Organizers of traditional winter sports have expressed their opposition to the inclusion of summer federation events in the Winter Olympics program. Suggestions to add cyclocross, cross-country running, and indoor sports to the 2030 Winter Games hosted in the French Alps and Nice have been deemed as undesirable “piecemeal proposals” by the Winter Olympic Federations group.
The group, consisting of governing bodies overseeing sports like skiing, skating, biathlon, curling, luge, bobsled, and skeleton, emphasized that such additions would dilute the unique brand, heritage, and identity of the Olympic Winter Games, which celebrate sports practiced on snow and ice with their distinct culture, athletes, and playing fields.
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry initiated a review of the Winter Games program and related matters after assuming office formally in June. With the Winter Games program featuring only 116 medal events, there is potential for expansion compared to the more constrained Summer Games, which had 329 events in Paris last year.
The proposal to include cyclocross and cross-country running, usually conducted on muddy terrain, would necessitate changes to the IOC’s Olympic Charter regulations mandating that Winter Games sports be conducted on snow and ice. Ivo Ferriani, representing winter sports on the IOC executive board as the president of the bobsled and skeleton federation, highlighted the introduction of ski mountaineering, or skimo, at the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Games.
Despite having influential backers within Olympic circles, including the presidents of cycling and track and field governing bodies, David Lappartient and Sebastian Coe, respectively, the proposal for 2030 did not sway the top official at the International Biathlon Union. Max Cobb, the American secretary general of the IBU, expressed skepticism, suggesting that any additions to the Winter Games should stem from the realm of snow and ice sports rather than from summer disciplines.
