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Post by osaycanusoc on Mar 24, 2013 14:43:53 GMT -8
And why just limit concern to the athletes succumbing to temptation? I can imagine officials such as starters and referees, along with some coaches and perhaps NGB staff members and directors could also find a way to cash in were gambling to be part of the landscape. Sound far-fetched? Unfortunately no...Jae Su Chun's brother was hit with a ban from the sport in Korea for arranging the results of races for his skaters, and, there wasn't even gambling involved. Could you imagine if the added temptation of gambling benefits entered the picture? The skaters might be the least of the problem.
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 24, 2013 16:08:00 GMT -8
Not to open a new can of worms or anything, but do any of y'all remember something a few years back (I think it was between the Torino & Vancouver Olympics), when Apolo Ohno visited some island in Asia - off Korea or in Indonesia or something - where he was exploring the possibility of ST as a 'gaming' sport? I tried to find it again, but no luck - and I never heard another thing about it...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2013 17:30:29 GMT -8
Lori: Jeju Island is the hot-spot to gamble in Korea and is predicted to be the next Monte Carlo for the uber-rich. Check out this video:
I could not find specific articles related to ST becoming a gaming event. Check out the video, maybe you can understand it better than moi! Seems they were more interested in getting his signature on the jacket than anything else!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Mar 24, 2013 21:25:10 GMT -8
Yes, Jeju Island, that's the one! (And there's Jimmy Jang with him!) This particular video was uploaded in January, 2009.
The audio isn't very easy to understand in this video, so I can't tell whether or not they were discussing betting on ST, but it sure seems like he's trying to sell them on the merits of ST as an exciting sport, i.e., "We see the potential as being limitless". And if Jeju is indeed a gambling mecca, it's not much of a stretch to put 2 & 2 together...
As I recall, what I heard about the meeting was from a text source (maybe an article?), not video. And I remember writing someone privately at the time, "How can anyone think this is a good idea?".
But as I said, I never heard another word about it.
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Post by Joyce on Mar 25, 2013 4:50:40 GMT -8
Osay - not to worry, it was a brief convo some time ago. I only mentioned it to illustrate yet another, as you stated "mindset", one of many that fails to preserve the purity of the sport or serve the athletes. Never forget - we are speaking of an agency whose members by its own admission cannot agree on anything, overlap job responsibilities effecting confusion and negative results, act as separate entities and not a cohesive group, disallow all outside influences and constructive advice, etc. Success in any endeavor would not be forthcoming.
JMO - I imagine as in any organization, there are "cliques", members with their own "power bases", and those who "vote" along party lines, not policy. So I would surmise Andy had his supporters and was not acting alone.
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Post by wasn't there on Mar 27, 2013 7:12:03 GMT -8
I think Fred Benjamin asked a pertinent question to the folks that attended age group nationals as spectators. By your presence, you are patronizing an organization that I suspect has the same approval rating as the United States Congress. If I attended Fred would probably come and talk to me too. He might even do a verbose Bo jangles for me to see how much I know about the current affairs with USS.
My guess, Fred would flatter me a bit as an attempt for my help. Even as a child, I never liked Kool-Aid and that is about all USS can offer. Even I know to stay away from the grape Flavor-aid. Instead of Omaha, I flew to a different city for the weekend.
In a previous post, I mentioned that I had contact with possible sponsors for an elite skater. Friday night I had dinner with one of those potential sponsors. By chance, an attorney in Chicago sent me the sports section from the Chicago Tribune. The short track story was the headline on the front page and filled three pages on the inside. After dinner I gave the possible sponsor the sports section for bedtime reading. In the morning, the sport section was returned to me with an expression of thanks, end of conversation. My opinion, the grievance situation is as toxic as Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong for a sponsor, hence the reason for Mike Plant. I wonder what former Chief Justice Earl Warren would say regarding the sports section nowadays.
In the group I had dinner with Saturday night, one of the attendees is a US Navy explosives demolition expert, a “Hurt Locker” guy. He played on the hockey team at Naval Academy, around the same age as these short track skaters that filed the grievances. The situation gave me a couple thoughts. First, what happened to the team building experience these athletes supposed to have had at the US Navy SEAL base nearly two years ago? Second, who lives by the Olympic creed, a “Hurt Locker” guy or an athlete that files grievances as an attempt to protect his/her spot on the next team?
In the previous post, I wondered if Hoch knows something and that is why he is sponsoring SLI. Last week I learned about a previous incident that happened at the Oval which has bearing on the upcoming Cho’s ISU hearing. It documents a pattern and everybody at the Oval has to know about it. May be that is why the grievances did not proceed beyond the White & Case report. Remember, the mediation ruled that it has jurisdiction. It didn’t rule on these particular grievances. For healing to start within the skaters, it makes me wonder how much truth the public should know. A “Hurt Locker “guy can’t cheat explosives and he has to trust his teammates or else his “yellow card” is death.
