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On Thursday two sports will be one step closer to being included for the 2016 Olympic Games and with the decision looming, this may be the last chance to play your part!

The 15-member Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee will meet in Berlin on Thursday with the aim of reducing the list from seven sports to two, although neither of the selected two will know their final Olympic fate until October 9 in Copenhagen.

Signs are postive with today's news form the IRB that a survey conduced by the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) have given their backing to Karate and Rugby Sevens as the two sports that should be added to the Olympic Programme.

A total of 305 journalists from 83 countries voted in a poll that asked them to choose two of the seven sports bidding for Olympic inclusion.

There have been numerous people who believe Rugby Sevens should be granted one of these spots and given the recognition it deserves.

Here is a look at just a few of the unanimous statements of support from people involved in the sport:

“The inclusion of Rugby Sevens at the Olympic Games would provide a massive boost to the growth of Rugby worldwide. Participation on the world’s greatest sporting stage is a dream for all players and it would provide the chance to smaller nations to win an Olympic medal.” – Santiago Gomez Cora (Argentina), all-time top try scorer in IRB Sevens history

“Rugby embodies the Olympic values of fair play, respect and camaraderie, something that we, as referees, are proud of and believe makes the Game so special.” – Alain Rolland (Ireland), Test referee

“You play sport at the highest level to challenge yourself to be the best that you can possibly be and to compete with the best from all over the world, and what better stage to do that on than at the Olympics?” – Sue Day (England), Women’s Sevens captain

“I believe Rugby Sevens would be the perfect fit for the Olympic Games. Sevens is exciting and fast. It enables teams from around the world such as Kenya, Russia and Tunisia to compete at the highest level. The inclusion of Sevens in the Olympic Games would be a fantastic source of inspiration for young sportsmen and women around the world.” – Shane Williams (Wales)

“You look at the Olympic Games as being the pinnacle of sport around the world. For sports such as Athletics, Basketball, Gymnastics and Swimming, they all see the Games as their pinnacle, why not for Rugby Sevens? To be able to compete at an Olympics would be an amazing experience.” – Matt Giteau (Australia)

“I think Rugby can become big in our country. I think Rugby Sevens should be included in the Olympics because, for us in China especially, it would encourage people to play, especially youngsters. The chance to have rugby in the Olympics will see a boom in Chinese rugby.” – Zheng Hongjun, China Women’s Sevens coach

“Playing for Great Britain in Sevens at the Olympics would be the ultimate for me. In any sporting environment, the pinnacle is to play at the Olympic Games, it's the biggest stage that sport has to offer and in picking a Sevens squad you're looking at the best of the best.” – Ollie Phillips (England), IRB Sevens Player of the Year 2009

“I have spoken with many of my fellow top players and each one agrees that competing at the Olympic Games would be an amazing experience. We would all be there and would be proud to call ourselves ‘Olympians’.” – Bryan Habana (South Africa), Rugby World Cup 2007 winner

“When you think of excellence in sport, the Olympic Games is the first image you think of. To be able to attend an Olympics as a Rugby player would be an amazing experience." - James O'Connor (Australia)

“Rugby Sevens has so much to offer and will definitely add to the spectacle of the Olympic Games. The various Sevens tournaments around the world have all turned into successful events and while it is a fantastic form of the game for Rugby players, it is also an enjoyable sport for spectators – those who have knowledge of Rugby and those new to the game as well. It has a great ability to attract new audiences.” – Fabian Juries, South Africa Sevens

“If Rugby went back to the Olympics it would certainly give an impetus to the sport. I think you would see countries like China and Russia embrace the sport as a major sport, put funding into it, run development programmes and we would see a lot more kids playing the Game and a lot more countries competing at the global level.” – Eddie Jones, former Australia coach