The Governing Structure of International Olympic Committee (IOC)

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the governing organization over the Olympic Games and it is based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The IOC is considered "the supreme authority on international sports" according to Fred Battenfield, a professor at North Greenville University and an Olympic expert. The IOC has many organizations and boards under it and they will also be discussed. This paper will look at the IOC structure and hierarchy, the organizations underneath the IOC, and the functions of each organization and committee.

According to Battenfield, the business of the IOC includes but is not limited to: managing national sport, managing all sport, organizing the Olympic Games, the bid process for the Olympic Games, Para Olympics, marketing, broadcasting, and ticketing. The IOC has a large range of duties and responsibilities, but the main goal of the IOC in the Olympic Charter is "To coordinate, lead, and serve the Olympic Movement in its mission to advance Olympism worldwide and to ensure the regular celebration of the Olympic Games".

In the IOC hierarchy, the executive board and the IOC president are right under the IOC itself inside the organization. The president and the executive board have a great deal of power over what goes on below them and the decisions that are being made regarding the Olympics. The IOC's decisions affect all of the following organizations that are under the IOC.

The International Sport Federations (IF), IOC membership, and the Organizing Committees for the Olympic Games (OCOG's) are all under the IOC, the executive board, and the IOC president in the IOC structure hierarchy. These three sections are on about the same level of power but all still operate under the executive board and the IOC president.

The International Sports Federations are responsible for the integrity of sports internationally. All of the IF's actions and statutes must be in accordance with the Olympic Charter if they want to be recognized by the IOC. The IF's must also develop athletes and sports on all levels and are required to guarantee the everyday organization of competitions. Rules of fair play are also a responsibility of IF's.

The IOC "members are volunteers who represent the IOC and Olympic Movement in their country (they are not delegates of their country within the IOC)," according to Olympic.org. Since 1999 the membership has been limited to 115 people and is comprised of 70 individual members, 15 active athletes, 15 representatives of IF's, and 15 representatives of the NOC's. These are the people who bid on Olympic changes, updates, and on the bid cities that are bidding to host the Games.

OCOG's are also Local Organizing Committees (LOC) and are responsible for organizing the Games. These committees are formed after a city has won the hosting bid. The committees' jobs are to prepare the city to host the games and organize the entirety of the Olympic Games as they will go on in that city. This includes but is not limited to: scheduling of the events, preparation of the venues, building, transportation, housing, equipment, food, supplies, decorations, opening and closing ceremonies, entertainment, and many more areas of planning.

In the IOC hierarchy there are three more sections underneath the IOC membership. These three sections are the IOC Commissions, affiliated organizations like Pan America Sports Organization (PASO), and the National Organizing Committees. Although these seem to be at the bottom of the hierarchy, they have plenty of responsibilities and all answer to the IOC.

The IOC website says, "The IOC has 22 Commissions which have the function of advising president, executive board, and the session." These commissions include: Evaluation, Ethics, Athletes, Press, Medical, Marketing, and many more. Each commission has a specific focus and advises the president, executive board, and the session, about what the best plan and action is for each specific instance. For example, the Athletes commission's focus is to ensure that the interests of the athletes are protected; so the Athletes commission would advise about the best way to protect the athletes in certain situations and cases.

There are many affiliated organizations like the Pan America Sports Organization. Another affiliated organization would be the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). Organizations like PASO hold up the IOC statutes and standards to promote the Olympic Movement and to develop athletics. ANOC organizes the NOCs and keeps them all on the same page and moving forward.

This is the IOC structure and hierarchy. The IOC is certainly at the top of all decisions and has the most power. All the organizations underneath it answer to the IOC for decisions. They also answer to the IOC for any failures to hold up the Olympic Charter and the ideals of the Olympic Movement. The IOC ensures that there will always be the Olympics and that there will always be the promotion of healthy amateur athleticism.

Sources:

Fred Battenfield: Professor at North Greenville and Olympic Expert (helped organize the 1988 Olympics in Seoul)

Olympic.org which is listed and maintained by the IOC