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NEW OLYMPIC VOTING PROCESS IS ANNOUNCED FOR SPORT INCLUSION!!
By Julian Forbes
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The IOC announced today (July 6, 2007) that it is changing its voting process for the inclusion of sports into the Olympic Program. The new changes are monumental improvements which will help the battle for Karate's inclusion.
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There are basically 3 changes:
• Under the old system a sport required a 2/3 rds majority vote for inclusion. A nearly impossible task given the number of other sports trying to get in. Under the new system a sport only requires a majority vote!!!! Given that Karate got more than 30% of the votes last time, more than any other sport, this new change definitely puts us closer to inclusion!!!
• The second change is the raising of the number of "core" sports from 15 to 25. This was always an issue for any sport trying to get in. Allowing more sports, again, increases our chances.
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Introduction
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By Karate Athlete Founder & CEO
Julian Forbes
One of the most common errors made by Martial
Artists is to adhere to the misconception that their dojo training is sufficient to carry them
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J. Forbes (USA)
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physically and mentally to the medal rounds of a competition.
While this may be true on a local or regional level, world class, and even most national champions supplement their technique training in the dojo with additional conditioning training which helps build the necessary properties his or her body needs to perform their techniques at an optimum level. Conditioning consists of building up the cardiovascular capacity of an athlete as well as the individual strength, stamina, and explosive energy of specific muscles needed to execute the techniques that will bring home the gold.
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• Lastly, and possibly most importantly, the IOC has changed their policy of only having one vote every 4 years. The IOC President can now request additional voting sessions if he, or she, sees substantial changes in a sport since a previous vote which make it a better contender for inclusion. This is great because it opens the door for federations to lobby the IOC for new votes without having to wait 4 years!
While none of this news is Karate-specific, it is all great news considering we were the most popular choice at the last voting session! I will continue to fight for inclusion but can truly say that I now see a possibility for inclusion in the near future!
For the IOC's full report and press release click here IOC PRESS RELEASE.
 View Video Interview with IOC President Jacques Rogge (QT Movie)
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which has just been accepted into the WKF with about 500,000 participants.
