Discontinued Olympic Sports
Events > Olympics > Discontinued > Demonstration Sports
Demonstration Sports at the Olympic Games
At most modern day Olympic Games there have been a variety of demonstration
sports held as part of the Games, but not as official events eligible
for medals. Some of the events have later gone on to become official
Olympic sports, such as Baseball and Synchronized Swimming.
Demonstration sports were not "officially" introduced until 1912, though before then some sports competitions were held simultaneously to the games, and today are considered "unofficial" or demonstration sports as well. Originally, demonstration sports and events were included to showcase sports or events which were unique to the country hosting the Games, but now they are often used as a stepping stone in the application for consideration as a future Olympic medal sport. In 1989, the IOC voted to disallow unofficial demonstration events at Olympics, starting with the 1996 Games.
These days, demonstration sports are an integral part of the process for new sports being accepted as official sports. There are now specific rules that must be followed in order for a sport to be accepted. That means unfortunately for some, fortunately for others, many of the sports described on this website will never be seen again.
Related Pages
- List of Demonstration Sports (sorted by alphabetical order)
- List of Demonstration Sports (sorted by year)
