USOC Proposes to Expand Its Direct-Payment Program for U.S. Athletes

The U.S. Olympic Committee has proposed expanding its direct-cash payment program to U.S. athletes to help offset training costs for the Olympic Games.

“It is simply no longer possible for a world-class athlete to compete successfully and at the same time earn a living in a full-time job,” USOC President Robert Helmick said Thursday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The direct payments are part of a $25-million proposal that includes job and scholarship programs for athletes.

The program was approved in principle by a USOC committee Sunday. The USOC executive board will vote on the proposal in November. If approved, the program would begin in 1989.

Of the $25 million, a total of $7 million already has been committed for a performance enhancement program for the 1988 Games; $3 million will be spent to expand job opportunity programs for athletes, and $15 million is earmarked for direct cash payments for athletes to be paid between 1989 and 1992.

A USOC official said that will involve about 1,000 athletes in a total of 38 sports. The governing bodies of each sport will determine which athletes will receive money. According to the official, that will break down to about $400 a month per individual for the four-year period.

An additional $2 million has been taken from the USOC’s general operating budget for a scholarship program for athletes. In the case of college competitors, payments would not be made if they conflicted with National Collegiate Athletic Assn. or other eligibility rules.

The direct cash program would supplement the USOC’s Operation Gold, which provides support payments to athletes based on their world ranking. Operation Gold is currently funding about 320 athletes at an average of $2,500 a year per person.