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The Olympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. The current Olympic program consists of 35 sports with 53 disciplines and more than 400 events — the Summer Olympics include 28 sports with 38 disciplines, and the Winter Olympics include 7 sports with 15 disciplines.[1] Each Olympic sport is represented by a single international governing body, namely an International Federation (IF).[2]
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, and events.[2] According to this hierarchy, the Olympic sports can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often assumed to be distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo (disciplines of Aquatics, represented by the International Swimming Federation),[3] or figure skating and speed skating (disciplines of Skating, represented by the International Skating Union).[4] In their turn, disciplines can be subdivided into events, for which medals are actually awarded.[2] A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines that it is widely practiced around the world, that is, the number of countries that compete in a given sport is the indicator of the sport's prevalence. The IOC's requirements reflect participation in the Olympic Games as well — more stringent toward men (as they are represented in far higher numbers) and Summer sports (as more nations compete in the Summer Olympics). To be able to be competed at the Olympics, for instance, an event must be practiced by men in at least, fifty countries on three continents, and by women in at least thirty-five countries on three continents.[2]
Previous Olympic Games included sports which are no longer present on the current program, like polo and tug of war.[5] These sports, known as "discontinued sports", were later removed either because of lack of interest or absence of an appropriate governing body.[2] Archery and tennis are examples of sports that were competed at the early Games, were eventually dropped by the IOC, but managed to return to the Olympic program (in 1972 and 1988, respectively). Demonstration sports have often been included in the Olympic Games, usually to promote a local sport from the host country or to gauge interest and support for the sport.[6] Such sports, like baseball and curling, were successfully included in the official Olympic program (in 1992 and 1998, respectively).
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At the 1896 Summer Olympics, the first Olympic Games, nine sports were contested.[7] Since then, the number of sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games has gradually risen to the current number of twenty-eight. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, however, the number of sports will fall back to twenty-six; in early 2006, the IOC voted on the removal of baseball and softball from the Olympic schedule, in 2012. However, they remain Olympic sports and thus could return to the Olympic program, in 2016.[8]
In order for a sport or discipline to be in included on the Summer Olympics program (but not necessarily be contested at the Olympics), it must be widely practiced by men in at least seventy-five countries on four continents, and by women in at least forty countries on three continents.
The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Summer Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events, for each sport, contested at the respective Games; a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.
Five of the twenty-eight sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:
Aquatics — Canoeing/Kayak — Cycling — Gymnastics — Volleyball
The following sports were previously part of the Summer Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program. The numbers in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games; a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.
| Sport | 96 | 00 | 04 | 06 | 08 | 12 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 48 | 52 | 56 | 60 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 76 | 80 | 84 | 88 | 92 | 96 | 00 | 04 | 08 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basque pelota | Image:Basque pelota pictogram.svg | 1 | Template:Bigbullet | Template:Bigbullet | Template:Bigbullet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cricket | Image:Cricket pictogram.svg | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Croquet | Image:Croquet pictogram.svg | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Figure skating | Image:Olympic pictogram Figure skating.png | 4 | 3 | included in the Winter Olympic Games program | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Golf | Image:Golf pictogram.svg | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ice hockey | Image:Olympic pictogram Ice hockey.png | 1 | included in the Winter Olympic Games program | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jeu de paume | Image:Jeu de paume pictogram.svg | Template:Bigbullet | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lacrosse | Image:Lacrosse pictogram.svg | 1 | 1 | Template:Bigbullet | Template:Bigbullet | Template:Bigbullet | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Polo | Image:Polo pictogram.svg | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rackets | Image:Racquets pictogram.svg | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Roque | Image:Roque pictogram.svg | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union | Image:Rugby union pictogram.svg | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tug of war | Image:Tug of war pictogram.svg | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Water motorsports | Image:Water motorsports pictogram.svg | Template:Bigbullet | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Summer Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program: Template:Col-begin Template:Col-1-of-3
The Beijing Olympic Committee has received permission to organize a wushu competition, but it will not be considered a demonstration or exhibition sport at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[9][10]
Before 1924, when the first Winter Olympic Games were celebrated, sports held on ice, like figure skating and ice hockey, were contested at the Summer Olympics. These two sports made their debuts at the 1908 and the 1920 Summer Olympics respectively, but were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics program in 1924. The International Winter Sports Week, later dubbed the I Olympic Winter Games and retroactively recognized as such by the IOC, consisted of nine sports. The number of sports contested at the Winter Olympics has since been decreased to seven, comprising a total of fifteen disciplines.[11]
A sport or discipline must be widely practiced in at least twenty-five countries on three continents in order to be included on the Winter Olympics program.[2]
The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Winter Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically, according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events, for each sport, that were contested at the respective Games (the blue cells indicate that those sports were held at the Summer Games); a bullet denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. On some occasions, both official medal events and demonstration events were contested in the same sport at the same Games.
Three out of the seven sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:
The following sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:
Many sports are not included in the Olympic program but are "recognized" by the IOC.[12] At any time, a recognized sport may be added to the Olympic program in future Games, as result of a recommendation of the IOC Olympic Programme Commission followed by a voting of the IOC membership. Usually, the sport appeared as a demonstration sport or event of similar status before being officially promoted.[6] The respective International Federations (IFs) are responsible for ensuring that the sport's activities follow the Olympic Charter; from the moment their sport is recognized they become official Olympic federations and can assemble with the IOC and remaining Olympic IFs.[13] Recognized sports that are not part of the competition schedule for an Olympic Games usually become part of the schedule of the World Games.
On July 11, 2005, the IOC voted to drop baseball and softball from the Olympic program for 2012, [14] a decision that was reaffirmed on February 9, 2006.[8] Nevertheless, the IOC members rejected their replacement with karate and squash, which were selected from a list that included golf, roller sports and rugby sevens. During its last meeting of 2007, on December 12, the IOC Executive Board approved the provisional recognition of both cricket and climbing for a two-year period.[15]
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