Folks, you can veg-o-matic the USS by-laws and the committee members all you want. It is human nature to fold the cards late and that is what the filing with the USOC is all about. What I shall watch is how these elite athletes vote with their feet the next couple months. The results of their decisions are all I need to know as to the validity of the grievances and their character. We all voted with our feet that weekend too. Being concerned with what Fred Benjamin has to say is immaterial compared to the accidental experience with a “Hurt Locker” guy. His family is petrified and he has this admirable loyalty to his team.
These elite athletes have such a narrow definition for the word team. Their definition is the same as the members on the committees. It has the two alphabets m and e. I had a good weekend. I read the book Quiet by Susan Cain on the plane, even got bumped up to first class a couple times. Sometimes silence speaks louder than words and you folks wonder why they can’t sell tickets.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2013 20:06:44 GMT -8
Why do I feel like the members of Boots 'n Blades have become the oversight committee for USS & the BoD. Okay, Mike Plant is official. That part of the USS website has been updated. But what has happened to the "indpendent member" on the Board of Directors. The current Board Members are all part of the Speed Skating community in one way or another. I do not see a name on the list that I do not recognize. Have they not found a suitable candidate? Have people looked at the position, and said, "thanks, but no thanks." Please check out the list of board members and let me know if you see an "independent member." www.usspeedskating.org/about-uss/organization/board-directors
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2013 20:10:11 GMT -8
....and what really ticks me off is the way they list the Board of Directors. There is such a convoluted process to get on this board, it is ridiculous. So would somebody please---like maybe the secretary of the board--clarify exactly who each one of the board members represent. By example: I assume Katherine is the Athlete Rep for Short Track. If so, then please state that. Talk about a deep dark path of trying to figure out who represents whom!
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Post by osaycanusoc on Apr 5, 2013 9:54:11 GMT -8
Osay - not to worry, it was a brief convo some time ago. I only mentioned it to illustrate yet another, as you stated "mindset", one of many that fails to preserve the purity of the sport or serve the athletes. Never forget - we are speaking of an agency whose members by its own admission cannot agree on anything, overlap job responsibilities effecting confusion and negative results, act as separate entities and not a cohesive group, disallow all outside influences and constructive advice, etc. Success in any endeavor would not be forthcoming. JMO - I imagine as in any organization, there are "cliques", members with their own "power bases", and those who "vote" along party lines, not policy. So I would surmise Andy had his supporters and was not acting alone. Has anyone seen this Facebook entity that relates to gambling in speedskating? www.facebook.com/Icederby/infoJoyce, I think I will worry. Coaches, officials, and athletes getting involved in betting on the sport. Even Major League Baseball, the haven of steroid cheating, has very strict rules about the presence of any kind of gambling in and around its clubhouses. They know what scandal can do, in terms of ruining the game. I worry that our sport's "leaders" have no such appreciation, or, if they do, simply don't care and will put their potential gains above any potential risks to the greater good, like they seem to so readily do already. The ISU and its member NGB's need to take some swift and highly visible action to nip this and eliminate it, now. Establish a strong mindset against gambling like MLB has, and, make it paramount within the culture.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2013 11:19:32 GMT -8
I linked to the FB page above. Ice Derby International was established in 2006 and based in Korea. If the FB page is any indicator, there wasn't much interest. The page has 5 likes. A google search sends you to the FB page only. Can we assume this was dismissed as a bad idea?
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Post by Deleted on May 1, 2013 20:41:41 GMT -8
This article is dated April 30th and quotes TPTB: "We feel very good about where that sport is going right now." Let me think about this people. We still have skaters who have not been united. We still have no info on the outcome of the Simon Cho situation. Some of the skaters have headed to SoCal for the summer or remained in SLC to train at the Oval or with Salt Lake International. Changes? None that I can find so far. Your opinion may differ! This article also reminded me that May is the timeline for the Board Meeting: "They have an annual meeting in the middle of May at that point we expect to see a lot of governance reform rolled out as well as some new programmes for the athletes." It will be interesting to see what, if any bylaws are changed and/or updated. It will also be of great interest to see if the bylaw changes are made available to the members of USS before the final vote. I do not have the energy to review the bylaws tonight, to see what the actual protocol is on the bylaw change process. Or heck, maybe I am just losing interest. www.insidethegames.biz/sports/winter/skating/1014007-we-feel-very-good-about-where-us-speedskating-is-going-now-says-usoc-official
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Post by mtnme on May 2, 2013 22:22:42 GMT -8
Call me jaded, but it sounds like just more spin to me...
