Olympic Sport Policy

By the end of this class you should know

Role of the International Olympic Committee Mandate, Governance Structure and Priorities

of the Canadian Olympic Committee Policy Issues Facing Olympic Sport

Major Games in Amateur Sport

Olympic Games Paralympics Pan American Games Commonwealth Games World University Games World Games for the Deaf Special Olympics World Games

Olympic History

The first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC by Greeks…every 4 years

Chariot racing, boxing, wrestling, footraces, discus, archery

Sport was part of primitive religious festivals; played to honour gods

Wars stopped to allow for games Games were abolished in AD 393

The Olympic Movement

The Festival of the Olympiad was reinstituted in 1896 (Athens)

245 male athletes from 13 nations

International Olympic Committee

Baron Pierre de Courbertin (1896-1925) relaunched the Olympics

IOC founded in June 1894 to govern Olympic organization and policy

The IOC

Nonprofit organization independent of any government or nationality

Revenue in the billions IOC receives revenues from rights to the

Olympic games, associated marks and terminology

Comprised of 115 members Jacques Rogge current President

IOC Mandate

To encourage sport development, coordination and collaboration…to place sport at the service of humanity

To ensure Olympic games held To promote peace, sport ethics, fair play,

concern for the environment and sport for all To fight discrimination, violence, doping…

affecting health of athletes

Canadian Olympic Committee Vision

Canada’s Winter Olympic Team in 2010 being 1st in the World

Canada’s Olympic Team in 2012 being among the Top 8 Nations

Canada is a country where sport is central to its culture as evidenced by an active and healthy population participating at all levels in all communities

Olympic values, drug free participation and ethical behaviour guide our athletes and Canadian youth

COC Role

COC is responsible for all aspects of involvement in the Olympic Movement: Participation in Olympic and Pan American Games Managing a variety of cultural and educational

programs promoting Olympic values Grass roots programming to promote Olympic

values Selecting and supporting Canadian cities to bid to

host games

COC Mission and Goals

The Canadian Olympic Committee is dedicated to developing and advancing sport and the Olympic Movement for all Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast Top 3 in 2006 (Turin) Top 16 in 2008 (Beijing) First in 2010 (Vancouver) Top 8 in 2012

COC Governance

Two-tiered system of governance, Board of Directors (77) and staff

Board sets policy, vision and strategic direction

Current CEO is Chris Rudge “Rights holder” to hosting the Olympic Games

in Canada Host duties turned over to Organizing

Committee for Olympic Games (OCOG)

COC Sponsors

A Look Back (2001-04)

In 2001 Board agreed a new approach to the distribution of funding

Funding to NSOs based on results at most recent Olympics or Pan Am Games

In 2002 created Canadian Olympic Excellence Fund to provide special funding for high performance athletes (7+M)

Own the Podium 2010 Program (2005-08) to result in 35 medals in Vancouver

Current Policy Issues

Performance Enhancement: Doping Control through Drug Testing

1968 beginning of drug testing for athletes

World Anti Doping Agency formed 1999

Mandate: communicate, define, test, sanction

Current Policy Issues

Choosing a Host City Policy to guide bid selection process Policy to address behaviour of IOC members

re: bid cities IOC Ethics Commission created

Current Policy Issues

Corporate Sponsorship IOC has policy to define who has the right to

market and sell which sponsorships Added clause giving veto power over

sponsors’ marketing plans Host city must not have over-reliance on

commercial sponsorship

Current Policy Issues

Television Rights IOC retains the right to negotiate

television contract and shares revenues among the NSOs, OGOCs and ISFs

Current Policy Issues

New Olympic Sports How many sports should

the Olympics include? IOC has policy to define

exactly which sports will compete and how to add new sports

3 categories: active, recognized, past

Current Policy Issues

Security Major issue IOC, NSO and OCOG all have security

policies in place Olympic Village accreditation

Current Policy Issues

Image and Politics IOC has taken great pains to maintain image

of excellence and ethical behaviour; role in world peace….

However, viewed by some as a closed shop Politics are unavoidable…governments use

Olympics to send messages via boycotts, etc.