IOC Votes to Change Olympic Charter, Focusing on Discipline Evaluation for Sports Inclusion

The International Olympic Committee on Wednesday accepted changes to the Olympic charter concerning the games’ sports programme in a vote by members.

The change means that individual disciplines, rather than entire sports, will be evaluated for selection to feature in the Summer and Winter Games, as of the 2032 Brisbane Games.

Based on this, Nordic skiing’s Nordic combined and snowboard’s parallel giant slalom could face the axe in winter, and athletics’ race walking could be hit in summer along with equestrian events and modern pentathlon.

The idea behind the moves is that globally attractive events with a broad participation field would have a better chance to be included than niche events in various sports, especially if they require costly venues.

Also on Wednesday, the IOC accepted changes to the Olympic Charter proposed by the executive board to reinforce the political neutrality of sport.

The amendments strengthen language emphasising that sport should be free from political interference, with one stressing the IOC’s role in ensuring neutrality “at all times, free from governmental, cultural, societal or economic pressure”.