Should Tiger and Co be given a crack at gold?

This debate is now closed.

Triathlon, baseball and softball are believed to be the sports facing the axe if the above are included in China.

The decision will be taken at the International Olympic Committee congress in Mexico in November.

Triathlon relies on IOC revenue for survival, while the dates normally set aside for the Olympics would clash with the British Open.

What do you make of the plans? And what sports would you like to see included or omitted?

Having golf included is an absolute joke. There was a time when the Olympics were competed for by athletes who appeared for the love of their events, not the $$$. How can smaller poorer countries compete against highly-paid sportsmen?

The inclusion of these commercial sports has created an unfair playing field, which goes against the spirit of the Olympics. If the IOC officials really wish to revive the Games they should exclude sports such as basketball, tennis and especially leave out golf.

We get saturated with these sports on television, radio and newspapers as is without having to watch them again every four years. Isn't Wimbledon, the US Golf Open and the NBL enough?
Syd Evans, Australia

Amateur golf is thriving around the world, why not let them take part in the Olympics, and leave the professionals to their own competitions.
Jeremy King, UK

I was so angry when I discovered that eventing might be excluded from the next Olympics. Although many people don't know what eventing is, I'm positive that if they knew, they would have described it as a very physical sport, in comparison to the likes of golf and archery!

It is also a mental sport, as communication with the horse is one of the key aspects in the sport. It would be very sad if it is excluded since one of its phases, which is cross-country, is one of the most exciting and dangerous sports in the world, and almost all the event riders, such as Pippa Funnell and Mary King, are hugely likeable.

We also rarely see drug scandals and other things you see in other sports, such as football.
Sophie, U.K.

Wow, two dull sports and one obscure one. Still, you can see the reasoning:

1: Golf, so the IOC can schmooze Tiger Woods into lighting the Olympic torch. He's famous, he's multicultural and dull enough to be a completely risk-free PR coup.

2. Rugby sevens; I presume the BBC make a mistake and meant to say rugby UNION sevens. No surprise there either: Jacques Rogge used to play rugby union but no-one's going to accuse the head of the IOC of favouritism, eh?

3. Wushu: the ancient martial art of letting the hosts win something.
Daniel, England

Get in with the rugby sevens. It's exciting, innovative and a worthwhile contender... GOLF!? The 'atheletes'- ha! - don't even break a sweat!

And while we're at it, can't we get rid of football since the professional nations don't take it seriously, and have a beach football competition in the Olympics or something?
Ben E, England

Why not? Beach volleyball is in. Quite frankly, with the current marketing trend the Olympics has lost all my interest. I don't care what professional wins. That's why I watch the specific events related to whichever sport.
Don Hughes, Canada

For athletes, the Olympic Games is by far their biggest competition. For golfers, it has long been established that the four 'majors' are the top tournaments.

The case against including golf is that the Olympics would at worst be a minor tournament, because of no-shows by top players, and at best would be a disputed major, like the Players' Championship.

But why not try it and see? In a few decades this comment might look like the one from the man at Decca records, who said the Beatles would never make it.
Neil Hagues, England

Don't mess with synchronized swimming. I have been a life guard manning inshore lifeboats, and through the endurance swimming training routine, much as an Olympic swimmer would.

I thought synchronized swimming was easy until my daughter started to learn it, an introduced me to some of the movements...then I realised how difficult it really is. I can't do it - and the experts make it look so easy. It is a sport. Leave it alone.
Phil W, UK

I personally would like to see golf introduced as an Olympic Sport. The reasons being, we are finding more and more young people of both sexes and abilities playing this wonderful ancient game throughout the world. It could be based on pairs and four ball team competition, thereby giving many more the chance to represent their country at world level.

The only point I feel I can make against it is that NO professional player should be allowed to play, in what has been and should remain an AMATEUR competition. There are many competitions available for the likes of Tiger Woods to compete in at professional level, without them taking over the amateur world of sport once every four years.

An amateur player has difficulty enough in becoming a professional player without the pros taking over the Olympics.
Cdr Malcolm Wallace, Scotland

Golf in the Olympics? What a joke.
Alan, UK

Amateur golf comes close to meeting the Olympic ideal. In matchplay format it is man against man, relevant to the millions of club golfers around the globe who compete in their club championships. With no subjective element such as style marks, the victor is recognised as the best by all.

Professional golf already has four annual 'world' championships, these would continue to be regarded above the Olympic event, but it could become a true world stage for the amateur game. The major danger would be commercial interest hijacking the event and tarnishing the amateur values.
Alex Ritchie, UK

I adore golf, and as someone who has played rugby, football, snooker, and numerous other sports I believe it to be the hardest of all games to master. However, as an Olympic sport...no, sorry.

