Athlete (Skater) Funding

[been there]

I had this throbbing pain in my head this morning. Not because of what I did last night but I opened an e-mail from USS requesting donations on behalf of the athletes. My head hurts because of the questions the e-mail provoked me to ask.



Since we are in tax season, the first question I had is the donation tax deductible. This possibility is not listed as a benefit of making a donation. Then I asked myself, what is my best guess as to the percentage of the donation that actually goes to the athlete and how much to “shipping and handling”? Then I had some sarcasm. I wondered why they didn’t call the fund raising the USS Debt Relief Drive. As far as I know there is not a ship in the Navy called the USS Debt Relief.



What is it with the Federal Government and USS? They have a love/hate relationship with the people they are designed to serve. Some of the best times I have had with this sport are when I have performed impulsive acts of kindness. With other charities, donations can be made for a specific cause. Why didn’t USS allow donations to a specific athlete?



I suppose USS had to make the effort. The execution reminds me of my college days looking for beer money between the cushions in the living room couch. I had to get there before my roommates. The e-mail lists how different size donations may help a skater.



This fund drive is not going to get me to change my ways. My Irish grandmother taught me a gift is not a gift without the giver. The most joy I have had in this sport is experiencing the exchange. If I send money to USS, for me I have the same feeling as sending a check to the IRS. Instead, I did the little things listed in the e-mail for an athlete or for the people that hosted a meet.



I put gas in the van used to haul mats between rinks for a meet. I thought it was the least I could do for the guy that donated the van. I laugh thinking of the dinner conversations I have had with the athletes. The time I explained what is julienne or how to buy duck. In return, it is humbling how freely the athletes came and had conversations with me sitting in the stands. USS needs to find its inner Mr. Selfridge without the hanky-panky because they make me bring out my inner Mr. Crab. Mr. Selfridge would think of a way to get Michael Jordan to become a fan of the sport.

[Laura (Lori)]

Thank you, birdfriend and been there for your posts! It sounds like this may be the same (or a similar) email that was forwarded to me late last week. I have much to say about it, but we just returned home from some travel, so it'll have to wait a bit until I get my 'home legs' back - maybe later tonight!

[Laura (Lori)]

A few of our readers have mentioned (see upthread) an email they received from USS requesting donations with the implication that your donations would directly benefit the skaters - listing many levels of contributions and what that money 'would' mean to the skaters.

Well, yeah, if any of these donations were actually GIVEN to the skaters...

The following email was forwarded to me late last week from another dismayed USS member, and I was VERY concerned with the message - it was obviously intended to tug at the heartstrings of the ‘low-information’ fan...

Here's the complete content of the email that was forwarded to me (I’m formatting it in a way that you can read it on this forum - NOTHING has been deleted):

-----------------------------

Dear Friend,

Although the Speedskating season has just come to a close, there are only 316 days to go to the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Will you be part of the team that helps support our athletes on the road to Sochi? With as little as a $25 contribution, you can be part of their Olympic dreams.

US Speedskating has the most decorated winter athletes in the U.S. - with 85 Olympic medals and counting - a tradition they hope to continue in Sochi. Your support is invaluable to their training. Consider for a moment, what your contribution would mean to an athlete training for the Olympic Games...

$25.00
• Blade guards
• Cut-proof ankle protectors
• Two hours of ice time for practice

$50.00
• Tank of gas to get to/from the rink
• Competition entry fees
• Rental car costs at competitions

$100.00
• Sharpening stone kit
• Sneakers
• Helmet
• Hotel room for domestic events

$250.00
• Groceries for a month
• Health insurance
• Coaching fees for a month

$500.00
• Housing assistance
• A new training bike
• New skate blades

These athletes are focused, dedicated and disciplined. And they have big skates to fill...names like Heiden, Blair and Jansen. But they can't do it alone. It takes a Nation to support a future Olympian. Join Speedskater Nation and help the US Speedskaters bring home the gold in 2014.

Please Donate Today

Thank you for your support,
Tamara Castellano

Director of Marketing

p.s. Don't forget the benefits of joining SpeedskaterNation...

$25-100 Donations
• One year membership to SpeedskaterNation
• Subscription to Racing Blade magazine
• Weekly e-newsletter, Inside Track
• Logo decal
• Signed team poster

$100-250 Donations
• One year membership to SpeedskaterNation
• Subscription to Racing Blade magazine
• Weekly e-newsletter, Inside Track
• Logo decal
• Signed team poster
• 15% discount code for the US Speedskating online store

$500 Donations
• One year membership to SpeedskaterNation
• Subscription to Racing Blade magazine
• Weekly e-newsletter, Inside Track
• Logo decal
• Signed team poster
• 20% discount code for the US Speedskating online store
• Official SpeedskaterNation T-shirt

[Laura (Lori)]

My personal thoughts on the above email when I first received it:

I could only shake my head. It is, quite possibly, the most laughable thing I have EVER seen from USS. My knee-jerk reaction was to be incensed - false advertising at best, outright fraud at worst.

