LONDON, UK (ANS) -- After the Beijing Olympics, Softball was sent packing from the London 2012 Olympic Games sports schedule to an uproar of complaints by Softballing nations, and none more so than Australia.

2008 Beijing Olympic Softball Team with Mark and Delma Tronson. Softball was dropped from the 2012 London Olympic schedule

The Australian women Softball team had done exceptionally well and only missed out on a final berth by the slimmest of margins by what seemed like so many extra time plays to determine a winner.

But Softball is not the only international sport clamoring to get into the Olympics sporting schedule.

There has been talk for some time that Twenty/20 Cricket has been singing its virtues as a legitimate international sport as has the Rugby 7's. No doubt these two sports, Cricket and Rugby have a huge international audience into the tens of millions upon millions of fans.

In terms of numbers of participants, Dragon Boat Racing is also in the market place with 50,000 active members in China alone and if China is taking a lead across the spectrum from business to banking to sport, so to the Olympics.

There is even chatter of expanding the Olympics and dividing the Olympics into two, maybe a number of separate time slots.

There is precedent for this as the Paralympics are held at a different time, but more so, some sporting events are held a long way from the Olympic hub. Take for example, Sailing. How many Olympic cities are actually on the water?

Olympics cities since 1984 on the ocean
1984 - Los Angeles
1992 - Barcelona
2000 - Sydney

Olympic cities away from the ocean
1988 - Seoul
1996 - Atlanta
2004 - Athens
2008 - Beijing
2012 - London

Obviously the Olympic Sailing competition in those Olympic host cities not on the ocean are held elsewhere.

Another example is the Olympic Soccer (Football) competition. These are held throughout the host nation. There is no centralized competition location.

The thinking goes, why therefore should all the other sports be engaged within the Olympic city.

Consider these 2-12 London Olympics.

Why not the Olympic Archery in Nottingham (where else?)

Why would there be a problem for the Olympic Hockey, played in Cardiff, Wales.

Why not Olympic Shooting in Liverpool?

Perhaps the Olympic swimming at Dover!

So the argument suggests that should this idea gain support, it may result in several very good outcomes, one of which is that more sports could participate.

Press Service International (PSI) was founded by Mark Tronson, a retired Baptist minister, and an associate member of the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA), and author of 24 books. He was The Australian field hockey writer for 24 years to 1994; Cricket Chaplain (17 years to 2000 Australian team, from 2001 Life After Cricket) and Chairman of Well-Being Australia since 2000, and a painter of fine art. Web site is www.bushorchestra.com.  He enjoys writing. His e-mail address is: info@markt.id.au