IOC Recommends to Cut Wrestling from 2020 Olympics

IOC Drops Wrestling From 2020 Olympics - ABC News‏

http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=18473870


IOC Drops Wrestling in Surprise Move


By STEPHEN WILSON AP Sports Writer

Feb 12, 2013, 8:22 AM


IOC leaders dropped wrestling from the Olympic program on Tuesday, a surprise decision that removes one of the oldest Olympic sports from the 2020 Games.

The IOC executive board decided to retain modern pentathlon — the event considered most at risk — and remove wrestling instead from its list of 25 "core sports."

The IOC board acted after reviewing the 26 sports on the current Olympic program. Eliminating one sport allows the International Olympic Committee to add a new sport to the program later this year.

Wrestling, which combines freestyle and Greco-Roman events, goes back to the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.

"This is a process of renewing and renovating the program for the Olympics," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "In the view of the executive board, this was the best program for the Olympic Games in 2020. It's not a case of what's wrong with wrestling, it is what's right with the 25 core sports."

Adams said the decision was made by secret ballot over several rounds, with members voting each time on which sport should not be included in the core group. IOC President Jacques Rogge did not vote.

Wrestling was voted out from a final group that also included modern pentathlon, taekwondo and field hockey, officials familiar with the vote told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the voting details were not made public.

The board voted after reviewing a report by the IOC program commission report that analyzed 39 criteria, including television ratings, ticket sales, anti-doping policy and global participation and popularity. With no official rankings or recommendations contained in the report, the final decision by the 15-member board was also subject to political, emotional and sentimental factors.

The international wrestling federation, known by the French acronym FILA, is headed by Raphael Martinetti and is based in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland. Calls to the federation for comment were not immediately returned.

Wrestling featured 344 athletes competing in 11 medal events in freestyle and seven in Greco-Roman at last year's London Olympics. Women's wrestling was added to the Olympics at the 2004 Athens Games.

Wrestling will now join seven other sports in applying for inclusion in 2020. The others are a combined bid from baseball and softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding and wushu. They will be vying for a single opening in 2020.

The IOC executive board will meet in May in St. Petersburg, Russia, to decide which sport or sports to propose for 2020 inclusion. The final vote will be made at the IOC session, or general assembly, in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

It is extremely unlikely that wrestling would be voted back in so soon after being removed by the executive board.

"Today's decision is not final," Adams said. "The session is sovereign and the session will make the final decision."

The last sports removed from the Olympics were baseball and softball, voted out by the IOC in 2005 and off the program since the 2008 Beijing Games. Golf and rugby will be joining the program at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Previously considered under the closest scrutiny was modern pentathlon, which has been on the Olympic program since the 1912 Stockholm Games. It was created by French baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic movement, and combines fencing, horse riding, swimming, running and shooting.

Klaus Schormann, president of governing body UIPM, lobbied hard to protect his sport's Olympic status and it paid off in the end.

"We have promised things and we have delivered," he said after Tuesday's decision. "That gives me a great feeling. It also gives me new energy to develop our sport further and never give up."

Modern pentathlon also benefited from the work of Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., the son of the former IOC president who is a UIPM vice president and member of the IOC board.

"We were considered weak in some of the scores in the program commission report but strong in others," Samaranch told the AP. "We played our cards to the best of our ability and stressed the positives. Tradition is one of our strongest assets, but we are also a multi-sport discipline that produces very complete people."

The 25 IOC Core sports are: athletics, rowing, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, weightlifting, handball, hockey, judo, swimming, modern pentathlon, taekwondo, tennis, table tennis, shooting, archery, triathlon, sailing and volleyball.

The EB recommended that wrestling, governed by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), not be included on the list of core sports.

Lots of politics to stay or get on the core list!!!!!!

Rowing, badminton, canoeing, equestrian, fencing, football (soccer), handball, judo, taekwondo, table tennis. These are all sports that USA does not participate on a regular basis in world level competition. They are trying to regulate basketball, as the USA dominates this sport. The USA seems to be catching up to some of the other countries in wrestling as well, so this decision does not surprise me. This is the world politics at its best (worst), trying to prevent the USA from competing at a high level in the Olympics.

Sad day for the sport of wrestling, and the attempt to promote this great sport.