On this very board (most likely on the Boycott thread) you will find SOMEWHERE that USS - possibly Tamara Castellano herself - said something very definitive on this subject. Something like, “USS does not provide direct support to athletes”.

Yes - in my memory, it was that specific, and I’d stake my reputation on it.

Has there been a drastic change in policy? Have skater stipends been recently resumed??? I think not.

Unfortunately I don’t have the time nor the energy to look it up. I’m thinking it was embodied in a linked article (maybe from the Chicago Tribune), as a response to the Post-Grievance stuff between Sept-Dec 2012. If anybody wants to ‘rescue’ me here, I’d be most grateful - trust me, it’s there.

If the quote I'm looking for is found, I need not say more - however, if your $500 donation to USS provides a new training bike, housing assistance, or new blades verifiably to any particular skater, AS ADVERTISED, nothing would make me happier than to 'eat crow' on this issue!

[Deleted]

I am so happy that USS has established a pricing protocol for the needs of the skaters. This will certainly help me out when deciding how much money to mail off to individual skaters and NOT USS.

I agree Lori, very laughable.

I will see if I can "rescue" you regarding your bold quote above.

[Deleted]

Lori: Is this it? The first paragraph touches on the topic, but not USS specific:

features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/29/chartist-olympics-london-poor-spo

You will need to copy & paste into your browser.

[Laura (Lori)]

Apr 4, 2013 7:43:04 GMT -8 gasp said:

Lori: Is this it. The first paragraph touches on the topic, but not USS specific:

features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/05/29/chartist-olympics-london-poor-spo

You will need to copy & paste into your browser.

Hmmm - interesting, but that's not the one I'm looking for. The line I'm referring to was either a direct quote from someone at USS or it was from the author of the article, stated after doing his/her 'homework' about USS and their support of the skaters...

[Deleted]

Okay--I'll keep looking. The problem with doing research is that you find out more and more info. I'm sure many of the veterans on this board may know this information, but I did not realize it was up to the NGBs to determine if "their" athletes would train at the OTC.

From the OTC website:
The Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center has sport venues and support facilities for over a dozen summer Olympic and Paralympic and Pan American and Parapan American Games sports. Currently, there are nearly 200 athletes training at the CSOTC. Athletes are selected to train at OTCs by National Governing Body. The CSOTC offers support to athletes including housing, dining, training facilities, local transportation, recreational facilities, athlete services and professional development programs. The sports noted below are currently listed as training at the OTC. All are summer Olympic sports.

Basketball Boxing Fencing Gymnastics Judo Modern Pentathlon Shooting Swimming Triathlon Volleyball Weightlifting and
Wrestling

From the USOC website under their FINANCIAL link, I found this:

The USOC also provides performance-based grants to eligible athletes involved in NGB and Paralympic sports programs. In addition, the USOC offers an athlete health insurance program to about 1,100 athletes.

[mtnme]

Actually, USS's shameless behavior and misrepresentation has been going on from the very first blog post:

skateleft.com/2012/07/

...as if one slim dime would ever make it to the athletes to help them pay for any of the items that were mentioned ... NOT!

In fact, the fundraising verbage is one of the items cited as a misrepresentation in the original grievance by the athletes (although I found the blog post to be infinitely more egregious in its dishonesty):




or how about this page:
www.speedskaternation.com/Home.html

or this one:
www.speedskaternation.com/USSF.html

Note the lines:
'What do your funds support?

•Direct athlete support for training'

...which of course the majority of National Team skaters aren't even getting that, because they were so fed up with USS that they either went to FAST or the SLI for training and paid out of pocket.

As for Colorado Springs, if I recall correctly what I read, when USS wanted to drag the short trackers to SLC, the USOC was all for it as they wanted to cut their own expenses and bottom line. As usual, the short trackers were just hung out to dry - by EVERYONE!

[Deleted]

FOUND IT LORI! This is on page 3 on the Boycott thread. This is Tamara's review of the media interview that was held as this situation grabbed the media's attention.

