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By Julian Forbes
CEO Karate Athlete, Inc.
There seems to be quite a lot of miss-information, speculation and guess work circulating about regarding Karate and its eventual inclusion in the Olympic Games. I hope to answer some of those questions here. Rather than giving you speculation, let me give it to you copied directly from the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) current Charter. Though some of these paragraphs may seem redundant due to them covering all possibilities, I strongly suggest that anyone with interest in what it takes to become an Olympic Sport take the time to read through it. I will offer a few words at the end.
47 Sports Programme, Admission of Sports,
Disciplines and Events
The IOC establishes the programme of the Olympic Games, which
only includes Olympic Sports.
1 Olympic Sports included in the Programme of the Olympic
Games:
To be included in the programme of the Olympic Games, an
Olympic sport must conform to the following criteria:
1.1 only sports widely practised by men in at least seventy-
five countries and on four continents, and by women in
at least forty countries and on three continents, may be
included in the programme of the Games of the
Olympiad;
1.2 only sports widely practised in at least twenty-five
countries and on three continents may be included in the
programme of the Olympic Winter Games;
1.3 only sports that adopt and implement the World Anti-
Doping Code can be included and remain in the
programme of the Olympic Games;
1.4 sports are admitted to the programme of the Olympic
Games at least seven years before specific Olympic
Games in respect of which no change shall thereafter be
permitted, subject to paragraph 6 below.
2 Disciplines:
2.1 A discipline, being a branch of an Olympic sport
comprising one or several events, must have a recognized
international standing to be included in the programme
of the Olympic Games.
2.2 The standards for the admission of disciplines are the
same as those required for the admission of Olympic
sports.
2.3 A discipline is admitted to the programme at least seven
years before specific Olympic Games in respect of which
no change shall thereafter be permitted, subject to
paragraph 6 below.
3 Events:
3.1 An event, being a competition in an Olympic sport or in
one of its disciplines and resulting in a ranking, gives rise
to the award of medals and diplomas.
3.2 To be included in the programme of the Olympic Games,
events must have a recognised international standing
both numerically and geographically, and have been
included at least twice in world or continental
championships.
3.3 Only events practised by men in at least fifty countries
and on three continents, and by women in at least thirty-
five countries and on three continents, may be included
in the programme of the Olympic Games.
3.4 Events are admitted not later than three years before
specific Olympic Games in respect of which no change
shall thereafter be permitted, subject to paragraph 6
below.
4 Criteria for Admission of Sports, Disciplines and Events:
4.1 To be included in the programme of the Olympic Games
any sport, discipline or event must satisfy the conditions
specified by this rule.
4.2 Sports, disciplines or events in which performance
depends essentially on mechanical propulsion are not
acceptable.
4.3 Unless the IOC decides to the contrary, a single event
cannot simultaneously give rise to both an individual and
a team ranking.
4.4 Sports, disciplines or events included in the programme
of the Olympic Games which no longer satisfy the
criteria of this rule may nevertheless, in certain
exceptional cases, be maintained therein by decision of
the IOC for the sake of Olympic tradition.
5 IFs’ Notice of Participation in the Olympic Games:
The IFs governing the sports included in the programme of the
Olympic Games must confirm to the IOC their participation in
the respective Olympic Games not later than at the time of the
IOC Session which elects the host city for such Games.
6 Waiver of deadlines for admission or exclusion of sports,
disciplines or events:
The deadlines set forth in paragraphs 1.4, 2.3 and 3.4 above may
be waived, in order to allow changes in the programme of the
Olympic Games under the following conditions:
6.1 For the admission of sports, disciplines or events, a
deadline may be waived by decision of the competent
organ of the IOC, with the approval of the IF governing
the sport concerned and the OCOG of the edition of the
Olympic Games concerned.
6.2 For the exclusion of sports, disciplines or events, a
deadline may be waived by decision of the competent
organ of the IOC if the IF governing such sport does not
comply with the Olympic Charter or with the World Anti-
Doping Code. In addition, measures and sanctions
according to Rule 23 may apply.
7 Competence as to the Admission or Exclusion of a Sport,
Discipline or Event:
The admission or exclusion of a sport falls within the
competence of the IOC Session. A decision to include or exclude
a discipline or event falls within the competence of the IOC
Executive Board.
48 Programme of the Olympic Games
1 The programme of the Games of the Olympiad must include at
least fifteen Olympic sports. Such required minimum does not
exist for the programme of the Olympic Winter Games.
2 After each Olympic Games, the IOC reviews the programme of
the Olympic Games.
3 On the occasion of each review, the standards for the admission
of sports, disciplines or events may be reviewed and the
admission or exclusion of sports, disciplines or events
determined by the competent IOC organs.
And there you have it. The last part is particularly important as to the best of my knowledge we (Karate) have met all the other requirements. So all that remains is that all important vote after the next Olympics (Beijing 2008) when the IOC members will meet and discuss how things went in Beijing and vote for inclusion (or exclusion) of a number of sports. I believe that there are around 150 voting IOC members. I am not sure whether they are all present and vote, or whether only a contingent are present at the vote.
The next vote in any case, will be as stated above, after the 2008 Olympics in 2009. In order to be included as an Olympic Sport, 50% of the votes must be for Karate.
If any of you think this is easy to achieve, please keep in mind that there are a number of high profile sports such as Rugby and Squash that are also competing for inclusion. If just a few members vote for some of these other sports it could, and has in the past, keep us from getting in.
This is why I have chosen a pro-active line in the pursuit of Olympic inclusion for Karate. As funds roll in from this site and indeed my other businesses I will endeavor to implement a marketing campaign designed to embed the virtues of our sport in the minds of each and every IOC voting member. A pleasant side effect of this is the promotion of Karate to the world and the increase in student subscriptions at dojos around the world.
I will bring you any developments as they arise, but you will need to wait until after the 2009 vote for any real good news.
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