Olympic sports facts for kids

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Archery competition held during the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics. Dropped from the Olympic program after the 1920 Antwerp games, it was reinstated in 1972.

Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2016 Summer Olympics included 28 sports, with five additional sports due to be added to the 2020 Summer Olympics program; the 2014 Winter Olympics included seven sports. The number and types of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation (IF). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, and events. According to this hierarchy, each Olympic sport can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often mistaken as distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo, which are in fact disciplines of the sport of aquatics (represented by the International Swimming Federation), and figure skating and speed skating, which are both disciplines of the sport of ice skating (represented by the International Skating Union). In turn, disciplines are subdivided into events, for which Olympic medals are awarded. A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines it to be widely practiced around the world, that is, the popularity of a given sport or discipline is indicated by the number of countries that compete in it. The IOC's requirements also reflect participation in the Olympic Games – more stringent conditions are applied to men's sports/disciplines (as men are represented at the Games in higher numbers than women) and to summer sports/disciplines (as more nations compete in the Summer Olympics than in the Winter Olympics).

Summer Olympics

Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics since 1964.

At the first Olympic Games, nine sports were contested. Since then, the number of sports contested at the Summer Olympic Games has gradually risen to twenty-eight on the program for 2000–2008. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, however, the number of sports fell back to twenty-six following an IOC decision in 2005 to remove baseball and softball from the Olympic program. These sports retain their status as Olympic sports with the possibility of a return to the Olympic program in future games. At the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen on 9 October 2009, the IOC voted to reinstate both golf and rugby to the Olympic program, meaning that the number of sports to be contested in 2016 was once again 28.

In order for a sport or discipline to be considered for inclusion in the list of Summer Olympics sports, it must be widely practiced in at least 75 countries, spread over four continents.

Current and discontinued summer program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current and discontinued Summer Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically according to the name used by the IOC. The discontinued sports were previously part of the Summer Olympic Games program as official sports, but are no longer on the current program. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport contested at the respective Games; a bullet (•) denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport.

Eight of the 34 sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

     Aquatics –      Basketball –      Canoeing/Kayaking –      Cycling –      Gymnastics –      Volleyball –      Equestrian –      Wrestling

Sport (Discipline)		Body	96	00	04	06	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20
Current summer sports
Diving		FINA			2	1	2	4	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	8	8	8	8	8	8
Marathon swimming																													2	2	2	2
Swimming			4	7	9	4	6	9	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	13	15	18	29	29	26	26	29	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	32	35
Synchronized swimming																							2	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Water polo				1	•		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
3-on-3 basketball		FIBA																														2
Basketball					•					•			1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Canoe/kayak (sprint)		ICF								•			9	9	9	9	7	7	7	7	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12
Canoe/kayak (slalom)																				4					4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
BMX freestyle		UCI																														2
BMX racing																													2	2	2	2
Mountain biking																										2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Road cycling			1			1		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4
Track cycling			5	2	7	5	7		4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5	4	4	5	6	7	8	12	12	10	10	10	12
Artistic		FIG	8	1	11	4	2	4	4	9	8	11	9	9	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Rhythmic																							1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Trampoline																											2	2	2	2	2	2
Volleyball (beach)		FIVB																							•	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Volleyball (indoor)										•								2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Equestrian / Dressage		FEI						1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Equestrian / Eventing								2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Equestrian / Jumping				3				2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Freestyle wrestling		UWW			7		5		5	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	8	11	11	11	12	12
Greco-Roman wrestling			1			4	4	5	5	6	6	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	8	7	7	7	6	6
Baseball		WBSC						•					•		•	•		•					•	•	1	1	1	1	1			1
Softball																										1	1	1	1			1
Archery		WA		6	6		3		10											2	2	2	2	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5
Athletics		WA	12	23	25	21	26	30	29	27	27	29	29	33	33	33	34	36	36	38	37	38	41	42	43	44	46	46	47	47	47	48
Badminton		BWF																		•				•	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	5
Boxing		AIBA			7		5		8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	13	13	13
Fencing		FIE	3	7	5	8	4	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	12
Field hockey		FIH					1		1		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Football		FIFA		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Golf		IGF		2	2																										2	2
Handball		IHF																		1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2
Judo		IJF																4		6	6	8	8	7	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15
Karate		WKF																														8
Modern pentathlon		UIPM						1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Rowing		FISA		4	5	6	4	4	5	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Rugby sevens		WR																													2	2
Sailing		ISAF		7			4	4	14	3	3	4	4	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	7	8	10	10	11	11	11	10	10	10
Shooting		ISSF	5	9		16	15	18	21	10		2	3	4	7	7	6	6	7	8	7	7	11	13	13	15	17	17	15	15	15	15
Skateboarding		WS																														4
Sport climbing		IFSC																														2
Surfing		ISA																														2
Table tennis		ITTF																						4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5
Taekwondo		WT																						•	•		8	8	8	8	8	8
Tennis		ITF	2	4	2	4	6	8	5	5									•				•	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5	5
Triathlon		ITU																									2	2	2	2	2	3
Weightlifting		IWF	2		2	2			5	5	5	5	5	6	7	7	7	7	7	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	15	15	15	15	15	14
Discontinued summer sports
Equestrian / Vaulting		FEI							2
Handball / Field Handball		IHF											1		•
Rugby / Rugby union		WR		1			1		1	1
Basque pelota		FIPV		1						•									•						•
Cricket		ICC		1
Croquet		WCF		3
Lacrosse		FIL			1		1				•	•		•
Jeu de paume				•			1			•
Polo		FIP		1			1		1	1			1
Rackets							2
Roque					1
Tug of war		TWIF		1	1	1	1	1	1
Water motorsports		UIM		•			3
Figure skating		ISU					4		3	Rescheduled during winter games
Ice hockey		IIHF							1
Total events			43	85	94	78	110	102	156	126	109	117	129	136	149	151	150	163	172	195	198	203	221	237	257	271	300	301	302	302	306	339
Total Sports			10	21	17	14	25	18	29	23	20	20	25	23	23	23	23	25	24	28	27	27	29	31	34	37	40	40	42	40	42	50
Sport (Discipline)		Body	96	00	04	06	08	12	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	96	00	04	08	12	16	20

Demonstration summer sports

The following sports or disciplines have been demonstrated at the Summer Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

Gliding was promoted from demonstration sport to an official Olympic sport in 1936 in time for the 1940 Summer Olympics, but the Games were cancelled due to the outbreak of World War II.

