Baseball and softball, proposed to be staged in Yokohama, will each have a competition involving six teams.
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Adding these five new sports to the Olympics is a move that makes sense, and likely will grow viewership and support of the games in the future.
International Olympic Committee members voted 85-0 in favour of baseball, but not before some delegates raised concerns about the sport, whose US-based stars are not confirmed for the games.
The Tokyo Games run from July 24-Aug. The decision to include sports climbing and skateboarding events at the temporary venues is a whole evolution of the Games in contemporary Olympic days. It expects to hold numerous new events at venues installed in urban settings, in an effort to bring the games closer to younger generations.
The worldwide federations that oversee baseball and softball had vigorously campaigned for the return of both sports to the Olympics. Specifically, the roadmap called for special attention on flexibility and youth-in seeming efforts to develop the Olympic programs in ways that will cater, represent and satisfy all audiences.
The IOC president, Thomas Bach, who insisted this week that the Russian doping crisis had not harmed the Olympics, said: “We want to take sport to the youth”. Cuba won three gold medals (1992, 1996, 2004), with the United States (2000) and South Korea (2008) each winning one. The IOC must approve the sports by an all-members vote.
Softball is more popular, as it’s basically the only time the sport is shown on a national stage at a professional level.
“Baseball and softball are global sports that belong in the Olympics”, he said, adding that their approval “will allow fans throughout the world to again enjoy baseball and softball on the Olympic stage”.
International Olympic Committee members voted 85-0 in favor but not before some concerns about baseball, whose US-based stars are not confirmed for the Games.
With the Olympics set to open, anxious International Olympic Committee members grilled top organizing officials about traffic jams, water pollution, security, and the absence of signage that gives the games its own distinct look. Pro leagues in Japan and some other countries have agreed to shut down their seasons to send their top players, but MLB has declined. We have an agreement with all federations and have an open discussion and are on a good way with the Major League Baseball.
“Time to start the four-year long journey. Our goal is appear permamently and to have the best players as possible”.
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Surprise choice skateboarding will have two street and two park events and will see 40 competitors each (20 male and 20 female).
