It’s not a sport, it’s a discipline

Olympic sports are regularly reviewed for future inclusion, with World Sailing doing everything in its power to retain Sailing’s ten medal events. But how the organization approaches the issue may need to get adjusted if changes by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) get approved.

The IOC Executive Board proposed on June 10 assessing disciplines rather than sports and adding a strategic phase to future host selection, under reforms that must still be approved by the organization’s session in Lausanne, Switzerland. Sailing currently has six disciplines: kiteboard, windsurfing, one person dinghy, mixed two person dinghy, skiff, and mixed multihull.

The central change would involve moving away from assessing sports as indivisible units and instead examining each discipline separately. Under the proposed framework, a discipline would comprise one or more events requiring a dedicated field of play or a significant modification to a shared venue.

All would first have to pass an eligibility screening covering governance, anti-doping compliance, integrity, and athlete safeguarding. They would then be assessed on global appeal, costs and operational complexity, and athlete representation. – Full report

CORRECTION: Sailing has only one discipline – fleet racing. While there are six different types of equipment, the International Olympic Committee defines a discipline as a branch of a sport governed by the same international federation. Other branches would be team racing, handicap racing, etc.

Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Sailing Program (July 16-28):
First Week – July 16-20
Men’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Kiteboard – Formula Kite Class – Long Beach, CA
Men’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA
Women’s Windsurfing – iQFOiL – Long Beach, CA

Second Week – July 23-28
Men’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 7 – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s One Person Dinghy – ILCA 6 – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Two Person Dinghy – 470 – Los Angeles, CA
Men’s Skiff – 49er – Los Angeles, CA
Women’s Skiff – 49erFX – Los Angeles, CA
Mixed Multihull – Nacra 17 – Los Angeles, CA

For more details, click here.