§220523 — Title 36 Patriotic and National Observances | U.S. Code

§220523 Authority of national governing bodies

Title 36 › Subtitle Subtitle II— - Patriotic and National Organizations › Part Part B— - Organizations › Chapter CHAPTER 2205— - UNITED STATES OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER II— - NATIONAL GOVERNING BODIES › § 220523

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

A national governing body for a sport may do several things: represent the United States in the sport’s international federation; set and promote national goals; act as the main coordinator for amateur sports in the U.S.; approve international amateur events at home and sponsor them abroad; run competitions (including national championships) and set who can compete, except for contests covered by section 220526; recommend athletes and teams to the corporation for the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan‑American Games, and the Parapan American Games; and pick and certify athletes and teams for other international amateur events under the international rules. If another amateur sports organization is officially declared the rightful member for that sport after binding arbitration under the corporation’s rules, the original governing body must stop using these powers for that sport.

Title 36, §220523

Patriotic and National Observances — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)For the sport that it governs, a national governing body may—

(1)represent the United States in the appropriate international sports federation;

(2)establish national goals and encourage the attainment of those goals;

(3)serve as the coordinating body for amateur athletic activity in the United States;

(4)exercise jurisdiction over international amateur athletic activities and sanction international amateur athletic competition held in the United States and sanction the sponsorship of international amateur athletic competition held outside the United States;

(5)conduct amateur athletic competition, including national championships, and international amateur athletic competition in the United States, and establish procedures for determining eligibility standards for participation in competition, except for amateur athletic competition specified in section 220526 of this title;

(6)recommend to the corporation individuals and teams to represent the United States in the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games; and

(7)designate individuals and teams to represent the United States in international amateur athletic competition (other than the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games, the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games) and certify, in accordance with applicable international rules, the amateur eligibility of those individuals and teams.

(b)A national governing body may not exercise any authority under subsection (a) of this section for a particular sport after another amateur sports organization has been declared (in accordance with binding arbitration proceedings prescribed by the organic documents of the corporation) entitled to replace that national governing body as the member of the corporation for that sport.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 220523(a)36:393.Sept. 21, 1950, ch. 975, title II, § 203, as added Nov. 8, 1978, Pub. L. 95–606, § 2, 92 Stat. 3054. 220523(b)36:393 note.July 8, 1980, Pub. L. 96–304, title I (last sentence related to limitation on exercise of authority in par. under heading “Salaries and Expenses”), 94 Stat. 898. In subsection (b), the words “national governing body” are omitted (the first time they appear) to eliminate unnecessary words. The reference to “subsection (a) of this section” is substituted for “section 203 of Public Law 95–606 as hereby amended” because of the restatement. The word “corporation” is substituted for “Committee” because of the definition of “corporation” in section 220501 of this title.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2020—Subsec. (a)(6), (7). Pub. L. 116–189 substituted “the Pan-American Games, and the Parapan American Games” for “and the Pan-American Games”. 1998—Subsec. (a)(6), (7). Pub. L. 105–277, which directed substitution of “Games, the Paralympic Games, and” for “Games and” in pars. (6) and (7) of this section, was executed by making the substitution in pars. (6) and (7) of subsec. (a) to reflect the probable intent of Congress.