The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has announced that rock climbing is on it's 8 item shortlist of sports that will be considered for inclusion in the 2020 Olympic Games.

The final decision on which sport will be included in the 2020 Olympics will be announced by the IOC in 2013, in Buenos Aires, rockclimbing.com reports.

The original list comprised of 12 sports that were to be considered. This list has now been shortened to 8, which include: wushu, karate, roller sports, softball, baseball, squash, wakeboarding and lastly rock climbing. The four that were dropped off the list were netball, bowling, surfing and dancing. Currently the thought is that the favor would lie with baseball or softball, sports which were also considered for the 2008 Olympic Games.