AnneauxThe IOC has announced new rules about how it will decide which sports will be included in the Olympic Games and which ones will be removed. Previously, the committee had to vote individually for every sport, and a two-thirds majority was necessary to add or remove a sport or game from what was scheduled for competition. Now, there will be between 25 and 26 core sports which would take some special circumstances to remove, and up to 2 or 3 provisional sports which can be added with a simple majority vote.

The sports for any individual Olympic Games are decided 7 years in advance. Both baseball and softball have been removed until at least 2016. No other sports were voted to take their place for the London Olympics in 2012.

The Winter Games will work in a similar fashion, except that there will only be 7 core sports. More details and a video of IOC President Jacques Rogges can be seen at the IOC website.

(Source: International Olympic Committee)