The USOPC Community Involvement
- Ryann Smith
- Apr 22, 2020
- 3 min read
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) have an amazing advantage in their community relations. Because the committee houses hundreds of athletes in various sports they can reach millions of people in their communities. The USOPC runs community outreach programs as well as their foundation, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Foundation. The two together work in forming cohesive community relations initiatives and programs that help fans and athletes alike. Under community outreach, they have Athlete Outreach, Olympic Day, Partner Programs, and the U.S. Olympic Academy while under their foundation they have giving programs such as the Team USA Fund and other Endowments.
Community Outreach
Athlete Outreach
The Athlete Outreach is a way for athletes to give back to their communities “in the forms of volunteerism, advocacy, humanitarian relief, and involvement in other domestic and international causes” (USOPC Athlete Outreach, 2020). The Team USA For Tomorrow Program, under their Athlete Outreach initiative, is a vehicle for athletes to give back and to promote the USOPC’s values of excellence, friendship, and respect.
Olympic Day
Olympic Day celebrated annually on June 23, was developed to encourage and foster fitness, personal well-being, culture, and education (USOPC Olympic Day, 2020). Not only does the United States participate in Olympic Day but so do other participating countries around the world. The U.S. first joined Olympic Day in 2009 and since then participation has significantly increased. This event brings people together around the country and the world in support of all people participating in sports regardless of disability, gender, age, race, ethnicity, etc.
Partner Programs
Through their Partner Programs, the USOPC partners with countless community based, education-based, armed forces, recognized sports, and disabled sports organizations that work across the US to develop an interest in sports nationally (USOPC Partner Programs, 2020). With these partnerships, each organization gains one representative to be part of their Multi-Sport Organization Council (MSOC). Here they can ensure effective communication between the organization and USOPC while also maintaining their joint goals of promoting sports involvement, increasing opportunities, and growing and sustaining members (USOPC MSOC, 2020).
U.S. Olympic Academy
To advance the social and educational principles of Olympism, the USOPC has developed the U.S. Olympic Academy. The two principles are tied into the programming they run under this initiative, some discussed earlier such as Olympic Day. These social and educational principles are embodied through athlete community outreach, preservation, and sharing of Olympic and Paralympic memorabilia and materials (USPOC Olympic Academy, 2020).
Foundation
Team USA Fund
The Team USA Fund is a donation program to help fund America’s Olympic Athletes. Unlike other countries, the USOPC is not federally funded and as a result, they rely on private donations. With the funds, they prioritize high-performance programs and services, athlete financial aid, and advancement of the movement (USOPC Team USA Fund, 2020). Some examples of these would be providing nutrition, strength and conditioning training, supplemental income, and participation in community outreach programs.
Endowments
Similar to the Team USA Fund, the endowments allow people to donate money to help fund athletes. The difference though is that endowment donations can go to specific athletes and teams who are part of the USOPC (USOPC Endowments, 2020). With these endowments, people can donate to their favorite athlete or sports team to assist in financing their training toward Olympic and Paralympic excellence.
The USOPC as a sports entity in community relations is unique due to their giving back to public communities as well as supporting their community of athletes. Not many other professional sports entities or leagues support the community while also allowing for the said communities to support the athletes or teams as well. While their community outreach and foundation are great, they could do be more specific in how athletes give back to the community and could even hold more events or develop more programs to reach out to the next generation of potential athletes.
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