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≡ USOPC BOARD MEETING ≡
“I have to confirm that USA Badminton has been decertified as the National Governing Body, and as such, the USOPC has assumed oversight of badminton high-performance programs.
“You may know, we went through extensive process; our certification review group, which is the group that makes determinations about certifications of NGBs, met and evaluated all of the actions and activities that USA Badminton had taken since we issued our letter to them suggesting all of the deficiencies.
“They did not, unfortunately, satisfy the terms that were agreed upon, and that, automatically, essentially resulted in decertification.
“So, it is not an ideal situation for Team USA athletes. We are committed to providing funding and resources to help support these athletes, as we also seek to build or find partnership with an entity that can be a strong, healthy, ongoing concern to support the sport of badminton in this country.
“And I will only add that while we have no details to offer, I have a great deal of optimism that we’ll get there.”
That’s U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee chief executive Sarah Hirshland during a Wednesday afternoon news conference, declaring the latest step in the USA Badminton saga … which is not over.
The case had been ongoing since 2019 with discussions for a couple of years prior. On 28 May, the USOPC asked USA Badminton to voluntarily resign as the National Governing Body of the sport in the U.S. That didn’t happen, so the USOPC de-certified the federation itself; Hirshland did not give a date and the filing has not yet been posted to the USOPC’s Governance document site.
While Hirshland said the search is on for a successor, USA Badminton has the right under the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (36 USC §2205 et seq.) to ask for arbitration in the matter. USA Badminton has made no announcement concerning decertification on its Web site.
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