When the members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote this week as to whether it will drop any Olympic sports it will be a secret vote and not even the sports federations themselves will know the exact vote count.
IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) President Denis Oswald made the request for secrecy “to avoid any rankings between sports”. The move also saves the embarrassment of any sport that barely makes the cut.
The ASOIF represents all 28 sports and is lobbying for the existing program to be upheld.
Oswald said last month, “we want to avoid the results of the vote from being exploited or having some sports considered ‘more Olympic than others’”.
Each of the 28 sports will be put to a secret ballot Friday and any sport failing to get a majority will be dropped for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
Davies said the voting figures would be transmitted directly by a notary from Singapore to IOC headquarters in Lausanne Switzerland. The numbers “will not be shared at all”, she said.
IOC President Jacques Rogge has instituted a review of the entire sports program after each Olympics. He says the Olympics must maintain a maximum of 28 sports, 301 medal events and 10,500 athletes. No spott will be added unless one is dropped.
Meanwhile the IOC said Sunday it’s current TOP program has reached a new high by achieving more revenue and becoming more internationalized. Gerhard Heiberg, IOC marketing commission chairman, told the executive board that the IOC’s worldwide sponsorship program is the strongest to date, with 11 partners currently on board.
The program has sponsors from seven countries across three continents.
Heiberg also reported that the Turin 2006 Organizing Committee had met its revenue target from marketing, while the Beijing 2008 and Vancouver 2010 organizing committees had already exceeded the revenue targets in their bid books for marketing.
Also, the sale of the television rights for the 2010 Winter Games and 2012 Summer Games is running smoothly.