They are going to have a nother vote in Russia on a sport to add. Go to http://www.olympic.org/ioc scroll to the bottom of the page and press the FAQ at the bottom of the pop up window it lets you ask a question. Everyone needs to ask the board to vote for it during the Russia meeting. I'm sure a potition will be started soon but until then this is one way we can let the IOC know how much wrestling is wanted.

Those board members need to be blasted doubled.

LOL. We need to send Nathan Butler and Will Geary to work them over. As they get up off the ground to dust themselves off have Spencer Wilson headlock them!

FAQ is the far bottom of the page. It will take you do a list of questions and topics. Go to the very bottom and you will find a place to ask a specific question.

Asks for name and email address

Mark

Dan Gable vows to fight Olympic decision to drop wrestling


by Clay Durham
Petition Organizer
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20130212
Memo to the International Olympic Committee on the heels of a preliminary vote to drop wrestling at the 2020 Olympics: You’ve got a fight on your hands.

Dan Gable, arguably the most iconic American name in the sport, vowed to work at changing the decision before a final vote in September.

“The thing is, because of wrestling, I have a mindset that is strong. Exceptionally strong,” Gable said today. “I don’t believe in the four-letter word ‘quit.’ I don’t believe in the four-letter word ‘can’t.’

“Right now, I’m not going to change because I see an initial vote. I’m not going to quit. I’m going to fight.”

The IOC entered a vote to trim one sport from the current list of 26.

Wrestling was voted out from a final group that also included modern pentathlon, taekwondo and field hockey, officials familiar with the vote told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the voting details were not made public.

Seems like this is a preliminary vote before the real one in September. My guess is the IOC members will receive a nice pay day and wrestling will be back. At least we can hope.

Unfortunately no, this was the real vote and the one in Sept is to ADD another sport in. Which according to all that is written so far, very unlikely they add the same sport they just cut.

Sad day for wrestling...

Talking points about the sport of wrestling and the Olympics from USA Wrestling



By USA Wrestling
02/12/2013

TALKING POINTS ABOUT WRESTLING AND THE OLYMPICS

USA Wrestling has created these talking points for those in the wrestling community in our nation who may be speaking about our sport in light of today's International Olympic Committee announcement. Please read them carefully and refer to them in your public statements.

1) FILA, the international wrestling federation, the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Wrestling did not expect this announcement. None of these leadership groups anticipated that wrestling was being considered for this.

2) This is a decision by the International Olympic Committee Executive Board. The recommendation is that wrestling not be included as a core sport at the 2020 Olympic Committee. This is not a final decision.

3) The next step is for the IOC Executive Board to recommend a sport for the final spot in the 2020 Olympics. Wrestling will be considered for the position along with seven other sports, which happens in May in St. Petersburg, Russia. Then, the next step is for the entire International Olympic Committee to vote on the final program for the 2020 Olympics, which occurs in September in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

4) This is an opportunity for wrestling to tell its story, not only to the International Olympic Committee leadership but also to the entire world.

5) Wrestling is one of the original sports in the ancient Olympic Games in Greece. Wrestling was also included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

6) Wrestling is one of the most diverse sports in the world, with nearly 200 nations from all continents participating in the sport.

7) Wrestling is an inclusive sport which provides opportunities worldwide, regardless of geography, race, gender or physical characteristics. Anybody can wrestle.

8) Among Olympic sports, wrestling has more variety of nations which win Olympic medals than almost every other sport. Wrestling is popular all around the world, and many nations have successful athletes and programs in the sport.

9) This is a challenge for the entire wrestling community on the world level. USA Wrestling, as the national governing body in the United States, is putting its full energy and resources behind this. We will work with our wrestling brothers and sisters everywhere on earth to maintain our sport on the Olympic program.

10) Wrestlers are known for their work ethic. As a community, we will work tirelessly from this point forward letting the world know about why wrestling is so special. We believe that we have the ability to be successful

11) Be honest. Explain why wrestling is so important to you, and also important to the world. Do not be negative or critical of the IOC. It is our job to make them our supporters and allies moving forward.

12) USA Wrestling’s Executive Committee, Board of Directors, staff and leaders are already involved working on this issue. We will continue to update the wrestling community about what is going on.

