3-Cushion
PARIS - The Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG) has announced the four additional sports to join the 28 already scheduled sports for the Olympic Games in Paris, 2024. The new sports are breakdancing, climbing, skateboarding and surfing. That means the Olympic campaign for billiards has not been accepted. The IOC will now discuss the proposal during an Executive Board meeting at the end of March 2019. The IOC session in June will then publish a provisional shortlist, while the final decision is not expected before the end of 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
The "Billiards 2024" campaign received the official decision and the reaction was that of disappointment. The French campaigner and European board member Jean Pierre Guiraud replied with a comment, "There is a feeling of unfairness, we are of course very surprised with the decision, but we are proud of our amazing campaign and we plan to build from all the positive waves it has created all across the globe.''
The Frenchman points to the unified forces that fired up all the action in the campaign, "We saw many key players of our sport unite towards a common goal. Federation representatives, players, industry leaders, media and fans from all over the world have joined forces. This union will always remain a stepping stone in the history of billiards. The starting point of a strong wave for development of our sport.''
The Billiard 2024 Committee congratulates the four selected sports and wishes them the best on the way to a possible inclusion in the 2024 Olympic Games.
WCBS Secretary-General Diane Wild praised the effort, "The unified sport led a truly great bidding campaign which I hope will trigger a fresh, new start for all of our disciplines, already so popular worldwide. This comes as a disappointment, but our goal is now to move ahead and stay united for the recognition of our sport.''
The French Federation and the Billiard 2024 Committee will of course support the Olympic Games in France in 2024 and will contribute to the sports promotion.