The Tokyo 2020 Olympic organising committee will tonight announce which new sports it would like to see on the Olympic stage.
At 7pm the committee will choose one or more of eight sports up for consideration: baseball or softball, ten-pin bowling, karate, roller sports, sport climbing, squash, surfing and wushu, a Chinese martial art.
The selection process will take into account whether the sports have a high appeal to youth and if they engage the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide.
The committee will also look at which sports could use existing infrastructure and whether they could help to promote the Olympic movement.
Australian professional ten-pin bowler Jason Belmonte visited Japan in August to put forward his case for his sport to be included in the Olympics.
He said the difference between recreational and professional bowling was not well understood.
“It takes incredible skill to become a champion in bowling,” he told AAP.
“The idea of just throwing the ball down the middle is not professional bowling.
“To be able to curve the ball and to repeat that action accurately requires an exorbitant amount of power, skill and dedication.”
However Australia representatives of the other hopeful sports are also convinced their sport will perform best on the world stage.
Wushu, which missed out on a permanent Olympic berth in 2013, has more than 50,000 Australian practitioners and is regularly featured at events like the Asian Games.
“For some people there’s a cultural link, people with Chinese heritage,” Kung Fu Wushu Australia president Walt Missingham said.
“Some people drift into wushu from gymnastics, others purely for recreation or self-defence.
“Going to the Olympics is something people from all codes aspire to do.”
Tokyo 2020’s recommendations will be put forward to the International Olympic Committee, who will make their final decision in August, 2016.
WIth AAP
