Olympic rugby 'puzzle' - Rogge

CRAIG SIMCOX/Dominion Post

OLYMPIC PUZZLE: International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge says he has no direct influence around rugby gaining re-introduction to the Games.

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International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge has arrived in New Zealand for a series of high-level meetings offering "sympathy" but no direct influence around the possibility of rugby gaining re-introduction to the Games in 2016.

Rogge, of course, is a former rugby international, having represented his native Belgium in the XV-a-side code, as well as competing at three Olympics as a sailor.

"Let me say very clearly I do not vote," Rogge told media when quizzed on rugby's chances of readmission at a press conference in Wellington today.

"I have a lot of sympathy, but I have no vote," he added. "Rugby is a great sport, there is no doubt about that.

"There has been a lot of discussion about whether to have the XVs or sevens code. But the problem with XVs is two weeks is not enough time to have a proper programme. The other issue with XVs is there is a big gap between the strong nations and the rest of the pack, which is not the case in sevens."

Rugby is one of seven sports chasing two spots on the Olympic programme for 2016 onwards. The others are golf, squash, karate, roller sports, softball and baseball.

A recommendation will be adopted by the executive board on August 2 and will be presented to the IOC's general assembly in Denmark in October, where it's likely but not certain the two "preferred" sports would be given the green light.

Rogge may have given little away on rugby's prospects during his media briefing in the capital, but when he spoke of the criteria required for the two new sports to get the nod, it was not hard to envision the oval ball code being one of them.  

The IRB has worked hard to establish the sevens code as an Olympic-friendly sport, growing both the global spread and the women's side of the game so as to fit more snugly into the Games vision.

"The choice will be made on a number of important criteria," said the Belgian rated one of the two most influential people in world sport. "The first one will be the universality of the sport. It has to be practised as much as possible around the world.

"Secondly, the sport has to give added value to the Olympic programme, and must contain something that will attract viewership either in the stadiums or on TV."

Other key criteria, he added, included "ethical values", a strong stance in the fight against doping and also being not too demanding in terms of infrastructure required.

"If you put all this together you have a pre-definition of the sport which ultimately must fit into the existing Olympic programme.

"It's really a kind of puzzle where everything has to come together."

But then Rogge gave a strong hint of where his personal views night lie when he added: "I was a sailor who participated in the Olympic Games and did that as well as I could. But I never found the joy in sailing that I was able to find in rugby."
Rogge also covered off some of the other key issues facing the Olympic movement on a day when he also met leading New Zealand Olympic officials and athletes, the Prime Minister and Minister of Sport and also attended a Parliamentary function in his honour.

He said the global economic crisis was impacting a lot more seriously on grass-roots sport that it was at an Olympic or international level; he confirmed that the IOC and United States Olympic Committee had moved closer to establishing agreement over revenue sharing from the massive television and sponsorship income generated there; and he reported that the London Olympic organisers had worked around a funding setback in the construction of the Games Village for 2012.

On the subject of the imminent vote on the host city for the 2016 Games - a decision between Chicago, Madrid, Tokyo and Rio - Rogge said there was a "balance" to be achieved between providing what called a "universal feeling" and doing what was best for the athletes.

The Games have yet to be held in either South America or Africa, though many are tipping Chicago to win the nod when the big vote is held later in the year.

Rogge headed to Queenstown on Tuesday to attend the two-day Oceania Olympic Committee General Assembly, where delegates will discuss key aspects of the movement as well as hear presentations from the 2016 bid cities and the potential new sports.

- © Fairfax NZ News