Surfing, Skateboarding Among Sports Added to 2020 Olympics

After two years of vetting extreme sports for the Olympics, the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday formally approved the inclusion of surfing, skateboarding, karate, rock climbing, baseball and softball for the 2020 summer games in Tokyo.

The 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo will include some of the sports most associated with Southern California. The IOC unanimously voted to accept these new sports to be included in the next Olympics.

“Today’s historic decision by the International Olympic Committee is a “home run” for the Olympics, our sport and the Tokyo 2020 Games”, World Baseball and Softball Confederation President Riccardo Fraccari said.

The 2016 Rio Olympic Games aren’t even officially underway yet and we’re already ready for them to be over.

“This will constitute a new chapter in the illustrious history of the Olympic Games”, Yoshiro Mori, president of the Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee, was quoted by local media as telling the IOC assembly.

With changes to the IOC rules for Olympic events, 5 new sporting competitions will be heading to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games next time around.

The package will boost the number of athletes at the Games by 474 and gold medals by 18, with the number of teams in each sport equal between men and women. This decision brings back some sports and adds new ones to charm the younger audiences.

Softball is more popular, as it’s basically the only time the sport is shown on a national stage at a professional level. Baseball and softball are global sports that belong in the Olympics. Well guess what: starting in 2020, those folks will get the opportunity to compete at the Olympics.

A statement on the committee’s website disclosed that the decision was made by the 129th IOC Session, held on Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro.

The Olympics often fall right in the middle of Major League Baseball season, as USA Today points out, but MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league was “excited” about baseball’s restoration as an Olympic sport and that the league would cut games to allow players to attend. “Skateboarding just took one more step toward being a lot like gymnastics or figure skating”, said another. The current athlete and event quotas are unaffected.

After including sport climbing as one of the demonstration sports in the Youth Olympic Games held in Nanjing, China past year, it is now officially a part of the list of Olympic Games.