Olympics - What progress have we made in 25 Years?
On July 13, 2001, Beijing won the bid for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. It was heralded as an historic opportunity for Wushu to be a part of the Olympic Games. On December 20, 2001, the IWUF submitted to the IOC an official application Wushu to be included in the 2008 Olympic Games.
In 2002, myself and Mr Missingham (President of Kung-Fu Wushu Australia) presented a proposal to the IWUF EB for a global marketing strategy. We and others felt it would position Wushu to be a strong contender for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, perhaps our best ever chance to become an Olympic sport. However the proposal was not adopted by the IWUF EB and President at the time, or at any other time since.
As an organisation, we have failed since 2008 to become an Olympic sport, even with a President who is a Vice President of the IOC. Myself and others believe this has been due to IWUF not being able to successfully position itself and Wushu on the world stage, in the years leading up to our Olympic bids.
On May 29, 2013 in St Petersburg Russia, Wushu had another chance, where I was part of the IWUF special delegation who presented Wushu’s bid for the 2020 Olympics to the IOC. Eight shortlisted IFs presented at the time. Wrestling was reinstated. The other key contenders were Baseball-Softball and Squash, followed by Karate and Wushu. Wushu's presentation was outstanding, but not enough in itself to make a difference!
With the recent opportunity for the inclusion of Additional Sports into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic schedule through the Additional Event Program, Wushu had yet another chance.
In my view, Wushu should have met the criteria for "promoting the Olympic Movement and its values, with a focus on youth appeal" and an ability to "engage the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide", reflecting the Tokyo 2020 Games vision.
Wushu's presentation was on Friday August 7, 2015 followed by a Question and Answer session on Saturday August 8, 2015. President Yu, Byron Jacobs, Daria Tarasova and Anthony Goh presented IWUF's bid. Mr Muroaka and Mr Ishihara, representing the Japan Wushu-Taiji Federation also provided support at the presentation.
The Tokyo 2020 organizers recommended the sports it would add to the next shortlist on September 30, 2015, and a final decision will be made in August 2016, ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Wushu was NOT selected as one of 5 shortlisted sports for Tokyo 2020, which is further evidence of IWUF’s ongoing failure in this area. I’m sure you are as disappointed as I am that Karate Baseball/Softball, Skateboarding, Surfing and Sport Climbing, were chosen ahead of Wushu!
The question is, did President Yu do enough to get Wushu into the Olympics? Clearly Karate clearly went the extra mile and was successful in getting through to the next round. The following links cover some of what Karate did for their Tokyo 2020 campaign: Karate News, Facebook, Arnold Schwarzenegger Interview. You might also be interested in an overview of the shortlisted sports Presentations.
If Wushu had become an 'Additional Sport' in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it would have been a ONE-OFF event for 2020 only! Wushu would NOT have become a full Olympic sport, and it would NOT as of right be included in the next Olympics.
Each Olympic host city has the option of adding Additional Sports at their own cost, pending approval from the IOC EB. Depending on where the 2024 Olympics are held, and of course what happens in 2020, there is NO guarantee Wushu will again be shortlisted for consideration as one of the 3 Additional Sports.
What is most likely however, is that IWUF/Wushu will once again be competing against WKF/Karate for inclusion in the 2024 Olympics. For more information about
WKF and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, click on 'Conflict of Interest' in the IWUF Issues tab.
In 2002, myself and Mr Missingham (President of Kung-Fu Wushu Australia) presented a proposal to the IWUF EB for a global marketing strategy. We and others felt it would position Wushu to be a strong contender for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, perhaps our best ever chance to become an Olympic sport. However the proposal was not adopted by the IWUF EB and President at the time, or at any other time since.
As an organisation, we have failed since 2008 to become an Olympic sport, even with a President who is a Vice President of the IOC. Myself and others believe this has been due to IWUF not being able to successfully position itself and Wushu on the world stage, in the years leading up to our Olympic bids.
On May 29, 2013 in St Petersburg Russia, Wushu had another chance, where I was part of the IWUF special delegation who presented Wushu’s bid for the 2020 Olympics to the IOC. Eight shortlisted IFs presented at the time. Wrestling was reinstated. The other key contenders were Baseball-Softball and Squash, followed by Karate and Wushu. Wushu's presentation was outstanding, but not enough in itself to make a difference!
With the recent opportunity for the inclusion of Additional Sports into the Tokyo 2020 Olympic schedule through the Additional Event Program, Wushu had yet another chance.
In my view, Wushu should have met the criteria for "promoting the Olympic Movement and its values, with a focus on youth appeal" and an ability to "engage the Japanese population and new audiences worldwide", reflecting the Tokyo 2020 Games vision.
Wushu's presentation was on Friday August 7, 2015 followed by a Question and Answer session on Saturday August 8, 2015. President Yu, Byron Jacobs, Daria Tarasova and Anthony Goh presented IWUF's bid. Mr Muroaka and Mr Ishihara, representing the Japan Wushu-Taiji Federation also provided support at the presentation.
The Tokyo 2020 organizers recommended the sports it would add to the next shortlist on September 30, 2015, and a final decision will be made in August 2016, ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Wushu was NOT selected as one of 5 shortlisted sports for Tokyo 2020, which is further evidence of IWUF’s ongoing failure in this area. I’m sure you are as disappointed as I am that Karate Baseball/Softball, Skateboarding, Surfing and Sport Climbing, were chosen ahead of Wushu!
The question is, did President Yu do enough to get Wushu into the Olympics? Clearly Karate clearly went the extra mile and was successful in getting through to the next round. The following links cover some of what Karate did for their Tokyo 2020 campaign: Karate News, Facebook, Arnold Schwarzenegger Interview. You might also be interested in an overview of the shortlisted sports Presentations.
If Wushu had become an 'Additional Sport' in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, it would have been a ONE-OFF event for 2020 only! Wushu would NOT have become a full Olympic sport, and it would NOT as of right be included in the next Olympics.
Each Olympic host city has the option of adding Additional Sports at their own cost, pending approval from the IOC EB. Depending on where the 2024 Olympics are held, and of course what happens in 2020, there is NO guarantee Wushu will again be shortlisted for consideration as one of the 3 Additional Sports.
What is most likely however, is that IWUF/Wushu will once again be competing against WKF/Karate for inclusion in the 2024 Olympics. For more information about
WKF and the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, click on 'Conflict of Interest' in the IWUF Issues tab.