The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee has
determined that the women’s hockey tournament at the XXVIII Olympiad in Athens 2004
will remain a ten team tournament, at their meeting in Lausanne from 18-20 September.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had previously requested an increase in the
number of teams in the women’s tournament to twelve, similar to that of the
men’s tournament. However the IOC, faced with an increasing number of athletes and
events over recent Olympic Games has identified the following as key priorities:
- Establishing a total number of athletes
- Maintaining the current number of events
- Establishing the athlete quotas in each sport
- Increasing female participation within identified frameworks
In a letter addressed to FIH, Gilbert Felli, IOC Sports Director explained, “In order
to reach a maximum number of 10,500 athletes, it was necessary to strictly control the
sport specific quotas in all sports, and in fact make quota reductions in several
sports… It was very difficult to allow quota increases within this framework.”
FIH President Els van Breda Vriesman, commented, “Although we’re obviously very
disappointed, the IOC’s decisions are based on clear, understandable aims of
controlling the overall size of the Olympic Games. We can draw some consolation from the
Sydney Olympics, where the excellent hockey tournament achieved the second highest
spectator attendance of any of the sports in Sydney. Hockey can look to this and many
other recent positives to maintain and increase its status within the Olympic
movement.”
