Citizenship Issues in Gymnastics Gymnastics is governed by three organizations, the International Olympic Committee, Federation Internationale De Gymnastique, and in the United States of America we are governed by USA Gymnastics. Each of these entities has their own rules regarding eligibility of the athletes they represent. In the area of citizenship of the athletes these organizations represent, these rules appear to be counter-intuitive. First the charter of the IOC has two charter statements (rules) which appear to conflict with some of the underlying rules supporting it. These appear to over ride concerns about citizenship;. Rule 2.12 says the role of the IOC is to encourage(s) the development of sport for all,. This is followed by; Rule 9.1 which says The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries. (Under-lines added for emphasis.) If this is the case why the insistence on being a national (citizen) of the country they are representing? There are several effects which occur when a set of rules of an international body are put into place to address a particular issue. Among these effects are unintended consequences. To accommodate these unintended consequences, a method of reasonable accommodation is often addressed in the rules through their bylaws. An additional unintended consequence are the rules which made by the ruling body tend to implemented by the lower bodies as well. When this is done the rules of the original rule maker become moot. The ripple effect of these rules harms athletes. Of particular interest is the IOC s rule concerning citizenship. The IOC says that; Any competitor in the Olympic Games must be a national of the country of the NOC (National Organizing Committee) which is entering him. Now that seems pretty clear, except for the next rule which says; All disputes relating to the determination of the country which a competitor By Randy Brown Page 1 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
may represent in the Olympic Games shall be resolved by the IOC Executive Board. Why does that rule exist? Because the country one is a national of is sometimes not so clearly identified especially when it comes to athletics. To reconcile these two rules the IOC in its wisdom set out a set of by-laws to determine eligibility. These bylaws and the IOC citizenship rules are referenced in Appendix A. Being the final arbiter of eligibility to the Olympic Games the IOC reserves these decisions to its Executive Board. The individual athlete or its representative organization may petition the IOC for eligibility consideration. I think the problem of dealing with non-citizens must be revisited by the IOC, and FIG, and USAG. Both USAG and FIG claim to have changed there rules to conform to IOC rules. But, each federation is an independent entity so they can make there own rules. There is no requirement for a member federation to have conforming citizenship rules. In an e-mail from FIG, their secretary general, Norbert Bueche has said in a fax to me, just that. We don t know the regulations of USAG for the nationality of their athletes. We cannot intervene in their own sphere of activities on the national level. 1 I believe the purpose of the rules dealing with citizenship is to prevent possible country hopping by some athletes who may not make their own countries national team, or wish to compete for a more competitive country, or some other reason not related to immigration. The Problem In competitive sports the career of most athletes is very limited. Sports like gymnastics are particularly limited. If a person immigrates from one country to another, the gymnasts career may be over before they ever become eligible to compete at national or international levels based on citizenship alone. In the United States for example the process of becoming a citizen is extremely long. The process is essentially broken. To become a citizen, one must first be a permanent resident for a By Randy Brown Page 2 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
minimum of five years. That is five years before they can apply for citizenship. Actually acquiring that citizenship may take another one or two years. The process of acquiring permanent residence is also broken in the United States. A common means of immigrating to the US is to first find a job where an employer will sponsor a potential employee and apply for an H1-B visa. These Visa s are good for three years and are renewable for another three years. An H1-B visa is not considered an immigration visa, so the process to obtain permanent residence by H1-B holders is difficult and long. It can take several years, and expensive lawyers to manage the bureaucracy of the process. The athlete may be the H1-B visa holder or more likely a child of the visa holder. These athletes can not compete for any country. This flies in the face of the IOC charter, which states that the Olympics are for all, and that the athletes compete as individuals and not for countries. The process of becoming a citizen in a new country (especially in the USA) will easily consume their athletic career. I fail to see where this type of restriction is in the best interest of the athletes, of FIG, the IOC, or of any other organizing entity. It is my belief that the nationality rules should be relaxed to allow some who is domiciled in a country for an extended time be permitted to compete for that country regardless of her or his citizenship. This should be particularly true when such a person has not ever competed for another country. I have seen a number of athletes who began a sport only after they had immigrated to their new country. But the rules basically say they should compete for their former country. This is impossible of course since there native sports federation has no idea who they are. A simple proposal to the IOC and the FIG. Any athlete who has immigrated to a new country with the intention of becoming a citizen of that country, by virtue of; a) having the status of permanent resident, or b) has resided in said By Randy Brown Page 3 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
country for a minimum three years, and has applied for permanent residence or citizenship of that country, shall have the right to represent that country, provided they are otherwise eligible to represent the country. (They qualify though that countries qualifying events.) References: IOC - Charter and Rules and Bye-laws http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_122.pdf FIG - Rules and Bye-laws Relevant sections received by fax April 6, 2000. USAG Rhythmic Program Committee Feb 6, 2000 and May 8, 2000. http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/2000/4/rpc-feb06.html http://www.usa-gymnastics.org/publications/technique/2000/6/rpc-may08.html 1 - Fax from Norbert Bueche April 6, 2000 By Randy Brown Page 4 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
