Olympic Games

The Olympic Games, or Olympics, is an international multi-sport event taking place every two years and alternating between Summer and Winter Games. Originally held in ancient Greece, they were revived by a French nobleman, Pierre Frèdy, Baron de Coubertin in the late 19th century. The Games of the Olympiad, better known as the Summer Olympics, have been held every fourth year since 1896, with the exception of the years during the World Wars.

Olympic sports

At the 2004 Olympics, events were held in 28 sports, per the IOC count. If one splits up sports such as aquatics, there were 37 different sports. 9 sports were on the original Olympic programme in 1896: athletics (track and field), cycling, fencing, gymnastics, weightlifting, shooting, swimming, and wrestling. If the 1896 rowing events had not been cancelled due to bad weather, they would have been included in this list as well.

Related Topics:
Aquatics - Athletics - Cycling - Fencing - Gymnastics - Weightlifting - Shooting - Swimming - Wrestling - Rowing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At the most recent Winter Olympics, 7 sports were conducted, or 15 if one splits up sports such as skiing and skating. Of these, cross country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating have featured on the programme at all Winter Olympics. In addition, figure skating and ice hockey have also been contested as part of the Summer Games before introduction of separate Winter Olympics.

Related Topics:
Skiing - Skating - Cross country skiing - Figure skating - Ice hockey - Nordic combined - Ski jumping - Speed skating

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In recent years, the IOC has added several new sports to the programme to attract attention from young spectators. Examples of such sports include snowboarding and beach volleyball. The growth of the Olympics also means that some less popular (modern pentathlon) or expensive (white water canoeing) sports have to fear for their place on the Olympic programme. No sports had been excluded until July 2005, when the IOC decided to remove baseball and softball from the games as of 2012.

Related Topics:
Snowboarding - Beach volleyball - Modern pentathlon - Canoeing - Baseball - Softball

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rule 48.1 of the Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports on the programme of the Games of the Olympiad. Following its 114th Session (Mexico 2002), the IOC also decided to limit the programme of the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 sports, 301 events, and 10,500 athletes. The Olympic sports are defined as those governed by the International Federations listed in Rule 46 of the Olympic Charter. A two-thirds vote of the IOC is required to amend the Charter to promote a Recognised Federation to Olympic status and therefore make the sports it governs eligible for inclusion on the Olympic programme. Rule 47 of the Charter requires that only Olympic sports may be included in the programme.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The IOC reviews the Olympic programme at the first Session following each Olympiad. A simple majority is required for an Olympic sport to be included in the Olympic programme. Under the current rules, an Olympic sport not selected for inclusion in a particular games remains an Olympic sport and may be included again later with a simple majority. At the 117th IOC Session 26 sports were included in the programme for London 2012, with Baseball and Softball not being selected.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Until 1992, the Olympics often also featured so-called demonstration sports. The objective was for these sports to reach a big audience through the Olympics; the winners of these events are not properly Olympic champions. These sports were sometimes sports only popular in the host nation, but also internationally known sports have been demonstrated. Some demonstration sports, such as baseball and curling were eventually included as full-medal events.

Related Topics:
Baseball - Curling

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Amateurism and professionalism

In Coubertin's vision, athletes should be gentlemen. As in most cases only amateurs were considered such, professional athletes were not allowed to compete in the Olympic Games. The exception to this were the fencing instructors, who were indeed expected to be gentlemen. This exclusion of professionals has caused several controversies throughout the history of the modern Olympics.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1912 Olympic pentathlon and decathlon champion Jim Thorpe was disqualified when it was discovered that he played semi-professional baseball prior to winning his medals (he was restored by the IOC in 1983). Twenty-four years later, Swiss and Austrian skiers boycotted the 1936 Winter Olympics in support of their skiing teachers, who were not allowed to compete because they were considered to be professionals, earning money with their sport.

Related Topics:
Pentathlon - Decathlon - Jim Thorpe - Baseball - 1936 Winter Olympics

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It gradually became clear to many that the amateurism rules had become outdated. For example, many athletes from Eastern European nations were officially employed by the government, but effectively given opportunity to train all day, thereby only being amateurs in name. Nevertheless, the IOC held on to amateurism.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the 1980s, amateurism regulations were relaxed, and eventually completely abolished in the 1990s. This switch was perhaps best exemplified by the American Dream Team, composed of well paid NBA stars, which won the Olympic gold medal in basketball in 1992. As of 2004, the only sport in which no professionals compete is boxing; in men's football (but not in the women's game) the number of players over 23 years of age is limited to three per team.

Related Topics:
1980s - 1990s - Dream Team - NBA - Basketball - As of 2004 - Boxing - Football

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Advertisement regulations are still very strict, at least on the actual playing field, although "Official Olympic Sponsors" are common. Athletes are only allowed to have the names of clothing and equipment manufacturers on their outfit. The sizes of these markings are limited.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~