The NewsCodes Working Group is pleased to release the Q3 2026 update to our NewsCodes vocabularies.

In our Q2 update we mentioned that the Working Group was reviewing the sports branch of Media Topics. That review is now complete, and it makes up almost all of this release: 121 definitions have been rewritten, 17 labels have changed, 27 concepts have been retired and 6 concepts have moved within the hierarchy. Many definitions have been simplified, and details that change over time, such as equipment weights and measurements, have been removed.

Changes in this release:

Media Topics updates

New concepts (1)

• para sport (child of competitive sport)

Retired concepts (27)

• bareback bronc – use rodeo instead
• barrel racing – use rodeo instead
• bull riding – use rodeo instead
• bulldogging – use rodeo instead
• calf roping – use rodeo instead
• crossbow shooting – use archery instead
• freestyle wrestling – use wrestling instead
• goat roping – use rodeo instead
• grass skiing
• greco-roman – use wrestling instead
• hornuss
• hurling
• ice climbing – use mountaineering instead
• longbow – use archery instead
• mountain climbing – use mountaineering instead
• pentathlon – for the Olympic multi-sport event, use modern pentathlon
• power boating – use motorboat racing instead
• racquetball – use squash and racquetball instead
• rubberball baseball – use baseball instead
• saddle bronc – use rodeo instead
• sky diving – use parachuting and skydiving instead
• sledge hockey
• Swiss wrestling – use wrestling instead
• synchronised free routine – use artistic swimming instead
• synchronised technical routine – use artistic swimming instead
• tug-of-war
• underwater sports

Label changes (17)

• bobsleigh: en-US label changed from “bobsleigh” to “bobsled”
• competition discipline → competitive sport
• cross-country run → cross-country running
• eSports → esports
• field hockey → hockey (en-GB only; en-US remains “field hockey”)
• fist ball → fistball
• flying disc → flying disc sport
• handball (team) → handball
• long distance run → long distance running
• middle distance run → middle distance running
• motor car racing → motor racing
• motorcycling → motorcycle racing
• parachuting → parachuting and skydiving
• relay run → relay running
• sprint run → sprinting
• squash → squash and racquetball
• ten pin bowling → tenpin bowling (en-GB), bowling (en-US)

Hierarchy moves (6)

• 3×3 basketball moved from competition discipline to basketball
• canoe slalom moved from competition discipline to canoeing
• canoe sprint moved from competition discipline to canoeing
• football 5-a-side moved from competition discipline to football
• mountaineering moved from mountain climbing to competitive sport
• road cycling moved from competition discipline to cycling

Definition changes (121)

alpine skiing, American football, archery, artistic cycling, artistic gymnastics, athletics, Australian rules football, badminton, bandy, baseball, basketball, beach volleyball, biathlon, bmx racing, bobsleigh, bodybuilding, boxing, bullfighting, Canadian football, competitive dancing, competitive sport, cricket, croquet, cross-country skiing, cycle ball, cycling, darts, decathlon, disciplinary action in sport, discus throw, diving, esports, fencing, figure skating, fistball, floorball, flying disc sport, football, football 5-a-side, freestyle skiing, Gaelic football, golf, gymnastics, hammer throw, handball, heptathlon, hockey, horse racing, ice hockey, icestock sport, Jai Alai (Pelota), javelin throw, judo, jukendo, kabaddi, karate, kayaking, krav maga, lacrosse, long distance running, luge, marathon, marathon swimming, martial arts, middle distance running, mini golf, modern pentathlon, motor racing, motorboat racing, motorcycle racing, mountaineering, naginata, netball, Olympic Games, orienteering, parachuting and skydiving, Paralympic Games, platform diving, pole vault, polo, rhythmic gymnastics, roller hockey, roller sports, rowing, rugby, rugby league, rugby sevens, rugby union, sailing, sepak takraw, shinty, shot put, skeleton, ski orienteering, skiing, snowboarding, speed skating, sport, sport climbing, sport industry, sport organisation, sport shooting, sports officiating, springboard diving, squash and racquetball, sumo wrestling, surfing, swimming, table tennis, Taekwon-Do, Telemark skiing, tennis, tenpin bowling, trampoline, triple jump, volleyball, water polo, water skiing, windsurfing, wrestling, wushu

Modified notes

• bobsleigh now has a note pointing to skeleton, where competitors lie on their stomach
• Old change notes from 2016 were removed from football, rugby league and rugby union

News Provider updates

At the request of AFP, two labels in the News Provider vocabulary have been updated:

• ACCESSWIRE → ACCESS Newswire
• Media Outreach → Media OutReach Newswire

Working with IPTC NewsCodes

See the official Media Topic vocabulary on the IPTC Controlled Vocabulary server, and an easier-to-navigate tree view. An Excel version of IPTC Media Topics is also available. Other NewsCodes are available via the IPTC CV Server.

See the IPTC NewsCodes Guidelines document for information on our vocabularies and how you can use them in your projects.