7/25/05

During the recent 117th Session of the International Olympic Committee, IOC members voted not to include golf on the programme of the XXX Olympiad. Earlier this year, the International Golf Federation had applied to the IOC to include golf on the programme of the 2012 Olympic Games, which will be held in London. Golf was one of five sports, together with karate, roller sports, rugby, and squash, hoping to be added to the programme.

As part of a systematic review of the Olympic Programme , the members of the IOC cast a secret ballot on July 8 for each of the 28 sports on the current programme of the summer games. Twenty six of the 28 sports were retained; baseball and softball, failing to receive the necessary votes, were dropped. Previously, no sport had been removed from the programme since polo was elimina ted prior to the 1936 games in Berlin , Germany.

The elimination of baseball and softball seemed to offer hope for the IGF’s application, for the IOC had recently confirmed its 2002 decision to freeze the number of sports on the programme at a maximum of 28. The elimination of two sports left room for the members of the IOC to add up to two of the five sports under consideration. In a further vote, however, none of the five sports received the two-thirds majority support required for inclusion.

The future of golf in the Olympics remains uncertain. In a letter to the IGF da ted July 13, IOC President Jacques Rogge wrote: “ The IOC expresses its sympathy to your Federation for the dedication and commitment you have shown to be included in the Olympic Programme .  The IOC will work with you in the future in order to ensure that the Olympic Programme remains the most attractive event by offering the opportunity for new sports to be added.”

Speaking at the closing of the Singapore session, Rogge noted that all five of the sports under consideration, as well as baseball and softball, would be put to a vote again following the Beijing Games in 2008.