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It's Over And Out For Softball

Editorial Review

Editorial Review

Softball made its debut at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996 and baseball at the previous Games in Barcelona, however, neither will feature in London four years from now.

Other recent additions to the Olympic sporting program - which has been set at a maximum of 28 sports - include triathlon (Sydney 2000) and beach volleyball (also Atlanta 1996).

BMX, by the way, comes under the existing sport of cycling, which dumped two events to fit BMX in.

As the International Olympic Committee has also capped the number of athletes that it wants to make the host city have to accommodate at each Games, for new sports or events to be added, some have to go.

In the case of London, however, there will be only 26 sports, because nothing else was added to replace softball and baseball.

As you would expect, there has been an outcry from the softball community around the world that their sport, one of the few team sports that girls can start playing at a young age and aspire to represent their country in at the Olympics, has been given the chop.

But is the demise of softball and baseball just for 2012, more lasting or even permanent?

Well, seven years before each summer Games, when the IOC meets to decide who the host city will be, they also set the sports program.

It's now a simple vote by the IOC delegates at the assembly. A majority favour your sport, it's in. At the 2005 vote, softball missed out by one vote and baseball three.

At the next vote, in October 2009, no sports are up for exclusion. They will put forward the 26 that will be contested in London, and add two more.

So softball and baseball are amongst seven sports - along with golf, rugby, squash, karate and roller sports - under consideration for inclusion at the 2016 Olympics (by the way Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio de Janeiro are the leading contenders to host).

But with BMX now in, why isn't skateboarding in the running?

Murray Brust in Beijing for Citysearch

View Citysearch's TV guide for details of Olympic Games coverage.