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Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2016 Summer Olympics included 28 sports, with five additional sports due to be added to the 2020 Summer Olympics program; the 2014 Winter Olympics included seven sports. The number and types of events may change slightly from one Olympiad to another. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing body, namely an International Federation (IF). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) establishes a hierarchy of sports, disciplines, and events. According to this hierarchy, each Olympic sport can be subdivided into multiple disciplines, which are often mistaken as distinct sports. Examples include swimming and water polo, which are in fact disciplines of the sport of aquatics, and figure skating and speed skating, which are both disciplines of the sport of ice skating. In turn, disciplines are subdivided into events, for which Olympic medals are awarded. A sport or discipline is included in the Olympic program if the IOC determines it to be widely practiced around the world, that is, the popularity of a given sport or discipline is indicated by the number of countries that compete in it. The IOC's requirements also reflect participation in the Olympic Games – more stringent conditions are applied to men's sports/disciplines and to summer sports/disciplines.
The International Baseball Federation is the former worldwide governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee as overseeing, deciding and executing the policy of the sport of baseball. The IBAF has since become the international baseball "Division" of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, the officially recognized world governing body for baseball. One of its principal responsibilities under the WBSC umbrella is to organize, standardize and sanction international competitions, using the WBSC name, among baseball's 124 national governing bodies through its various tournaments to determine a world champion and calculate world rankings for both men's and women's baseball. Prior to the establishment of the WBSC, which has since superseded its authority, the IBAF had been the lone entity that can assign the title of "world champion" to any baseball team delegated to represent a nation. Its offices are housed within the WBSC headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland—the Olympic Capital.
A mind sport is a game of skill where the competition is based on a particular type of intellectual ability as opposed to physical exercise.
Baseball at the Summer Olympics unofficially debuted at the 1904 Summer Olympics, and became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics. The event was last played in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing with South Korea taking the gold; the sport was dropped from the Summer Olympic program, but will be revived as part of the program for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is the governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Mexico, Bermuda and Canada and is a member of the World Bridge Federation, the international bridge governing body. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission "to promote, grow and sustain the game of bridge and serve the bridge-related interests of our Members." Its major activities are:
The International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) is an association of the world governing bodies for contract bridge, chess, draughts (checkers), go, xiangqi, and mahjong. Its members are the World Bridge Federation (WBF), World Chess Federation (FIDE), World Draughts Federation (FMJD), International Go Federation (IGF), World Xiangqi Federation (WXF), Mahjong International League (MIL) and Federation of Card Games (FCG). IMSA is a member of SportAccord and was founded 19 April 2005 during the GAISF General Assembly. It is based in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigious championships are those for national teams in Open, Women, and Seniors categories: the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, and Senior Bowl, and the quadrennial World Team Olympiads, incorporated in the World Mind Sports Games beginning 2008.
Softball at the Summer Olympics was on the Olympic programme from 1996 to 2008. It was introduced at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Softball was removed from the programme for 2012 and 2016, but was added, along with baseball, for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Geir Helgemo is a professional bridge player who was born in Norway but is now a citizen of Monaco. Through 2012 he had won three world championships in teams-of-four competition. As of August 2018 he ranked first among Open World Grand Masters and his regular partner Tor Helness ranked second.
The World Team Olympiad was a contract bridge meet organized by the World Bridge Federation every four years from 1960 to 2004. Its main events were world championships for national teams, always including one open and one restricted to women. A parallel event for seniors was inaugurated in 2000.
United World Wrestling (UWW) is the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling; its duties include overseeing wrestling at the Olympics. It presides over international competitions for various forms of wrestling, including Greco-Roman wrestling, freestyle wrestling for men and women, as well as others. The flagship event of UWW is the Wrestling World Championships. It was formerly known as the FILA, having assumed its current name in September 2014.
William Eisenberg is an American bridge and backgammon professional. In bridge, Eisenberg has won five Bermuda Bowl world team titles and he won the backgammon world title in 1975. Eisenberg is World Bridge Federation (WBF) and American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) Grand Life Master. He lived in Boca Raton, Florida, as of 1994 and 1998.
The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) is a quadrennial multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games ".
Roy Welland is a wine connoisseur and world class bridge player. He plays for Germany and currently lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The first World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) were held in Beijing, China from October 3 to 18, 2008, about two months after the Olympic Games. They were sponsored and organised by the International Mind Sports Association with the General Administration of Sport of China and the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sport.
The 2012 World Mind Sports Games were held in Lille, France, from 9 to 23 August 2012. The meet started during the 2012 Summer Olympics and ending shortly before the 2012 Summer Paralympics, both in London. This was the second rendition of the World Mind Sports Games, inaugurated 2008 in Beijing.
Frank T. "Nick" Nickell is an American bridge player. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, and lived in Raleigh, North Carolina, as of 1994.
Sharon Lou "Kerri" Sanborn is an American bridge player from New York City. She has won major tournaments as Kerri Davis and Kerri Shuman as well. Sometime prior to the 2014 European and World meets, Sanborn ranked 25th among 73 living Women World Grand Masters by world masterpoints (MP) and 7th by placing points that do not decay over time.
Sylvie Willard is a French bridge player. Sometime prior to the 2014 European and World meets ranked 4th among 73 living Women World Grand Masters by world masterpoints (MP) and 8th by placing points that do not decay over time.
References
- ↑ Manley, Brent; Horton, Mark; Greenberg-Yarbro, Tracey; Rigal, Barry, eds. (2011). The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (7th ed.). Horn Lake, MS: American Contract Bridge League. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-939460-99-1.
- ↑ Olympic Programme Commission (August 2002). "Review of the Olympic programme and the recommendations on the programme of the games of the XXIX Olympiad, Beijing 2008" (PDF). IOC (olympic.org). Retrieved 2014-11-05.
Sections 2.5, "Mind Sports" and 3.3.2, Sports ineligible through the position of "mind sports" in relation to the Olympic Programme (pp. 8 and 15). - ↑ "History". IMSA – International Mind Sports Association (imsaworld.com). Retrieved 2014-11-05.