The Games are fast becoming ridiculous, soon we will have bog snorkelling, tossing the caber, and why not the grand Australian sport of throwing the midget? Bit un-PC, so maybe not then.
Robert Broderick, UK

I play darts in my spare time and would love an Olympic medal. Could we include that too? After all, there is a definite winner, no need for judges, millions of people play it and what's more you only need a small space to play it in......the pub next door to the athletics track perhaps?
Dave H, England

Is it not time to start removing 'sports?' from the Olympic list instead of adding more. Synchronized swimming may be entertainment but is not a sport. I say back to basics and no more additions.
Alan Gilmore, The Netherlands

The Olympics is all about global sport. Even though I'm a rugby fan I'd have to question its inclusion. It is generally played, with any proficiency by Commonwealth countries and a few close neighbours.

Golf on the other hand spans the globe hence its inclusion. It is important to be realistic, if the Olympics were made up of solely amateur sports it would rule out athletics for a start.

Sports such as surfing and cricket could never be involved as they have limited countries where they can be staged. China is hardly blessed with great batting tracks and 'knarly' surf breaks.
Pete Ward, UK

Golf is not a sport! It is a game that requires great skill and concentration but lacks the physical aspects that true sports require. A true sport raises the pulse above mild activity levels. There is an element of danger and grave physical harm in a true sport.
Greg Comstock, USA

Let's face it, the Olympics is about money and big business, not sport. So of course Golf should be in. So should any sport that can turn a buck.

But why not go further. Australia, like many other countries, imports athletes, making their nationalities largely irrelevant. It's time we started seeing them 'competing' for their sponsors, not their countries. After all, that's what happens in Formula One.

Let's see Team Nike and Team Addidas slug it out in the basketball finals. Of course I won't be watching, but then I think the whole thing is a joke anyway.
Phil Munnelly, Sydney, Australia

To my utter dismay, Squash has been excluded from the 2008 Olympics. This has to be due to the appalling coverage given to it by the media, including the BBC. We didn't even get to see the Commonwealth final (contested between Peter Nicol and Jonathon Powers) on the BBC (other than a few shots from the second game!?!).
Matt Pinto, UK

We've got enough martial arts and I do play golf but it's not the type of sport for the Olympics. I think we should have Rugby Sevens I mean it's in the Commonwealth Games so why not the Olympics?
Amy, London

Golf should be in, but to spice it up they could base it on seaside crazy golf course. I for one would pay to see Tiger woods putt under the windmill and win a free go at the 19th!
Ian Gibbons, England

The Olympic list of sports is a bit of a farce. There seems to consistency at all.

Badminton but not Squash? Basketball but not Netball? Skiing but not Water Skiing? Sailing but not Surfing or Wind Surfing? Water Polo but not Polo, Judo but not Karate?

The test should be whether gold is the pinnacle of sport, although events like Sevens Rugby, amateur golf, most women's sports and even five-a-side football have little recognition so I'd happily see them in.
Mark Smith, England

Get rid of anything involving judges - that rules out wushu (and gymnastics and boxing). Get rid of anything where the Olympics is not (or would not be) the undisputed ultimate achievement in that field - that rules out golf and sevens (as well as soccer, tennis, etc.). Get rid of anything which does not fit the Olympic motto: "Faster, Higher, Stronger". Track and field, swimming, weightlifting and cycling seem to be about all that is left.
Mick, UK

Why not include golf? After all it will guarantee the Americans yet another permanent gold, and that's what the Olympics is all about.
Andrew, UK

I think it is perfectly reasonable to have golf as an Olympic sport, but I really do think that it should be amateur only. Golf is one sport where the rules for amateur participation are well established, and this would remove all arguments about commercialism.
Matt, UK

There are way too many Olympic sports now. Reintroducing tennis hasn't exactly enhanced the sport or the Olympics - just provided another chance for a medal for already over-paid stars. Golf would be the same. If golf is added I'd hope to see rugby (either code), squash or racquet ball, horse racing and ballroom dancing soon.
Tim, UK

The Olympics should be about running, throwing and jumping - the traditional disciplines which started the event originally. The athletes who complete in these disciplines do so because the Olympic Games are the pinnacle of their sport.

