In 1981 the International World Games Association put on the very first world games and the events were hosted by Santa Clara, California. Ever since 1981 the World Games have been held every four years in cities all over the world and if you pay very close attention you may notice a very familiar pattern at world Games. The events at World Games are events that are not part of the Olympics or they once were part of the Olympic games and now you will only find them at World Games. Many games at World Games eventually wound up as Olympic events like weightlifting and badminton. Both of those events got their start as events at the World Games before being moved to the Olympics. But just like the Olympics the World Games also have exhibition competitions that do not get the winners any medals but get the sport the chance to be seen at the World Games and then the chance to potentially become medal events. There are usually between 25 and 35 events at the World Games and it is dictated by the availability of facilities at the host city. While host cities are more than welcome to arrange for any kind of incoming tourists or any other potential source of income host cities are not allowed to build new facilities to accommodate World Games events. The World Games will work with the host city to determine which events can be accommodated by existing facilities and plan the schedule of events from there.

If it seems like there is a lot of similarities between the World Games and the Olympics, and if you are curious as to how events at the World Games are so closely tied to the Olympic games then there is a simple answer to that question. The International World Games Association puts on the World Games every four years with the sponsorship of the International Olympic Committee. The International Olympic Committee, know as the IOC, has recently decided that they will limit the number of Olympic participants per games to 10,500. So while a sport can use inclusion to the World Games as a potential stepping stone to being included into the Olympics it should be noted that this new policy of limiting participants in the Olympic games more than likely means that no World Games competitions will be getting moved into the Olympics any time soon.

In 2009 the World Games will be held in Chinese Taipei and the events are still being considered. Sports like softball used to be Olympic sports but was dropped and now is available for the World Games. With the worldwide popularity of softball there is a very good chance you will see it in the 2009 World Games. With cities such as Budapest, Hungary and Denver, Colorado applying to be host cities, and with the very real possibility that baseball may be removed from the 2012 Summer Olympics and then put back into the World Games, the World Games looks like it will be around for a very long time as a perfect supplement, and training ground, for future Olympians. So next time you get a chance to watch the World Games you may want to pay attention as it could be the future, and maybe even history, that you are seeing at the World Games.