The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will probably not be a comprehensive shitstorm like these 2016 Games are shaping up to be, but there is a decent chance they will be much more rad, thanks to the new sports that could get added to the program. Five sports have made it through to the final round of whatever labyrinthine, certainly-not-corrupt-at-all-or-anything-like-that bureaucratic machinations the IOC goes through to pick new sports, and skateboarding and surfing have a legit shot to be Olympic sports in 2020.
The IOC released a statement detailing the process, which essentially boils down to a series of votes by a series of subcommittees. One group passed a motion to send the five sports to the next group today, and the final voting will take place in early August. Sport climbing, softball/baseball, and karate also made the cut:
The five sports — karate, skateboarding, sports climbing, surfing and baseball/softball — offer a key focus on youth, which is at the heart of the Games vision for Tokyo 2020. They represent a combination of well-established and emerging sports with significant popularity in Japan and beyond. They include team sports and individual sports; indoor sports and outdoor sports; and ‘urban’ sports with a strong appeal to youth.
All told, these new sports ranked fairly low on average in our rankings of potential Olympic sports. However, Olympics can get a little boring at times, and, seeing as how the best part of the Winter Olympics is the snowboarding, the upcoming rad-ification of the Olympics can only be a good thing. Get those bribes ready, brah.