Karate at the 2020 Summer Olympics
The karate competitions at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo will feature eight events. It will be the debut appearance of karate in the Olympics. Karate is part of the 2020 programme as one of five sports added specifically for 2020 rather than as a permanent sport. Two disciplines karate will be featured. Kumite ("grappling hands") is the sparring discipline and will have three weight classes each for men and women. Kata (martial arts) is the form discipline and will have one event each for men and women. Every event will consist of 10 competitors.
Olympic Games
In October and November 2004, the IOC established an Olympic Programme Commission, which was tasked with reviewing the sports on the Olympic programme and all non-Olympic recognised sports. The goal was to apply a systematic approach to establishing the Olympic programme for each celebration of the Games. The commission formulated seven criteria to judge whether a sport should be included on the Olympic programme. These criteria are history and tradition of the sport, universality, popularity of the sport, image, athletes' health, development of the International Federation that governs the sport, and costs of holding the sport. From this study five recognised sports emerged as candidates for inclusion at the 2012 Summer Olympics: golf, karate, rugby sevens, roller sports and squash. These sports were reviewed by the IOC Executive Board and then referred to the General Session in Singapore in July 2005. Of the five sports recommended for inclusion only two were selected as finalists: karate and squash. Neither sport attained the required two-thirds vote and consequently they were not promoted to the Olympic programme. In October 2009 the IOC voted to instate golf and rugby sevens as Olympic sports for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic Games.