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≡ USOPC BOARD MEETING ≡
During Thursday’s telephone news briefing with reporters following the first meeting of 2025 of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee Board of Directors, chief executive Sarah Hirshland mentioned in passing:
“Gene and I also spent some time in Washington, D.C. last week, where we met with legislators, legislative staff and representatives of the Trump Administration. These are important meetings for the USOPC.”
Are they ever!
Asked for more details, Board Chair Gene Sykes explained that the responsibilities that the national government has to make the 2028 Olympic Games successful has not been ignored:
“We had a wide range of discussions with parties in Washington, D.C. I would say we received tremendous support from the Administration and members of Congress. There is great excitement and focus on the LA28 Games and it is very clear that from the very top of the Administration, they want this to be an incredibly successful experience for all Americans and all of the athletes and visitors who come from, frankly, every country in the world.
“They understand what it means to host the Olympic Games, so we were provided with significant reassurances about the work they’re going to do with us, to manage the visa process, make this work well for athletes and their appropriate entourages, and we were quite pleased to hear that support.”
Further, Sykes noted that the USOPC Board spent time discussing President’s Donald Trump’s February Executive Order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports“:
“One of the key topics on our agenda yesterday was the feedback we received from the State Department regarding the President’ Executive Order 14201.
“As a Board, we reaffirmed our commitment to protecting opportunities for athletes to participate in sport. We will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities. They include the [International Olympic Committee], the [International Paralympic Committee], the International Sports Federations, our own [National Governing Bodies], the NCAA and beyond. We will continue to collaborate with these organizations to ensure that women have a fair and safe competitive environment.
“The Board is dedicated to maintaining an open and ongoing dialogue and we will actively engage on this topic as discussions evolve.”
Asked about the ongoing furor over the disqualification of adult Foil fencer Stephanie Turner after refusing to fight a transgender competitor in a USA Fencing Division I-A tournament in March, and if the USOPC will step in, Hirshland explained:
“Predominantly, [it’s] important to recognize that the USOPC does not define eligibility criteria for events that are not our jurisdiction. So, typically speaking, at an international level, the International Federations will define eligibility criteria for the events in which they own jurisdiction, World Cups, World Championships, etc., and the National Governing Bodies, domestically, would define eligibility criteria for their events. In some cases, those may be elite-level events, national championships and things; in other cases, those may be lower-level, grass-roots, youth-sport competitions and things of that nature.
“So, we do not have, nor will we have an eligibility policy. It wouldn’t be appropriate, it’s not our role to take on that position.”
Hirshland did indicate she and Sykes were pressing the Administration and the Congress on another, crucial issue:
“The thing we were there discussing, and if you will, lobbying for the most centers around the continued conversations around collegiate athletics. We were shamelessly lobbying for the preservation of broad-based sport, and Olympic sport in particular, on college campuses.”
¶
Hirshland added congratulations to USA Football for becoming certified as the National Governing Body for Flag Football ahead of its Olympic debut in 2028, noting that there are now 52 National Governing Bodies and 38 for summer sports:
“We ask a lot of these National Governing Bodies because we want them to be successful in their mission of serving athletes and helping each of them reach their sporting potential. We also want them to be organizationally stable and healthy for the long term, for the benefit of the sport.”
¶
Questioned about the process of certifying a National Governing Body for Surfing, for which at least two organizations are contending – USA Surfing and U.S. Ski & Snowboard – Hirshland explained:
“The process is ongoing, and so, many groups stepping forward with interest in managing that sport program. We have a defined process and we are underway in that process, so that there are steps yet to be taken. At a very high level, there’s an application process, mandatory public hearings, an audit of the applicant capabilities, the candidates and a review of their capabilities to essentially steward the sport in a sustainable and healthy way, so we’re in process for that.”
She was pressed further about whether U.S. Ski & Snowboard would have a built-in conflict of interest as it is already a member of the International Ski & Snowboard Federation (FIS) and would – to governing surfing – would be required to join the International Surfing Association. She replied:
“It is not necessarily the norm, but it is not unprecedented for organizations to manage multiple sports. It would be new and unique in the United States; it has happened and does happened in a number of cases around the world and you’re right, there are legal provisions and things that would need to be worked through to ensure that that is done in a way that everyone can have confidence in the integrity of the process and the system and the way it’s operated.”
(TSX coverage of the surfing fight and the legal issues involved can be found here.)
¶
On the subject of the progress of the LA28 organizers and the progress of their commercial sponsorship program, Sykes was optimistic:
“The team has secured well more than $1 billion in sales and surpassed the halfway point for our commercial revenue targets. Importantly, we are confident there are more deals to be announced on the immediate horizon. We’re seeing very, very strong momentum.”
The new LA28 budget called for $2.518 billion in total domestic sponsorship revenue.
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