After their debut at the Tokyo Olympics, three sports that are in The World Games family are also set to be on the programme for the 2028 Olympic Games. After the recent Executive Committee meeting, IOC President Thomas Bach announced that athletes from Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing will again compete for Olympic gold in Los Angeles.
Skateboarding, Sport Climbing and Surfing will be part of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris as well. Breaking, a discipline of the World DanceSport Federation, is also scheduled for the next Olympics.
IWGA President José Perurena congratulated the World Skate, the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) and the International Surfing Association (ISA) on their success in establishing themselves in the Olympic programme:
I think our member federations can be more than satisfied after achieving their goals. At the same time we can see our own role being confirmed: The World Games are a stepping stone to the Olympics.
Nick Sellers, CEO of the Organising Committee of The World Games 2022 in Birmingham, USA, has earlier stated that "The World Games present the new generation of sports." Roller Sports, DanceSport including Breaking, and Sport Climbing are also represented at The World Games 2022 (7 - 17 July 2022).
World Skate is one of the founding members of the IWGA and has been part of The World Games programme since the first edition in 1981 in Santa Clara, USA, with its disciplines Artistic, Roller Hockey (now Inline Hockey) and Speed Skating. The International Federation of Sport Climbing has been a member since 2002. IFSC made its debut at The World Games in Duisburg, Germany in 2005 with medal events in the disciplines lead and speed. The International Surfing Federation (ISA) has been a member of The World Games family since 1993. The World DanceSport Federation joined the IWGA in 1995 and premiered with its disciplines Latin and Standard 1997 in Lahti, Finland.
The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association, organised with the support of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 7-17 July 2022. 3,600 athletes from 34 sports and over 100 countries will take part in The World Games.
