WEATHER ALERT
Funding of Olympic sports a bargaining chip as NCAA seeks antitrust help, AP sources say
Read full article: Funding of Olympic sports a bargaining chip as NCAA seeks antitrust help, AP sources sayCollege sports leaders seeking antitrust and other protections from Congress have a potential bargaining chip: School assurances that they will provide funding for their increasingly imperiled Olympic programs, by far the biggest pipeline of talent for Team USA.
US Olympic and other teams will bring their own AC units to Paris, undercutting environmental plan
Read full article: US Olympic and other teams will bring their own AC units to Paris, undercutting environmental planThe U.S. Olympic team is one of a handful that will supply air conditioners for their athletes at the Paris Games in a move that undercuts organizers’ plans to cut carbon emissions.
Tensions sparking change in US Olympic world, but how much?
Read full article: Tensions sparking change in US Olympic world, but how much?Changes are coming at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, sparked by frustration with years of flat revenue and what some portray as heavy-handed management in the wake of sex-abuse scandals that upended the movement in America.
100%: Chief medical officer says all US Olympians vaccinated
Read full article: 100%: Chief medical officer says all US Olympians vaccinatedThe U.S. Olympic top doctor says all of the 200-plus athletes heading to Beijing for the Olympics next month are fully vaccinated, and not a single one asked for a medical exemption.
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USOPC: American hopefuls for Beijing Games must have vaccine
Read full article: USOPC: American hopefuls for Beijing Games must have vaccineU.S. athletes trying to make the Winter Olympics will have to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 under a directive announced Wednesday by the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
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USOPC leader: 'Thrilled' Biles felt safe to make decision
Read full article: USOPC leader: 'Thrilled' Biles felt safe to make decisionIn a way, the massive upheaval that has upended the U.S. Olympic world over the past five years reached its crescendo in the moment Simone Biles shockingly called it a night during the gymnastics team finals.
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At least 100 US athletes unvaccinated as Olympics begin
Read full article: At least 100 US athletes unvaccinated as Olympics beginAbout 100 of the 613 U.S. athletes descending on Tokyo for the Olympics are unvaccinated, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief said hours before Friday night’s Opening Ceremony.
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USOPC to Congress: Beijing Olympic boycott not the solution
Read full article: USOPC to Congress: Beijing Olympic boycott not the solutionThe head of the U_S_ Olympic and Paralympic Committee is telling Congress that a boycott of the Beijing Olympics next year will not solve any geopolitical issues with China and will only place athletes training for the games under a “cloud of uncertainty.”.
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AP Exclusive: USOPC hears athletes, won't punish protesters
Read full article: AP Exclusive: USOPC hears athletes, won't punish protestersIt’s a response to a set of recommendations from a USOPC athlete group that seeks changes to the much-maligned Rule 50 of the IOC Olympic Charter, which prohibits inside-the-lines protests at the games. The IOC has defended the rule, explaining that political statements have no place inside the competition venues at the Olympics. The USOPC established a handful of working groups led by athletes who tackled different aspects of social injustice in the Olympic movement and society in general. The USOPC says it won't discipline athletes for “respectful” and “peaceful” demonstrations, and Hirshland said, “I can't imagine that kneeling or raising a fist would be considered" inappropriate. The IOC has sent a survey to athletes across the globe for their opinions on Rule 50 and other issues.
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Attention, US Olympic hopefuls: Need money? This can help
Read full article: Attention, US Olympic hopefuls: Need money? This can help(AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)DENVER – U.S. Olympic hopefuls will be able to cut their own deals with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee's marketing partners under a first-of-its-kind plan that has potential to shift the top-heavy sponsorship model that rules the Olympic world. The USOPC unveiled a program Tuesday called AMP —- Athlete Marketing Program — which will give potential Olympians three ways of connecting with the federation's sponsors. The third part allows athletes to sign separate endorsement deals with USOPC sponsors. The Olympics have long used the rule to restrict marketing opportunities for athletes, essentially forbidding them from marketing themselves during the games with companies whose brands compete with Olympic sponsors. There's value in that an athlete's own marketing arrangement can be different from what our organization delivers” in its own marketing deals.
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'Jurassic Park' to 'Apocalypse Now': USOPC faces steep climb
Read full article: 'Jurassic Park' to 'Apocalypse Now': USOPC faces steep climbFILE - In this Feb. 18, 2020, file photo, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a briefing with the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Los Angeles 2028 organizers in Beverly Hills, Calif. Even before the coronavirus pandemic wiped the Summer Olympics off the 2020 sports calendar, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee was an organization in peril. “Last year I talked about evolution and ‘Jurassic Park,’” chair Susanne Lyons said, in a nod to the changes the USOPC had embarked upon, pre-COVID. College sports teams supplied the U.S. with about 75% of its roster at the 2016 Summer Games. The Summer Olympics are nine months away, with a Winter Games set for February 2022, and the Los Angeles Games — the first Summer Games in America in a generation — scheduled for 2028.
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USOPC opens books, gives more detail about sports funding
Read full article: USOPC opens books, gives more detail about sports fundingThe USOPC on Monday released its annual tax form, which showed $54 million more in expenses than revenues for 2019 a typical overrun in a non-Olympic year following a Winter Games. In the refashioned 2019 Impact Report, the USOPC included sports benefit statements for 61 NGBs it oversees. In the past, the USOPC tax form would list the amount of direct support in the form of grants it provided each organization. As an example, by looking only at the line item on the tax form, it can easily be seen that the USOPC gave USA Gymnastics $2.22 million in grant funding last year. In other areas, the USOPC increased funding to the U.S. Center for SafeSport by $3 million, to $7.5 million, in 2019.