By Nam Hyun-woo, Kwon Ji-youn
The government’s drive to integrate sports federations has hit a major obstacle, as each association is fiercely opposing the plan for their own vested interests.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism wants to launch a unified sports association in March next year for more effective operations of professional and amateur sports organizations.
It plans to integrate the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC), the body for "elite" sports federations, with the Korea Council of Sport for All (KCSA), a body overseeing grassroot sports organizations.
In November last year, the two major organizations agreed to the integration and to name the unified association the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee.
The ministry organized a special committee which held 13 meetings this year.
However, the committee, which already had experienced setbacks in organizing and narrowing the differences between the KOC and the KCSA, is having difficulties pushing for integration.
On Dec. 16, the sports ministry announced the unified association will have 57 regular member federations, 15 associate member federations, 11 recognized federations and 13 registered federations.
It said that it classified the federations after “considering the competitiveness of each sport” and “will reassess their membership after the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics.”
Regular members currently include 28 Summer Olympic sports federations and seven Winter Olympic sports federations. However, some Olympic sports, such as archery, judo, wrestling and skating, will likely lose their regular membership after the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games because of a reassessment regulation.
The regulation stipulates that regular membership requires a sport federation to have at least six city- or provincial-level sports federations out of a total of 17.
To be acknowledged as a city- or provincial-level sports federation, a sport event must have subordinate federations in at least one-third of a city or province’s total administrative area.
For example, if a sport wants to acquire Seoul federation membership, it must have at least district-level federations in nine districts out of 25.
This will force some sporting events mostly enjoyed only by elite athletes to lose their memberships. A local sports daily reported that 21 Olympic sporting events will lose their regular membership, while an unnamed ministry official predicted that 14 Olympic sports may be relegated to associate membership.
The committee decided Monday to postpone the integration of the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge federations until after the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, just hours after the Korea Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (KBSF) and the Korea Luge Federation (KLF) denounced the ministry’s move to conjugate the two organizations and launch a unified association.
“The move lacks expertise and practicality,” said Kang Sin-seong, head of the KBSF, during a joint press conference by the two sledding sports federations. “Both groups are self-reliant and our athletes are medal contenders. The integration will only cause setbacks in preparations for the Olympics.”
The ministry had announced the possible merger at a meeting held to discuss the classification of member associations earlier this month. The two federations were once a joint entity, but were separated in February 2008 with hopes that the move would help Korea win the hosting rights for the 2018 Winter Games.
“The committee asked for our opinion about the integration, and we expressed our objections, but the ministry went ahead and presented it as a fait accompli,” said Kang.
They said if the two organizations were to come together again with just two years left before the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, a negative outcome will be inevitable and athletes’ performances will undoubtedly suffer at PyeongChang.
When reminded that the Korea Skating Union is a unified entity that oversees figure skating and short-track and long-track speed skating, Kang pointed out that the world governing bodies for bobsleigh, skeleton and luge are separated into two federations, one for bobsleigh and skeleton and another for luge.
“The International Federations for each of the sports were concerned when they heard the news,” Kang said. “It will affect preparations for 2018, the sponsorships that we have been receiving and government support for sledding sports.”
Member athletes agreed.
“All three sports have different training and competition schedules, and athletes compete on different tracks in different sleds,” said skeleton racer Yoon Sung-bin. “We stand firm in our belief that if the two federations are merged, our performance will suffer.”