13) What can you do right now? Stay informed. Join “Keep Wrestling In the Olympics” Facebook page, which is can be found at Keep Wrestling in the Olympics Facebook Page Updates will be posted regularly.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/02/13/sports/olympics/ap-oly-jim-litke-021313.html?_r=1&
Column: Swifter, Higher, Stronger? Or Just Dumber?
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: February 13, 2013 at 3:45 AM ET
The motto of "swifter, higher, stronger" says little about the Olympics these days and everything about the lengths to which the clueless fuddy-duddies at the IOC will go in pursuit of the almighty buck. At this pace, "The Bachelor" and "The Voice" will be locks for the 2020 Games.
Not so wrestling, which the IOC executive committee dropped in a secret vote Tuesday, opting to keep modern pentathlon and field hockey instead among the Summer Olympics' "core" sports at the conclusion of the 2016 Rio Games.
If the members of that august body weren't so otherwise out of touch, the temptation to believe cronyism was involved would be even greater, since Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr., the son of former IOC president and strongman Juan Antonio Samaranch, also happens to be a vice president of the International Modern Pentathlon Union and a member of the IOC board.
A simple "tale of the tape" between the two sports, applying the IOC's own criteria, illustrates what a wrong-headed choice the swells made. Wrestling is more popular by just about any measure. It generates twice the TV audience worldwide, both in terms of maximum (58.5 million vs. 33.5 million) and average viewership (23 million vs. 12.5 million). Its international federation — known by the acronym FILA — counts 177 member nations vs. 108 for modern pentathlon. And don't even ask about participation numbers, since one of the five disciplines that make up the pentathlon requires a horse.
What wrestling doesn't have, though, is enough clout on the executive committee. Seven of the 15 members hail from Western Europe — eight if current IOC president Jacques Rogge, a Belgian, casts a vote — while wrestling draws most of its support from Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the United States.
"The motivation of every member is never based on a single reason. There are always several reasons," said IOC vice president Thomas Bach of Germany. "It was a secret vote. There will always be criticism, but I think the great majority will understand that we took a decision based on facts and for the modernization of the Olympic Games."
Right. Because nothing says hip like field hockey and the pentathlon (which helpfully includes the word "modern" in its title).

ut the point here is not to exclude those two sports, because like wrestling, the Olympics provide their only real turn on a global stage. Rather, it's the way the IOC tries to cash in by piggy-backing on formerly taboo pro sports and pandering to whatever demographic holds sway at the moment. That's why the Winter Olympics look more and more like the "X Games," and why basketball, soccer and tennis — with golf and rugby on the way — are now "core" sports, even though they're chockfull with paid mercenaries and boast championships way more prestigious than anything the Olympics could offer.

There's a handful of other sports whose inclusion is just as hard to justify. A few are the exclusive province of the rich, such as equestrian and sailing, and others are just downright silly, such as synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics. Like wrestling, even fans of those sports don't know all the rules and the scoring is hard to follow. But the same could be said about figure skating, for that matter. Apparently all of them, save wrestling, have enough friends in high places.

In the coming months, we'll find out how many friends wrestling can pull together in a bid to convince the IOC to reverse course. The executive board meets in May to make a final proposal on which sports should be included in 2020, with a final vote scheduled for September. Wrestling now joins seven other sports, including roller blading, wakeboarding and wushu — a martial art — vying for a spot. Olympics observers doubt wrestling has a chance to get back in, but judging by the angry reaction that bounced from one side of the world to the other, it won't head for the exits without a fight.

"If we don't fight, we're going to die," said Rulon Gardner, the U.S. gold medal heavyweight whose victory over previously unbeaten Russian Alexander Karelin, dubbed "The Miracle on the Mat," provided one of the Games' most memorable moments ever. "At this point, it's time for everybody to man up and support the program."

___

Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and follow him on Twitter.com/JimLitke.

Thankfully you are wrong. There will be 2 votes in September. First vote is to uphold the recommendation to drop wrestling. Second vote is to add a sport. 3 sports will be voted on and top 3 decided on in May. Meeting in May happens to be in Russia. Wrestling has a good chance to be voted on 2x in September. IOC left the door open. IOC wants to be paid. It is a corrupt system.

It is crazy to think that the US leads the medal count and yet has 0 representation at a meeting to decide which sports are in or out of the Olympics.