Amateurism in sports is the practice of contestants'
pursuing a game as an avocation, merely for the love of it, and not
for any recompense. Amateurism is followed by many local,
national, and international groups, such as the Amateur Athletic Union,
National Collegiate
Athletic Association, and National Federation of State High School
Associations, all in the United States; the Amateur Athletic
Association, in England; the national Olympic committee of each
member country; the international sports federations governing
each Olympic sport; and the International Olympic Committee.
It is almost impossible to devise rules for
participation that would apply in every case of amateurism, since
conditions are
variable in each sport. A contestant may be rewarded or paid in
many different ways, but his intent in relation to the sport
is known only to himself. What constitutes amateurism is further
confused by the fact that in most competitive sports both
amateur and professional teams exist. In some sports amateurs may
compete under certain conditions against professionals (those
who receive remuneration for participating in a sport and,
therefore, whose vocations are in these sports). In other sports
this is not allowed without jeopardizing the status of the amateur
participant.
Originally, amateur competitors paid all their own
expenses (the cost of clothing, equipment, travel, food, and housing).
At present, because of the widespread development of sport and the
youth of most of the participants, expenses are generally
assumed by the amateur organization to which the athlete belongs.
Athletes who are subsidized by commercial
establishments or government agencies solely because of their athletic
ability are
not considered amateurs. Business and industrial firms sometimes
employ athletes chiefly for the value received from the publicity
given to their athletic fame. These athletes presumably are paid
to devote most of their time and energies to perfecting their
athletic skills. For national aggrandizement, governments
occasionally adopt similar methods; they give athletes special positions
in the armed services, in the police force, or in a government
office. They also operate training camps for extended periods.
It is thus easy for a government agency to command leaves of
absence for their athletes to train for scheduled events. Recipients
of these special favors, which are granted only because of
athletic ability, are not amateurs.
Contestants in the Olympic Games must be amateurs. As
defined in the Olympic rules, an amateur "is one who participates and
always has participated in sport as an avocation without material gain
of any kind." He does not qualify: "(a) if he has not a basic occupation
designed to insure his present and future livelihood" (if sport is an
avocation, there must be a vocation); "(b) if he receives or has
received remuneration for participation in sport." In addition to the
above requirements, the athlete must comply with the rules of the
international sports federation that
governs his sport.
The Olympic code bars from Olympic competition any athlete who has:
(1) Received prizes exceeding $50 in value or presents that can be converted into money or into other material advantages.
(2) Received payment of excessive expenses or demanded payment or expense money for a manager, coach, relative, or friend.
(3) Capitalized in any way on his athletic fame or success or accepted special inducements of any kind to participate.
(4) Secured employment or promotion by reason of his
sports performances rather than his ability in the job, whether in
commercial
or industrial enterprises, the armed services, or branches of the
press, theater, television, cinema, radio, or any other
paid activity.
(5) Indicated his intention of becoming a professional athlete.
(6) Received payment for teaching or coaching others for competition in a sport.
(7) Been awarded a scholarship based mainly on his athletic ability.
(8) Interrupted his occupation (studies or employment) for special sports training in a camp for more than four weeks.
When any sport has become commercially successful as a
means of entertainment (baseball, football, and basketball, for
example),
it is practically impossible to conduct a strictly amateur program
at an international, or even at a national, level because
of the large sums of money involved. Such a sport eventually may
have to be dropped from the Olympic program, or it may never
become a part of the program.
As long as the regulations governing amateurism in
sports remain primarily the responsibility of the many separate
international
sports federations and their national affiliates, it will continue
to be difficult to obtain a uniform code of interpretation
and enforcement for the conduct of amateur sports throughout the
world.
