AP: USA Swimming among U.S. Olympic Groups Granted PPP Aid

USA Swimming is among 32 American national governing bodies (NGBs) to apply for financial aid through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), per an Associated Press survey.

The AP surveyed 44 NGBs. Thirty-six responded, with 32 admitting they had applied for PPP loan assistance from the program created to deal with the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. The approved aid totaling at least $12 million

Of the NGBs that disclosed loan amounts, the $1.6 million received by USA Swimming was the third largest, trailing the $2.18 million given to USA Hockey and the $2.5 million that USA Skiing and Snowboarding received. From the AP story:

USA Swimming received $1.6 million to cover payroll. That NGB is reliant largely on membership-related fees and doesn’t expect to know the full impact of COVID-19 until the fall, when the bulk of its membership renewals come up.

“There’s a very, very real and dire financial situation in sport,” Sarah Hirshland, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committees, which oversees the NGBs, told the AP. “And certainly, the sports organizations we work with closely are feeling revenue pain. And it’s immediate.”

USA Swimming has had to devote resources to shore up its membership, many of whom are feeling the pinch of decreased revenue and closed facilities. Last week, it announced a Strategic Recovery Plan, pledging $1 million in grants to clubs as the first wave of pandemic support.

The need for aid tracks with the models that American NGBs use. Instead of direct government support, many rely on sponsorship dollars, broadcast revenue and membership fees. The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics from this summer to 2020 has deferred income from the former two categories, and the closure of facilities across the country has caused the latter source to dry up. The Tokyo postponement also leaves the USOPC facing the mandate to fund athlete delegations to two Olympics Games within eight months, with the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing looming.

Hirshland and the USOPC board is seeking to cut expenses for 2020 by as much as 20 percent. If COVID-19 were to cancel the Tokyo Games next summer, Hirshland has called the potential impact “devastating.”

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