IOC To Inspect Seven Sports Bids

Baseball and softball want a joint bid, while climbing, karate, roller sports, squash, wakeboard and wishu are also bidding for inclusion in the Games.

The IOC will be attending a major championship for each of the seven sports before the end of the year in order to compile a report on the merit of each sport and its bid, and will make a final decision on which sport, if any, to include in the 2020 Games, at its session in Buenos Aires next September.

Softball's bid was evaluated when the IOC visited the 2012 Softball Women's World Championships in Whitehorse, Canada, which took place July 13 to 22. The evaluation took place before softball and baseball announced officially that they were discussing a joint bid. The International Softball Federation still has to officially ratify the decision at a Special Congress.

The only sport to have a confirmed IOC inspection event is karate.

A maximum of 28 sports are allowed at the Olympic Games. This will be reached at the Rio 2016 Games with the inclusion of golf and rugby.

According to the Daily Times it is highly likely that at least one of the seven sports will be included in the 2020 Olympic sports program as the IOC is set to remove at least one discipline now on the program.