How to Add an Olympic Sport

According to the Olympic Charter pp. 81 - 82, an event can only be added to the Olympic Games if:

1 An event, being a competition in an Olympic sport or in one of its disciplines and resulting in a ranking, gives rise to the award of medals and diplomas.

2 To be included in the program of the Olympic Games, events must have a recognized international standing both numerically and geographically, and have been included at least twice in world or continental championships.

3 Only events practiced by men in at least fifty countries and on three continents, and by women in at least thirty-five countries and on continents, may be included in the program of the Olympic Games.

4 Events are admitted four years before specific Olympic Games in respect of which no change shall thereafter be permitted.

Exceptional circumstances can be taken into account and a sport can be added without abiding by all the guidelines laid out above (82):

In exceptional cases, and subject to the agreement of the IF concerned and the OCOG, the IOC may depart from the time limits laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 above, in order to include a discipline or event in the program of the Olympic Games of one specific Olympiad.