How Many Sports in the Olympic Games

Ever since I was a kid watching the Olympic Games of Barcelona in 1992, I began to wonder how many games are played in this event, and I'm sure I'm not the only person who has been wondering this for years. There are several ways to find how many and exactly which sports are present in the Olympic Games. You can watch the whole event and every sport, which is complicated because there are several sports going on at the same time, another way is to do some research on the internet, and the third way is to get a hold of an official Olympic sport list.

Summer and winter Olympics have different sports. There are currently 26 sports listed for the summer Olympics and only 7 or the winter games. The 26 sports present in the Summer Olympics are subdivided into different disciplines and events. Swimming alone for example, is divided in over 30 events. They have disciplines divided by style, distance, and gender, and that's the reason why there are so many swimming events in the Olympic Games.

In total, there were 302 events in the last Olympic Games of Beijing, and there are a total of 86 events planned for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. One thing you should note is that the number of events in the Olympic Games is not a fixed number. Each year the International Olympic Committee approves new games and discontinues other sports for a variety of reasons. Examples of this are the projected discontinuation of baseball and softball, which are not going to be present in the summer Olympic Games of London 2012.

The Olympic Committee chooses which sport will participate based on the participating number of countries and the presence of a governing body that will make the judging. Presently, 32 sports are recognized by the International Olympic Committee as such, but that are not present in the Olympic Games. Two spots will be contested for the summer games to be celebrated in 2016 at a meeting taking place in Copenhagen on 2009, and there are seven candidates: squash, karate, golf, rugby, softball, roller sports, and baseball.

If you wish to learn more about all the sports in the Olympic Games, you should consider getting your hands on the official Olympic sports list. Then you can do a small search on the internet to learn more about the sport and to understand the basics of the rules. This can make the next Olympic Games a richer experience for you.