The Tokyo organizing committee recommended five additional sports – baseball/softball, surfing, skateboarding, karate and sports climbing – for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Bowling, squash and wushu failed to make the cut from among eight finalists.

The recommendation will be submitted to the International Olympic
Committee (IOC), which will make a final decision in Rio de Janeiro in August
2016.

In December 2014, the committee nixed a 28-sport limit, and instead set a cap of 10,500 athletes and 310 medal events at the Summer Games. If the IOC gives the go-ahead it will mean an extra 18 events involving an additional 474 athletes.

“This package of events represents both traditional and emerging,
youth-focused events, all of which are popular both in Japan and
internationally,” said the organizing committee in a statement. “They
will serve as a driving force to further promote the Olympic Movement
and its values, with a focus on youth appeal, and will add value to the
Games by engaging the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide,
reflecting the Tokyo 2020 Games vision.”

Under the “Olympic Agenda 2020″ program adopted by the IOC last December, host cities are allowed to propose one or more additional sports for their games which are popular in their country. Baseball and karate are particularly popular in Japan although surfing, skateboarding and climbing appeal to younger consumers the games are trying to attract.

It would be the first Olympic appearance for all of five sports except for baseball and softball. Baseball and softball have been out of the Olympics since the 2008 Beijing Games. Baseball had joined the Olympics as a medal sport in 1992 and softball in 1996.

“Today’s announcement by Tokyo 2020 to include baseball/softball into its proposal for additional events at the 2020 Olympic Games is an exciting step forward to hopefully seeing our game return to this great platform,” said MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred in the press release. “We look forward to the IOC’s decision in August 2016.”

“Tokyo 2020’s decision to propose our sport is a ‘home run’ and giant leap forward for baseball and softball,” said World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fraccari in a statement. “On behalf of WBSC and our athletes, I would like to thank Tokyo 2020 as well as IOC President Thomas Bach, whose Olympic Agenda 2020 vision has paved the way for this extraordinary opportunity. The entire baseball and softball world is excited and ready to cross the Olympic home plate. But above all, I am happy for all our male and female athletes who today can see there is a real chance to fulfil their greatest dream of representing their country in the most important sporting spectacle there is – the Olympic Games.”

“The recommendation today from Tokyo 2020 to restore Olympic baseball and softball has drawn attention here in Japan as well as globally,” said Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) Commissioner Katsuhiko Kumazaki, in a statement. “United with WBSC and our colleagues from around the world, baseball and softball want to shine bright for Tokyo 2020 and the Olympic Movement moving forward.”

International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre said in a statement: “Tokyo 2020’s announcement is an extraordinary moment for our sport and for the global surfing community.

“Surfing has incredible and growing global appeal, particularly amongst young people, and we believe that the dynamic energy of the sport and its fan base around the world would bring many benefits for Tokyo 2020 and the Games.

“Surfing embodies a cool, playful lifestyle that would add a completely new element to the programme, helping the Games reach new fans through live action and stunning broadcast opportunities.”

Commenting on the announcement, ISF (International Skateboarding Federation) President Gary Ream said: “Today’s announcement by Tokyo 2020 marks an important milestone in skateboarding’s short Olympic history which started with a first Olympic experience at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing in summer 2014. This decision recognizes the growth and popularity of skateboarding, and we appreciate that the IOC has made it possible for new sports to be added to the Games. The ISF and the skateboarding community are ready, equipped and well positioned to help make the first Olympic appearance of skateboarding an amazing one for skaters and fans alike.”

“It is exciting that skateboarding could possibly be included in the Olympics,” said renowned skateboarder Tony Hawk said in a statement. “This is not only a great opportunity for our sport and the skaters, but also for the Games.”

“It is a great honor to have been chosen. We thank the Tokyo 2020 Additional Event Programme Panel for this fantastic opportunity and the recognition within the Olympic Movement. Of course, there is still a long way to go, and all of us at the IFSC are deeply committed to meeting the challenges ahead. Together with our athletes and the National Federations, we are reaching new heights”, said Marco Scolaris, the IFSC (International Federation of Sports Climbing) president, in a statement.

“Now more than ever, we are convinced that Sport Climbing would be the perfect complement to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games program, and be a source of inspiration to the 500,000 Japanese climbers and all the spectators who will discover this sport in real conditions” said Yagihara Kunio, president of the Japanese Mountaineering Association, in a statement.

THE FIVE SPORTS PROPOSED

  • Baseball: 1 event/Softball: 1 event
  • Karate: 8 events (men’s and women’s kata, 3 weight classes for men’s kumite, 3 weight classes for women’s kumite)
  • Skateboard: 4 events (men’s and women’s street and park)
  • Sport climbing: 2 events (bouldering, lead and speed combined for men and women)
  • Surfing: 2 events (shortboard for men and women)