APPENDIX A IOC Rules and Charter Statements: Rule 2.12 - Role of the IOC encourages the development of sport for all, which is part of the foundations of high-level sport, which in turn contributes to the development of sport for all; Rule 9.1 The Olympic Games are competitions between athletes in individual or team events and not between countries. They bring together the athletes designated for such purpose by their respective NOCs, whose entries have been accepted by the IOC, and who compete under the technical direction of the lfs concerned. Rule 46 - Nationality of Competitors 1 Any competitor in the Olympic Games must be a national of the country of the NOC which is entering him. 2 All disputes relating to the determination of the country which a competitor may represent in the Olympic Games shall be resolved by the IOC Executive Board. BYE-LAW TO RULE 46 1 A competitor who is a national of two or more countries at the same time may represent either one of them, as he may elect. However, after having represented one country in the Olympic Games, in continental or regional games or in world or regional championships recognized by the relevant IF, he may not represent another country unless he meets the conditions set forth in paragraph 2 below that apply to persons who have changed their nationality or acquired a new nationality. 2 A competitor who has represented one country in the Olympic Games, in continental or regional games or in world or regional championships recognized by By Randy Brown Page 5 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
the relevant IF, and who has changed his nationality or acquired a new nationality, shall not participate in the Olympic Games to represent his new country until three years after such change or acquisition. This period may be reduced or even cancelled with the agreement of the NOCs and IF concerned and the approval of the IOC Executive Board. 3 If an associated State, province or overseas department, a country or colony acquires independence, if a country becomes incorporated within another country by reason of a change of border, or if a new NOC is recognized by the IOC, a competitor may continue to represent the country to which he belongs or belonged. However, he may, if he prefers, choose to represent his country or be entered in the Olympic Games by his new NOC if one exists. This particular choice may be made only once. 4 In all cases not expressly addressed in this Bye-law, in particular in those cases in which a competitor would be in a position to represent a country other than that of which he is a national, or to have a choice as to the country which he intends to represent, the IOC Executive Board may take all decisions of a general or individual nature, and in particular issue specific requirements relating to nationality, citizenship, domicile or residence of the competitors, including the duration of any waiting period. By Randy Brown Page 6 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
APPENDIX B Related FIG Rules: ARTICLE 35 NATIONALITY OF GYMNASTS AND JUDGES AND MEMBERSHIP WITHIN A FEDERATION 35.1 Principle In principle, gymnasts and judges taking part in any international competition must have the nationality (citizenship) of the federations they represent and authority to participate, from their federation. STATUTES 20M December 1999 35.2 Permission to represent another federation 35.2.1 Gymnasts who have represented their countries internationally When a gymnast who has represented his country, moves to another country and obtains citizenship (official nationality) of the latter country, he may - with the consent of the two federations concerned and the Executive Committee immediately represent the new country. Where such consent is not granted, he may (with the consent of the Executive Committee) represent the now country one year after the date on which he received the new citizenship. 36.2.2 Dual Nationality. Where a gymnast has dual nationality he may choose which country he wishes to represent but, having represented that country, he cannot also except as provided for in paragraph 35.2.1 above -represent the other country in question.* By Randy Brown Page 7 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
36.2.3 Gymnasts who have not represented their countries internationally. Where a gymnast moves to another country, and has not represented his former country, he may immediately after receiving citizenship (official nationality) represent his new country with the consent of the Executive Committees.* In the case of a gymnast born in a country in which his parents are "bona fide" residents but have not received citizenship (official nationality), the federation of the country in which he was born may include him in its national team subject to the consent of the Executive Committee-* 35.2.4 Political Division of Countries Where a country ceases to be a political entity and divides into one or more countries a gymnast may choose to represent any one of the new countries, or to represent any other country to which he may have moved.* * Rules 35.2.1 to 35.7-4 are valid with the exception of Olympic Games. For Olympic Games see the Olympic Charter. 35.2.5 Change of Discipline When a gymnast moves from one specific discipline to another discipline article 35.2.1 will apply with the exception that the gymnast may represent the new country immediately in the new discipline. 36.2.6 Club Competitions A gymnast, temporarily or permanently resident in another country, and who is a bona fide member of a club in that country, may - with the consent of his national federation and that of the country in which he is resident - represent the said club. 36.2.7 Other Cases In other cases (exceptional or unforeseen circumstances) the Executive Committee shall make the determination*. By Randy Brown Page 8 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002
APPENDIX C Related USAG Rules: VIII. Non Citizen Athletes All athletes regardless of citizenship will be allowed to compete up to regionals and / or zones. Athletes must be U.S. citizens to compete at J.O. Nationals, East/West qualifying meets and National Championships. Amendment 1: Non-citizen athletes will be allowed to compete at Level 9 Championships under separate award categories. (Qualification to Level 9 Championships is by score, not rank, therefore non-citizens will not take the place of any other eligible athlete.) Amendment 2: Former national team members (junior or senior) who are noncitizens will be invited to the national championships as guests. By Randy Brown Page 9 of 9 Revised: July 24, 2002