It follows a decision to systematically review the sports making up the Olympic programme after each Olympic Games, to ensure the mix “continues to be relevant and meet the expectations of future sporting generations”.
The Olympic Programme Commission, in collaboration with international federations, defined 33 criteria to be used as the basis of the evaluation questionnaire. The questionnaire was then submitted to the 28 Summer Olympic international federations.
To assess other sports that could potentially be added to the programme, the IOC decided to study further five recognised federations - the International Roller Sports Federation, the World Squash Federation, the International Golf Federation, the World Karate Federation and the International Rugby Board.
The final report does not contain recommendations concerning the admission or non-admission of any sports, but simply outlines the facts. It is being sent to the IOC members for study ahead of the vote, which will take place during the 117th IOC Session next month in Singapore.
The minimum number of Olympic sports included in the Olympic programme is 15 and the maximum is 28. In Athens, all 28 Olympic sports were part of the Olympic programme.
For a sport to be in the Olympic programme, a simple majority of votes is needed. To become an Olympic sport, a two-thirds majority is needed.
A sport that is not chosen to be part in the Olympic programme remains an Olympic sport and is eligible for possible future inclusion via a simple majority.
Meanwhile, captains of the world's top 16 Rugby Sevens teams have expressed their outrage to the IOC after one of the organisation's top officials was said to have made disparaging comments about the sport.
IOC executive board member, Denis Oswald, who is also president of ASOIF (the sports presently in the Olympic sports programme) and the International Rowing Federation (FISA), is alleged to have described Sevens as “something of a joke”.
The players’ have written a unified letter of complaint to IOC president, Dr Jacques Rogge.
