IOC stalls decision on Winter Games additions

Published>Tue, Oct 26 10 02:56 AM

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has delayed until next year a decision on adding new events, including women's ski jumping, to the Winter Games.

The IOC's executive board (EB) was expected to ratify the addition of women's ski jumping, which has been campaigning for years, at a meeting in Acapulco on Monday but said it wanted more time although it was "looking favourably at the inclusion".

The board said the final decision would now be made in April, after the next round of world championships, and the verdict would be made solely by IOC president Jacques Rogge.

"Before taking a final decision the EB said it would like to consider the outcome of the respective world championships which will take place during the winter season in 2011," the IOC said.

"The EB has empowered the IOC president to take the final decision on its behalf."

The board said the other events up for consideration were: ski halfpipe (men and women), ski slopestyle (men and women), snowboard slopestyle (men and women), biathlon mixed team relay, figure skating team event and luge team relay.

"The IOC Olympic Program Commission analysed all the requests put forward by the International Sports Federations, based on established criteria, and submitted its findings to the EB," the IOC said.

"The key positive factors included whether the changes would increase universality, gender equity and youth appeal, and in general add value to the Games.

"Other considerations included the cost of infrastructure and the impact on the overall quota and the number of events," added the IOC.

SOCHI GAMES

Any new events that are included next year will automatically be added to the schedule for the next Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014.

The board also agreed all of the events that were on the programme in Vancouver this year, including freestyle ski cross, which was a provisional sport, would remain on the schedule.

Ski jumping has been an Olympic sport since 1924 but is one of the few events in the Winter or Summer Games that does not allow both men and women to compete.

A group of female ski jumpers took action against the IOC but a Canadian judge dismissed their bid to compete in Vancouver on legal grounds despite agreeing they were being discriminated against.

"We consider it a win. We're excited about it," Deedee Corradini, president of Women's Ski Jumping USA, told reporters after Monday's announcement.

"We're taking this very positively. I think the fact president Jacques Rogge is going to personally make the decision as opposed to the EB after the world championships is good."

American Lindsay Van, who won the inaugural women's ski jumping world championship last year and was among the skiers who took the IOC to court, also welcomed the development but said she would have preferred a definitive answer.

"It's just another delay," she said. "For us as athletes it doesn't change anything. We're going to get up tomorrow and train.

"I think we are waiting for a yes or no decision ... I have to think positively. They didn't say no so we're headed in the right direction."

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