GENEVA — Olympic winter sports must be played on snow and ice, according to the Olympic Charter.But could a muddy field of play get its chance at a future Winter Games, even as soon as in the French Alps in 2030 or Salt Lake City in 2034? How about parquet in an indoor hall? Snow volleyball is ready and waiting.Those and other sports on the far fringes of joining the Summer Games, such as flying disk, see a possible path to the less densely packed Winter Games schedule, even as winter sports federations push back.There are 116 medal events at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics compared to 353 at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.The charter is the code of rules and principles to guide how the IOC and Olympic Games are run.Article 6.2 could not be clearer: “Only those sports which are practised on snow or ice are considered as winter sports.”That legal clarity is now up for review.On taking office in June as IOC president, Kirsty Coventry listened to her fellow IOC members and started “Fit For The Future,” setting up four working groups including one focused on the program of Olympic sports in the Summer and Winter Games.It pledged to look at “identifying ways for sports to be added to or removed from the program through a clear and transparent process. It will also consider the suggestion that traditional summer or winter sports could cross over.”Cross-country running and cyclocross, two gloriously muddy events, have been suggested for the 2030 Winter Games by the influential federations for track and field and cycling, led by Sebastian Coe and David Lappartient, respectively. Both were candidates for IOC president in the election that Coventry won last year.Coe’s enthusiasm for cross-country …
