Seven Sports To Pitch Bids To IOC

Officials of seven sports - baseball, softball, golf, karate, roller sports, rugby and squash - are in Lausanne Switzerland to pitch their bids Friday to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for inclusion in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

Officials from the seven sports will meet the 16-member program commission, reports the Associated Press, which will deliver a report to the IOC's top decision-making body before the vote by 100 IOC members next October. At the 2016 Summer Olympic Games the IOC will field 28 sports, allowing for two sports to be added.

Baseball will be first to make a one-hour presentation from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. local time. To win reinstatement the sport must show the IOC it can deliver major league players to the Olympics, which is held during the second half of the regular season. There will be six presenting members from the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).

The International Softball Federation has reportedly distanced itself from baseball and is attempting to win back its place from the Olympics after it was dropped following the Beijing Games because it did not receive enough votes in 2005 to remain on the 2012 program.

The International Golf Federation will make its presentation for golf's inclusion, as well as the World Karate Federation, which includes 180 national federations; the International Federation for Roller Sports; rugby will be represented, and the World Squash Federation will emphasize its television-friendly, glass-enclosed courts.

The executive board meets in June to make recommendations to the full IOC membership. A simple majority is needed for a sport to be voted onto the program, reports the Associated Press.

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