A Path to Peace: Thoughts on Olympic Revenue and the IOC/USOC Divide

U.S. Public Law 95-606 (otherwise known as the Amateur Sports Act), passed in 1978, has contributed significantly to the relationship between the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the past thirty years. Exclusive rights to the use of Olympic marks and emblems in the U.S. territory granted to it in the Amateur Sports Act were leveraged by the USOC to obtain amounts of Olympic generated revenue from the sale of television rights fees and major corporate sponsorships far larger than any of the other National Olympic Committees (NOCs) recognized by the IOC. This privileged financial position has become a divisive issue for the USOC, IOC, and the world’s 204 other NOCs. The IOC and USOC have agreed to commence discussions towards the establishment of a revised method to distribute Olympic revenue to members of the Olympic Tripartite (IOC, NOCs, and International Sport Federations). We suggest broadening this discussion to include a move to increase the amount of money from these sources transferred to Olympic Organizing Committees (OCOGs) to support a more formalized legacy plan for Olympic athletic facilities in host cities, and adding a new sponsor category to the existing corporate sponsorship program, The Olympic Partners (TOP), to enhance the IOC’s commitment to social responsibility and sustainability. We also propose a new formula for the distribution of Olympic television and corporate sponsorship revenue as a means of contributing to this dialogue that must target a mutually acceptable resolution in order to foster a more harmonious working relationship between the IOC and USOC

Pragmatic Conventionalism and Sport Normativity in the Face of Intractable Dilemmas

We build on Morgan’s deep conventionalist base by offering a pragmatic approach (‘transitionalism’) for achieving normative progress on sports most intractable problems (e.g. performance enhancement restrictions, collision sport dangers, competitive classification discord). Our account picks up where Morgan suggests disparate normative communities 'default' to inferior yet functionally 'pragmatic' resolutions to conflict. Pragmatic resolutions, we contend, offer normative substance by providing the means to move beyond intellectual stalemates by re-orientating our normative efforts relative to the three cornerstones of Morgan’s deep conventionalism: the nature and status of different sporting conventions; the difference between conflicts of an ‘intramural’ and ‘extramural’ kind; and what constitutes a resolution to sporting disagreements

The smart way to manage research data

The University of Wollongongs\u27 $62 million SMART (Simulation, Modelling, Analysis, Research, Teaching) Infrastructure Facility will become a research and development powerhouse with an unprecedented level of impact within the broader infrastructure sector nationally and overseas [1]. With a vision to be a world class intellectual leader and educator in \u27integrated\u27 infrastructure planning and management and the capacity to host 200 PhD students, comprising 30 integrated research laboratories, data demands and volume are increasing exponetially