In just over a year in charge of the IOC, President Kirsty Coventry made some radical changes with an emphasis on classic sports, and her vision for esports was lauded. But in the latest press conference of the IOC, the Olympic Committee’s decision regarding the 2030 Winter Olympics hasn’t gone down well.

This comes after Coventry confirmed that no summer sport disciplines will be a part of the 2030 Winter Olympics.

“So, for 2030, we have made the decision. No crossover sports, no summer sports,” Coventry said in the press conference. “But the Olympic program in phase two of their work will look at all avenues, and yes, that would then potentially lend itself to 2034.”

She added, “I think as the executive board, we discussed this quite a lot today in terms of we feel we need to regain control of the program, and we’re the leaders. This is our product, so we should regain that control, and we should look after it, and we should figure out how we want potentially new sports, innovative sports, and disciplines to come onto the program.”

The decision to shut down the crossover option opened debates, and many were critical of the committee’s decision.

An Olympic coach and author, Steve Magness, wrote on X, “This is a poor decision. Cross-country would be perfect for the winter Olympics. Put the emphasis on tough terrain and pure racing over time. And it’d add in a lot of countries that traditionally never compete in the winter Olympics, expanding its reach.”

It does mean that the French Winter Olympics will not see any experimentation with the sports, as IOC Sports Director Pierre Ducrey confirmed the various events. The events include biathlon, bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, and luge alongside the regular skating and skiing disciplines.

Before Coventry’s press conference, Reuters even reported that the IOC was seriously considering crossover sports as a way to boost interest and participation. This came after reports indicated that cross-country running and even cyclo-cross could be part of the 2030 Olympics.

But under Coventry’s leadership, the IOC has returned to its classic roots, following the charter to a letter. That is defined by Coventry’s policy, which will effectively prevent transgender women from participating in women’s sports at LA 2028.

However, the IOC hasn’t completely closed the door on crossover sports, as Ducrey further noted that federations will be given proper notice in the future. That does potentially offer a chance for new sports to crossover at the 2034 Olympics, as confirmed by Coventry.

However, Magness wasn’t alone in his frustration, and his post quickly became one of many as fans reacted online.

Fans react to the Kirsty Coventry ruling out crossover sports

“The IOC is sticking with their foolish requirement that all sports at the Winter Games involve snow or ice, a mistake that forces a lot of winter sports like Basketball to the much more crowded Summer Games. This is an opening for Football,” wrote one user on X.

American football is not traditionally a winter sport, yet people often play it in snowy weather. It’s not a sport like Baseball that takes a break during heavy snowfall, and instead, the players soldier on. That has seen many fans call for it to be included as part of the Olympics, although so far that hasn’t happened.

Sports like trail running, cyclo-cross, and gravel, however, operate in the grey area between winter and summer sports. But since the Olympic charter explicitly states that winter sports are events “practised on snow or ice”, they don’t meet the criteria.

That saw one fan question whether the IOC will modify the charter, asking, “Will it be reviewed? Have they read their Olympic Charter? Are they going to modify it? Because it says it very clearly…”

With their tweet, they posted an image of the charter in Spanish with the line about winter sports clearly underlined. That does raise a question as to whether the IOC is considering reviewing and adjusting the Charter in the future. After all, fans have called for a change, and while the IOC was considering, their stance has also clearly changed on the matter.

One fan even wondered about whether flag football could be a winter sport, writing (translated), “I think stuff like flag football could totally be a winter sport, though… but I guess it has to be on ice after all, huh.←”

For now, it does seem that any sport added to the Winter Olympics will have to be on ice. However, the LA 2028 Olympics will include flag football, which is a variant of standard American football. Instead of tackling players, the defensive team has to remove a flag instead. 

It won’t be a proper sport in the Olympics going forward, but instead a discretionary event for the 2028 edition. That effectively means that the 2032 Olympics will probably feature another event in its place.

For now, Coventry and the IOC seem determined to protect the Winter Olympics’ traditional identity. But judging by the backlash, many fans believe shutting the door on crossover sports only limits what the Games could become.