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Winter Federations Push Back as IOC Weighs Moving Some Summer Sports to the Winter Games

An IOC review exploring cost relief for the Summer Games faces resistance from winter bodies protecting the snow-and-ice identity.

Overview

  • Kyodo News reports the IOC is giving serious consideration to reallocating some sports from the Summer Olympics to the Winter edition as part of cost-cutting efforts.
  • The Winter Olympic Federations issued a formal statement rejecting what they called piecemeal additions from summer bodies, warning it would dilute the Winter Games' identity.
  • Cyclocross and cross-country running have been floated in media reports, but adding non–snow-and-ice disciplines would require amending the Olympic Charter.
  • The IOC’s Olympic Programme working group was created in September under the “Fit for the Future” review, and no final decisions have been announced.
  • Discussion of expansion notes the Winter Games feature far fewer medal events than the Summer program, while winter leaders point to ski mountaineering’s inclusion as the preferred model for evolution.