Tenpin bowling, demonstrated separately from the Olympics in 1936 in Germany (alongside forms of ninepin bowling), but part of the demonstration sports at Seoul in 1988, has been a regular medal sport of the World Games since 1981 and the Pan American Games since 1991.

Classification of Olympic sports for revenue share

Summer Olympic sports are divided into categories based on popularity, gauged by: television viewing figures (40%), Internet popularity (20%), public surveys (15%), ticket requests (10%), press coverage (10%), and number of national federations (5%). The category determines the share the sport's International Federation receives of Olympic revenue.

The current categories, as of 2013, are as follows, with the pre-2013 categorizations also being available. Category A represents the most popular sports; category E lists either the sports that are the least popular or that are new to the Olympics (golf and rugby).

Winter Olympics

Ice hockey was first introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and later transferred to the Winter Games in 1924.

Before 1924, when the first Winter Olympic Games were celebrated, sports held on ice, like figure skating and ice hockey, were held at the Summer Olympics. These two sports made their debuts at the 1908 and the 1920 Summer Olympics, respectively, but were permanently integrated in the Winter Olympics program as of the first edition. The International Winter Sports Week, later dubbed the I Olympic Winter Games and retroactively recognized as such by the IOC, consisted of nine sports. The number of sports contested at the Winter Olympics has since been decreased to seven, comprising a total of fifteen disciplines.

A sport or discipline must be widely practiced in at least 25 countries on three continents in order to be included on the Winter Olympics program.

Current winter program

The following sports (or disciplines of a sport) make up the current Winter Olympic Games official program and are listed alphabetically, according to the name used by the IOC. The figures in each cell indicate the number of events for each sport that were contested at the respective Games (the red cells indicate that those sports were held at the Summer Games); a bullet (•) denotes that the sport was contested as a demonstration sport. On some occasions, both official medal events and demonstration events were contested in the same sport at the same Games.

Three out of the seven sports consist of multiple disciplines. Disciplines from the same sport are grouped under the same color:

     Skating –      Skiing –      Bobsleigh

Sport (Discipline)		Body	08	20	24	28	32	36	48	52	56	60	64	68	72	76	80	84	88	92	94	98	02	06	10	14	18
Figure skating		ISU	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	5	5
Speed skating					5	4	4	4	4	4	4	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	10	10	10	10	10	12	12	12	14
Short track speed skating																			•	4	6	6	8	8	8	8	8
Ice hockey		IIHF		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2
Curling		WCF			1		•												•	•		2	2	2	2	2	3
Cross-country skiing		FIS			2	2	2	3	3	4	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	8	8	10	10	10	12	12	12	12	12
Alpine skiing								2	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11
Ski jumping					1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4
Nordic combined					1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3
Freestyle skiing																			•	2	4	4	4	4	6	10	10
Snowboarding																						4	4	6	6	10	10
Biathlon		IBU										1	1	2	2	2	3	3	3	6	6	6	8	10	10	11	11
Luge		FIL											3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4
Bobsleigh		IBSF			1	1	2	2	2	2	2		2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	3	3	3
Skeleton						1			1														2	2	2	2	2
Discontinued winter sports
Biathlon / Military Patrol		IBU			1	•		•	•
Total events					16	14	14	17	22	22	24	27	34	35	35	37	38	39	46	57	61	68	78	84	86	98	102
Total Sports					9	8	7	8	9	8	8	8	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	12	12	14	15	15	15	15	15

The official website of the Olympic Movement designates men's military patrol at the 1924 Games as an event within the sport of biathlon. The Official Report of the 1924 Games regards it as an event within the sport of skiing.

Demonstration winter sports

The following sports have been demonstrated at the Winter Olympic Games for the years shown, but have never been included on the official Olympic program:

Ice climbing was showcased at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014, was on the non-competition program at the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games, and aims to become an official competition sport. Ski ballet was a demonstration event under the scope of freestyle skiing. Disabled sports are now part of the Winter Paralympic Games.

Recognized international federations

Tug of war was contested at the 1904 Summer Olympics. It was later dropped from the Olympic program but remains a recognized sport.

Many sports are not recognized as Olympic sports although their governing bodies are recognized by the IOC. Such sports, if eligible under the terms of the Olympic Charter, may apply for inclusion in the program of future Games, through a recommendation by the IOC Olympic Programme Commission, followed by a decision of the IOC Executive Board and a vote of the IOC Session.

The governing bodies of the following sports, though not contested in the Olympic Games, are recognized by the IOC:

¹ Official sport at the World Games
² Discontinued Olympic sport
³ Ineligible to be included because the Olympic Charter bans sports with motorization elements
⁴ The governing bodies for baseball and softball merged into a single international federation in 2013.
⁵ Included at the 2020 Summer Olympics
⁶ Skateboarding, now a discipline within roller sports, is Included at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Images for kids

• 

  Curling was promoted to an official Olympic sport at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

See also

In Spanish: Deportes olímpicos para niños