IOC executive board and the Association of
Summer Olympic International Federations.
"There should be no anxiety," he said. "The process will be a
totally fair process. Reading the report, I have only one
conclusion. We have very strong federations, and strong federations
should have nothing to fear."
Rogge repeatedly has said that no sport will be added unless one is
dropped. The last sport eliminated from the Summer Olympics was polo
- in 1936.
The IOC program commission assessed the 28 sports, as well as the
five sports hoping to get into the Olympics - golf, rugby, squash,
karate and roller sports.
The panel will submit its report this week to the IOC board. The
report does not recommend whether a sport should stay or go. While
some sports come off worse than others, the report offers no
overwhelming evidence for any sport to be eliminated or added.
The comments were greeted with relief by the federations.
"We take it very positively," saiid Robert Fasulo, director of the
Association of Summer Olympic International Federations. "People
feel a lot more relaxed. The president's remarks have alleviated a
lot of concern and put a lot of people at ease."
In 2002, Rogge proposed that baseball, softball and modern
pentathlon be dropped, and golf and rugby added. But IOC members
resisted and no vote was taken.
The current review does not affect the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which
will feature the same sports as Athens. Any changes would take place
for the 2012 Olympics, whose host city will be picked by the IOC on
July 6 in Singapore.
Rogge said the IOC will notify the federations in the next week or
so what procedure will be used to decide on the sports program in
Singapore. Under one proposal, each of the 28 sports would be put to
a roll call vote.
Rogge, meanwhile, ruled out raising the number of Olympic sports
above the limit of 28. He said the cap was approved by the IOC in
2002 and is enshrined in the Olympic charter and host city
contracts.
"We do not want the Games to become too big," Rogge said. "If you go
above the number of 28, you increase the demands on the organizing
committee and cause saturation among the public. The rules are set.
There is no way we can change that."
Rogge also dismissed the possibility of moving some summer sports to
the Winter Olympics, an idea raised by FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Under IOC rules, only sports practised on snow or ice are included
in the Winter Games.
Rogge said the regulation protects the "identity" of the Winter
Olympics. In addition, he said, adding summer sports would force
winter organizers to build additional indoor arenas.
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