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IOC APPROVES FIVE NEW SPORTS FOR TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC PROGRAMMEThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) has agreed to add baseball/softball, karate, skateboard, sport climbing and surfing to the programme for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.The decision by the 129thIOC Session in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) represents the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history. Plans call for staging the skateboarding and sport climbing events in temporary venues installed in urban settings, marking an historic step in bringing the Games to young people.The IOC vote was the culmination of a two-year process that began with the unanimous approval of Olympic Agenda 2020. The recommendation to give Organising Committees the flexibility to propose new sports for their edition of the Games was intended to put even more focus on innovation, flexibility and youth in the development of the Olympic programme.ÒWe want to take sport to the youth,Ó said IOC President Thomas Bach. ÒWith the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them. Tokyo 2020Õs balanced proposal fulfils all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it.ÓTokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori added: ÒThe inclusion of the package of new sports will afford young athletes the chance of a lifetime to realise their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games Ð the worldÕs greatest sporting stage Ð and inspire them to achieve their best, both in sport and in life.Ó The IOC considered a variety of factors when assessing the proposal, including the impact on gender equality, the youth appeal of the sports and the legacy value of adding them to Tokyo 2020.The inclusion of the new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes, with equal numbers of women and men for all sports except baseball/softball, which will have the same number of teams but different player totals (softball teams have 15 players whilst baseball teams have 24).The additional sports in Tokyo will not impact the athlete or event quotas of existing Olympic sports or be binding on future host cities. Discussions on the event programme in the existing 28 Olympic sports for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are ongoing, and will be finalised by the IOC Executive Board in mid-2017.Below Dancers perform during the ÒLove Sport Tokyo 2020Ó segment of the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Rio 201614 OLYMPIC REVIEW