By Tom Degun

Roller SportDecember 18 - International Roller Sports Federation (FIRS) President Sabatino Aracu is confident of his sport's chances of making the 2020 Olympic Games programme with the governing body set to present to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) tomorrow.


Roller Sport is one of seven disciplines looking to make the 2020 Games alongside climbing, karate, squash, wakeboard, wushu and a joint baseball and softball bid.

The IOC has now visited a major championships for all of the bidding sports and all seven are now in Lausanne where they will present to the IOC Programme Commission at the Palace Hotel.

Roller sport's IOC Evaluation event was the 2012 World Speed Skating Championships, which was held in Ascoli Piceno, Italy in September and it has made changes to its Olympic bid following feedback.

The marathon road race included in an earlier proposal has been replaced with a 300-metre indoor time trial meaning that there is now no road action in the bid.

The track events included in the bid in addition to the 300m are the 500m, 1 kilometre, 10km and 15km, and Aracu believes the changes make the bid stronger.

lausanne palace hotelThe seven disciplines bidding to join the 2020 Olympic Games programme will present to the IOC Programme Commission tomorrow at the Palace Hotel in Lausanne

"For many years I've been nurturing the dream of having roller sports at the Olympics," said the FIRS President, who is a high profile Italian politician.

"We have a big opportunity now to show to the IOC the contribution we could bring to the Olympic Movement.

"The decision about our exclusion in 2009 [for inclusion at Rio 2016] left us stunned but we believe now, that such a fresh young sport, with a high athletic value, has all the credentials to be present at the Olympic Games."

The presentations to the IOC in Lausanne will be crucial for all seven bids but the IOC will not decide on which sport or sports to include on the 2020 Olympic programme until its Session in Buenos Aires in September 2013.

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September 2012: Roller sports set for IOC evaluation in Italy ahead of 2020 Olympic bid