The 2016 Olympic games are almost underway, and there are some changes that many fans are looking forward to seeing. This year’s Olympics is announced to have 206 countries participating and a confirmed total of 11,192 competing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Top End Sports posted that there will be 28 sports in this year’s games, including the addition of two sports that have not been in recent Olympic games. In August 2009, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) voted to add golf and rugby in the 2016 competitions. Also, not included in the total of 28 will be the premier of eSports.
Rugby is making its return as an Olympic sport after a hiatus of almost a century. The sport has been part of the competition only four times previously, with the most recent being in 1924. This year, a more competitive version of rugby is being introduced. Competitors will play 7’s rugby, which is played with seven players in seven-minute halves as compared to the traditional 15 players in 40-minute halves. The hope is that this will make the sport more competitive and exciting for viewers.
Golf will also be re-appearing in the Olympics, as it was previously played in 1900 and 1904. This will be a male and female competition where 60 qualified golfers will play 72 holes on courses all throughout Brazil.
Completely new to the Olympics this year is eSports. This competition will be a chance to promote professional video-gaming. This will be a male and female competition with various participants over 18 years of age. It will be an individual and team competition that is a medal-only event with no prize money awarded. (What genre of video games are being played?)
This year’s games are set to begin with the opening ceremony starting at 7 p.m. eastern time on Friday, Aug. 5. They will be broadcasted on NBC.
On Aug. 3, ESPN reported that the IOC officially approved adding five sports to the 2020 Olympic games in Tokyo. The sports will be karate, skateboarding, sports climbing, surfing and baseball/softball.
Baseball and softball were last played on the Olympic level in Beijing in 2008. Baseball made its Olympic debut in 1992 and softball in 1996, before the IOC voted the two sports out in 2005. The two sports also put in separate bids to rejoin the 2016 games but were both rejected. Both sports will be played in a six-team tournament and all games will be played at a shared venue in Yokohama.
Skateboarding and sports climbing will be held in urban areas of Tokyo and karate will be held in Nippon Budokan, which is an arena located within Tokyo.
These changes will add 18 events and 474 more athletes. The 2020 games in Tokyo will have a total of 33 sports, compared to the current 28 sports in this year’s games.