Golf already has four majors with ridiculously large purses, why create another title for already overpaid performers. For athletics, the Olympic Games are the be all and end all; people strive all their lives for gold, not for money as with golfers. Track and Field should be the focus of the Olympics and all else should be dropped.
Robert, Scotland

Of course, the original Olympic Games of ancient Greece included such diverse disciplines as chariot racing and poetry recital. Perhaps the IOC should award Olympic medals to all areas of cultural endeavour. I look forward to the day when Britain take gold in Dance Music, silver in Economics and bronze in Film Making.
Justin Bell, England

Golf should be included as an Olympic sport. Far from being a 'pasttime', it is one of the most technically and mentally challenging sports around. The problem is that the Olympic Games will never be the number one prize in the sport. For this reason I would like to see it included as an amateur sport - similar to the way boxing is included in the Games.
Stuart, UK

For golf to be in the Olympics they should spice it up a little, with fourball or mixed fourball events, so it is not simply like another major.
Paul Fuge, England

There is far more skill involved in golf than many existing Olympic 'sports' and a matchplay format would make for exciting viewing, just as it does in the Ryder Cup.
Angie, UK

As a huge golf fan, I had always wanted golf to be included, particularly in Sydney in 2000. I understand that one of the main obstacles has been how to fit the Olympic event into the busy calendar.

My suggestion would be to hold the Olympic Golf event for Amateurs, in the true de Courbetin spirit. Sure, the standard will be lower, but the stage will the greater and hold more significant for the up and coming world golfers. Sorry Tiger et al!
Al, Australia

When you have sports that are included in the Olympics but that do not attract the top players (either for financial reasons or because they have "bigger" tournaments to play) it demeans both the sport and the Olympics as a whole.

I believe that if the Olympics is not the biggest international tournament for a particular sport, then it should not be included. As it currently stands, this should mean no golf.
Darren, Ireland

The acid test for whether to include a new sport is simple... would an Olympic gold medal be the pinnacle of achievement in this event?
James, Pom living in Oz

The Olympic committee has an obligation to make the games as interesting and commercially successful as possible. There are an awful lot of the field events that could be sacrificed such as the Hammer or the Discus, which have a minimal appeal on a global basis. The Olympics is about competing and being in a position to do so at the highest level both mentally and physically. Golf would certainly be a welcome addition to my Olympic viewing.
Mark, Dubai, UAE

Get darts in there!! Highly-honed athletes in nerve shredding, gut wrenching tension on the oche! Better than synchronised swimming any day!
Gordon, Scotland

Forget golf's inclusion -- why is the Triathlon being taken out?

It's ironic that it's one of the Olympic events set for the chop, given that the original purpose of the Olympics was for training soldiers in skills useful for war. Finding the athlete who can best swim, cycle and run seems rather more Olympic to me than a lot of more established sports.
Ravi H, Hong Kong

I don't think triathlon should be cut at the expense of golf. It is true that golf isn't a sport, but it is a summer pastime and maybe on that basis we should keep golf in, but not at the expense of any other sport/pastime. Perhaps we should just include it all - golf, cricket, rugby, etc. After all, currently we have archery in the summer Olympics and biathlon for the winter Olympics...
Debasish Datta , Canada

I thought one of the criteria for a sport being included was that it was played on all five continents, so how does Wushu qualify? Golf could be included, and I suppose Greco-Roman wrestling could make way for it.
Stephen, England

No, definitely not. The Olympics are becoming farcical with the recent additions, and this is just one more example of pandering to the whims of already overpaid sports stars who want an Olympic medal in their trophy cabinet.

I love golf and will spend hours watching the major championships, but the Olympics? No thank you. It's a mockery of a competition when sports like golf are included. No-one will take it seriously, and very few will really be interested.

As an example, who won the tennis in Sydney? After guessing that it was one of the Williams sisters, the reaction of most people is "who cares?". The major sports in the Olympics are athletics and swimming, always have been and always should be.

Britain takes an interest in anything else that might produce a gold, such as rowing, but the attraction of these sports is that the competitors aren't relatively highly paid and they genuinely participate for the love of the sport.
Mark, UK

Golf? Why not. And maybe angling, and cricket and marbles.
Stuart Gorse, Canada

No! It would only benefit certain countries, the USA in particular. What happens to those countries where golf is not or very seldom is a major part of their sporting life?
MI Jackson, Canada

I'd like to see cricket in the Olympics. It may not seem the most "suitable" sport, but to make sure enough teams can take part they could use either the 20 over format being used next year over here, or the format used for the annual Hong Kong Cricket Sixes tournament.
Matt W, UK

There are far too many sports in the Oympic Games as it is. Not to mention that it would add further expenses to the host nation, and alienate the smaller and poorer countries, who would be unable to hold the Games. Take sports like football out and leave swimming and athletics as the centrepieces.
Mark, UK

Oh well, another sport full of overpaid competitors being included in the Olympics. Am I the only person in the world who remembers the days when 'amateurs' competed in the Olympics?

It was bad enough when they added Basketball just so the US could win another gold, and Larry Bird et al, could get medals.
John, UK

And why not? I'm surprised it has not been an Olympic sport earlier. It's one of the most watched and played sports these days. I hope that Tiger and the rest of the world's players will participate. If they do, I will definitely be watching it.
Niamh, Ireland