I love the passion of disc golfers, even when desire butts head with reality. There’s a very well intentioned petition out there to get disc golf in the Olympics in 2016 at discgolfbuzz.com.

An article by International Surfing Association president Fernando Aguerre provides all kinds of useful, and apparently, well-researched information. For instance, “The biggest obstacles facing new sports hoping to be included in the Olympic Games Program are the strict requirements for inclusion and the length of time the process requires. A new sport should start its campaign at least nine years before a particular Olympic Games, because the final line-up of sports is decided by the IOC seven years before any given Olympic Games.” (Emphases are mine.) What this means is that it’s too late for disc golf in 2016, where, “the five sports on the ’short list’ for inclusion in the 2016 Games are rugby, karate, roller sports, racquetball, and golf. Currently there is only room for two additional sports for those Games. The IOC could also decide not to include any new sport at all for 2016.”

Assuming that Mr Aguerre has his facts correct, the earliest disc golf could be included would be in 2020. Mr. Aguerre points out that getting any brand-new sport into the games is quite difficult: “At the end of the day, the process comes down to a vote by all IOC members, some of which are presidents of federations of sports currently in the Games. Hence the vote for inclusion could end up resulting in the exclusion of the sports of the person casting the ‘inclusion’ vote for a new sport. In other words there is a full potential for a big conflict of interest: What might be great for the health of the IOC and the Games (bringing new, contemporary youth or extreme sports that will result in better ratings and sponsors interest), might be the worst for some currently included sports (such as aging, obsolete, or no longer relevant sports) that will be ‘kicked out’ of the Games as a consequence.”

Like many disc golfers, Mr Aguerre has had his hopes buoyed for surfing’s inclusion due to success of X-Games driven sports the last several Olympics. However, he notes, “The inclusion of Snowboard and BMX in the Games was not as complicated as the inclusion of surfing would be, since both sports were considered ‘disciplines’ of existing sports (snow skiing and cycling respectively), and not ‘new sports’. The inclusion of a totally new sport (like surfing), as opposed to a ‘new discipline’ of a currently included sport, is a much more complicated and involved process. Even if golf were chosen for 2016, it would be hard for disc golf to piggyback on that because there are no organizational nor financial connections to our much wealthier cousin.

Disc golf (and ultimate) were in the World Games in Japan in 2001, which was the result of a decade-old organizational scramble under the aegis of the World Flying Disc Federation that brought WFDF into the General Association of International Sports Federations and other international sporting groups. Unfortunately, disc golf did not make the 2005 games, and only ultimate will represent flying disc sports in 2009. Because disc golf no longer is represented within WFDF, it’s unlikely that disc golf will make it back to the World Games, which at one time, was thought of as a way into the Olympics.

I believe there is no precedent for a sport getting into the Olympics via a petition. While i wouldn’t rule out the possibility that someday disc golf will make the cut, it’s still many years out. However, the good news in keeping the Olympics dream alive is that PDGA Europe is likely to have these new members countries in 2009: Austria, Italy, Poland, and the Czech Republic. They will be joining existing members: Belgium, Germany, Russia, Denmark, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, France, and Norway. Countries that are just getting into the game and hopefully will affiliate before too long include Hungary, Israel, Slovakia, Iceland, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland.

I’m fairly certain that a sport has a much greater chance for entry into the big-ticket cavalcade of international sports competition if it’s played in many countries. Even if the Olympic thing never works out, being able to play disc golf while traveling the world would be its own reward.