MEDIA Q&A FROM US SPEEDSKATING
MONDAY: SEP//17
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Tamara Castellano
US Speedskating
[e-mail]
C: 435.901.3396
O: 801.417.5370

Q: Has US Speedskating pulled funding from the athletes in the grievance.
A: No, US Speedskating does not provide any athlete with direct funding. There are benefits associated with skating for a National Racing Program, such as payment of coaching fees, some meals, etc, but we have not pulled, nor are we currently able to provide direct athlete support.

So which is it Tamara? No you don't fund the skaters, but please DONATE so we CAN fund them for these specific items? Hypocrites! I still say USS needs to be cleaned out. It will take a bold and courageous move by USOC to make that happen.

Maybe Scott Blackmun is working behind the scenes to make changes. He did this with Plant. Apparently Blackmun (per his own statment in one of the Chi Trib aritcles) had been reviewing the USS situation with Plant long before Mike was announced as the new Pres of the Board of Directors.

[Laura (Lori)]

Apr 5, 2013 7:50:30 GMT -8 gasp said:

FOUND IT LORI! This is on page 3 on the Boycott thread. This is Tamara's review of the media interview that was held as this situation grabbed the media's attention.

Q: Has US Speedskating pulled funding from the athletes in the grievance.
A: No, US Speedskating does not provide any athlete with direct funding. There are benefits associated with skating for a National Racing Program, such as payment of coaching fees, some meals, etc, but we have not pulled, nor are we currently able to provide direct athlete support.

Yes - Yes - YES!!!

You win the prize, gasp! This is what I was looking for - I'll buy you dinner at Oly Trials! I was beginning to doubt my memory (and sanity) - but even if the quote wasn't found, I think we all know intuitively and from our relationships with the skaters that "US Speedskating does not provide any athlete with direct funding".

Yes, they provide ice time, coaching, etc., (well, for those who haven't split from the NRP), but for heaven's sake, how can they possibly misrepresent themselves so grossly as to imply that they put your donated $$$ into the hands of skaters for blade guards, gas, groceries or rent - FALSE ADVERTISING!!!

This just pisses me off to no end...

[Laura (Lori)]

mtnme, your post adds additional fuel to the fire - USS is, without a doubt, misleading the public. As gasp said, Boots & Blades seems to have become the 'oversight committee' for USS and the Board of Directors.

I'll go on record here in saying that I will have faith in any and all positive changes within the organization until proven otherwise - but we will continue to hold USS' 'feet to the fire'. As fans, we have no skin in the game - what can you do, blackball our kids? Bwahaha! Google any skater's name, and you'll likely find us in the Top Ten results. What we have to say WILL be seen by your potential sponsors and the people you're trying to 'con' with your help the skaters pitches. We know better, and we'll scream it to the hills.

If it advances our advocacy of the skaters, I don't care if we're mentioned as a 'problem' at one of the Board Meetings...

[Laura (Lori)]

I got a message from a friend last night saying that my above posts were 'unlike me' (but she approved, haha).

When the email was forwarded to me late last week, I discussed it with the person who sent it to me. I had 2 things that I wanted to clear up before I 'popped off' about it. 1) Find the quote from USS that was in direct contradiction to the 'buy 'em a tank of gas' pitch, and 2) Talk to a few skaters to see if there has been a policy change that I wasn't aware of - such as the re-institution of stipends from USS.

The answer to #2 was "No", and gasp found #1. So I popped off.

No, I don't really want to be labeled as a 'problem' by USS - I would much prefer that Boots & Blades be labeled as an 'asset'. And we are willing to be one of their greatest assets, when they've proven that they can get their house in order.

IMO, the litmus test for that proof will be when a majority of the skaters are happy with the support they are receiving from their NGB!

When Larry & I went to Calgary, we met up with another fan who we know well. At lunch one day, we saw Tamara Castellano sitting alone, so we went to talk with her. This wasn't long after all of the drama started - and quite honestly, she looked like a deer in the headlights when we sat down and identified ourselves as fans who had met her one time before (she had invited us to attend a kickoff party in Park City for the newly-created USS Foundation). Once she realized we weren't there to bite her head off, we had a nice conversation. The last thing I said to her was this:

"If USS is funding the skaters as their first priority, you won't hear a peep from us."

As been there said, I suppose USS had to make an effort - but implying a disposition of your donations that (in their own words) will not happen is not the way to build trust, and after years and years of this I just can't sit back and shut up.

[Deleted]

Can we now assume it is USS that has a throbbing pain in their head?

Oustanding posts by everyone.

[Deleted]

...and another Speed Skating sponsor bites the dust after the 2014 Olympics. You will need to copy and paste into your browser!

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/olympics/track-and-field-speedskating-lose-major-sponsors-amid-international-financial-slump/2013/04/08/6fe9100c-a056-11e2-bd52-614156372695_story.html