APRIL 27 (legislative day, APRIL 24), 1978.-Ordered to be printed Mr. Cannon, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 2727] The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to which was referred the bill (S. 2727) to promote and coordinate amateur athletic activity in the United States, to recognize certain rights for United States amateur athletes, to provide for the resolution of disputes involving national governing bodies, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill as amended do pass. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY On August 5, 1977, Senators Stevens, Culver, and Stone, who served as Commissioners on the President's Commission on Olympic Sports, introduced S. 2036, the Amateur Sports Act of 1977, to implement the recommendations of that Commission. On October 18 and 19, 1977, this Committee held hearings on the bill. Testimony was received from 33 witnesses, including athletes, the President's Commission on Olympic Sports, the United States Olympic Committee, the Athletes' Advisory Council, the Amateur Athletic Union, the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Federation of State High School Associations and others. The hearings were followed by 2 full days of informal meetings, attended on each occasion by almost 100 representatives of the amateur sports community. On March 10, 1978, Senators Stevens, Culver, and Stone introduced, along with seven other cosponsors, S. 2727, a revised version of the Amateur Sports Act, which reflects the recommendations made at the hearings and informal meetings. The Committee considered S. 2727 during executive sessions on March 21 and April 6, 1978, and unanimously ordered the bill reported with amendments. AMENDMENTS TO THE AMATEUR SPORTS ACT Substantive amendments to S. 2727 which were adopted by the Committee are summarized as follows: A new section (Sec. 206) was added which would require the reasonable representation of national governing bodies, multisport organizations, athletes, and the public on the board of the U.S. Olympic Committee. Definitions of two terms used in the act, "autonomous" and "reasonable representation," were further clarified (Sec. 210). The authority of a national governing body was expanded so that a person or amateur sports organization wishing to sponsor a team in international competition held outside the United States must obtain the national governing body's sanction, and the membership requirement to obtain a sanction was removed (Sec. 210). The jurisdiction of amateur sports organizations such as high schools, colleges, and the armed services, was further clarified (Sec. 210). A 6-month feasibility study to be conducted by the Department of Commerce relating to the construction, operation, and development of training centers and sports medicine facilities was adopted (Sec. 211). BACKGROUND The U.S. amateur sports community is made up of sports organizations which have sprung up over the years to serve varying purposes and to meet different needs. Colleges, high schools, clubs, and other amateur athletic organizations oftentimes conduct programs and competitions in the same sport. Because no real structure exists which serves to define the jurisdictional limits of the various organizations, disputes have arisen. In their struggles for power and for control over a sport, organizations have frequently told their athletes that if they choose to compete in a rival organization's program, they will be declared ineligible for future competition. Thus, athletes, upon whom the existence of each organization depends, have often found themselves the victims of that same organization and the amateur athletic system. The United States Olympic Committee (USOC) was established in 1896 to serve as this country's representative to the International Olympic Committee. Nine multisport organizations and 32 national governing bodies comprise the membership of the USOC. In order for many amateur sports organizations conducting competitions or programs in a particular sport to be represented in the USOC's structure, they must become affiliated with the national governing body (NGB) for the sport. Unfortunately, not all amateur sports organizations have elected to affiliate. This has been for a variety of reasons, but is generally due to a lack of leadership in the national governing body, disagreements between the amateur sports organization and the national governing body, and an inability of the amateur sports organization to have a say in the policy decisions of the national governing body. In 1975 the President's Commission on Olympic Sports (PCOS) was established with the mandate to determine how best to correct this disorganization and resolve the serious factional disputes that were its result. The overall decline of American achievement in Olympic and international competition was apparent. For a nation of almost 250 million people we were falling seriously below our potential to both field strong international teams and to guarantee greater athletic opportunities at the grassroots level. After 2 years of study, in January 1977, the PCOS reported its findings and made recommendations. It favored establishing a vertical sports structure, using the USOC as the coordinating body through which amateur sports organizations could work to be responsive to the needs of the Nation's amateur athletes. To create such a structure, the PCOS recommended expanding the charter of the USOC and giving it five new powers: -A means to settle organizational disputes over the right to be the recognized national governing body (NGB) in a sport; -A means to induce all organizations with significant national programs in a sport to belong to the NGB so that their activities can be coordinated; -A means to guarantee an athlete's right to compete; -A means to finance amateur sports more effectively; and -A central policymaking forum to identify U.S. sports problems and effect solutions. The President's Commission made it clear that it did not want the Federal Government running amateur athletics in this country. But it asked Congress to legislate its recommendations by amending the 1950 charter of the USOC. S. 2727, the Amateur Sports Act, embodies the Commission's recommendations. Both the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which resigned from membership in the USOC after the 1972 Olympic Games at Munich, have participated in these reorganizational efforts. The NCAA was readmitted to the USOC at the Olympic Committee's annual convention on April 15, 1978. At the same time, the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was admitted to the USOC for the first time, in order that it may enjoy some of the benefits of USOC membership. These are important signs that sports organizations accept the concepts contained in S. 2727, which memorializes in Federal charter those reorganization decisions. At its 1978 convention, the USOC and its members formally and unanimously endorsed S. 2727, as amended. The sports community recognizes the futility of so many of their past disputes which have inhibited the progress of this Nation's amateur athletic programs. America's weakness in sports is certainly not for want of talent nor for lack of resources. Our difficulties lie in failing to join together for the purpose of increasing athletic opportunities. We need to encourage physical fitness and provide more and better |