And no Gasp, you probably haven't lost interest as much as lost patience. The bylaws and protocols are so involved and dense, that it almost INSURES that things will never change, or at least, only extremely slowly...which is probably the idea. I confess I have no patience for red tape. I'd be the one lamenting "This is a stupid rule, let's change it. All those in favor say 'Aye'. The majority agrees? GOOD! The motion's passed! Next!..."
Saddle 'em up, move 'em out, rawhide! That's my motto.
...but nooooooo, it's gotta be a long, drawn out, involved process. I can't even believe the B.S. involved just to try to get the board meeting, which is supposedly open to the public, video taped or on a live feed. You get the 'no-no's' coming faster and more prolifically than from a petulant toddler in the throes of the terrible twos. Absolutely ridiculous. They're not fooling anyone here. From what I've heard of the bad behavior the board traffics in at these things, it's a safe bet the real reason they don't want it on video is so the general public doesn't know about it and they can continue on with business as usual. And that business is bullying the parents and the skaters. I've heard tales of yelling and screaming, condescending and dismissive behavior. Yeah, well if I was behaving like a complete and utter bullying, ill behaved @ss, I suppose I wouldn't want other folks to know about it either.
Still doesn't make it right.
In today's insta - techno savvy world, the board is just gonna have to accept the fact that anything they do in private can be made public in record time. Just ask Mikie Phelps about his little bong incident a few years ago. All we need is someone with enough gumption and a cell phone...
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Post by Deleted on May 3, 2013 19:48:56 GMT -8
...or some media type calling "foul", and getting an injunction to attend the meeting. USS would have a stroke!
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Post by Laura (Lori) on May 3, 2013 21:01:30 GMT -8
I got this email about 10 days ago, but I wasn't entirely sure who sent it. Since then, I've checked it out and I'm quite comfortable with the way it's being administered, and with the person who is doing it - it's someone I've gotten to know quite well since the grievances were filed, and he will be happy to answer any questions via the email address provided in the body of the letter. As you know, most of the work that the APTE's attorney Ed Williams and his firm have been doing regarding the grievances against USS have been pro bono. They believe in what they're doing, and are determined to press on. The intent of the appeal for funds is to relieve them of some of the administrative expenses (past, present and future) associated with their work on behalf of the skaters. ------------------- Dear Friend of Speeskating Athletes and Reform in US Speedskating, This is an appeal for support to continue the legal advocacy on behalf of athlete members of US Speedskating at the NGB and the USOC level. The grievance filed August 30, 2012 on behalf of the approximately 20 athletes, including the Athletes for a Positive Training Environment (APTE), by their counsel Edward G. WIlliams of Stewart Occhipinti LLC ( see bio here: www.somlaw.com/profiles_egw.html ) has not been given a hearing yet, although there were various proceedings resolved on parts of the grievance and other related actions that were of a particularly urgent nature involving team selections. As a result, a Section 10 grievance was filed recently by Ed Williams on behalf of a number of athletes, parents of athletes, and former athletes to compel the USOC to hold a hearing on the important concerns raised and never responded to in the August 2012 original grievance. This Section 10 complaint questions the ability of US Speedskating to function in its current state as a going concern able to raise funds and be financially viable, as well as be able to govern the sport properly in compliance with the USOC requirements as well as Federal law under the Ted Stevens Amateur Sports Act and asks for the USOC to step in and provide remedies to the current problems raised in the complaint. At this point, in order to get resolution on these remaining important issues so the organization and the athletes can prepare with their full focus on the upcoming 2013-14 season which includes the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, plans are being made to take additional actions. It is hoped that an impact can be made before decisions are made leading up to and during the May USS Board meeting, so the various critical bylaw, strategic, operational, and financial issues cited in the grievance that are impairing the organization and athletes from peak effectiveness can begin to be remedied sooner rather than later. What Ed has done so far in addition to filing the original August 2012 grievance includes: Reviewing compliance issues facing USS with an analysis of USS’s compliance / non-compliance with the following: a) The Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, Title 36, USC Section 220501, et seq; b) The USOC’s Bylaws applicable to National Governing Bodies; c) USS’s own Bylaws; d) The USOC’s April 2005 “Governance Guidelines” applicable to NGBs; e) Any other policy requirements adopted by the USOC applicable to NGBs; and f) The Bylaws of the USOC’s Athletes’ Advisory Council applicable to the election of athlete representatives from NGBs to the USOC AAC. Preparing and filing with the United States Olympic Committee what is commonly referred to as a Section 10 Complaint” (named after the applicable Bylaw of the USOC’s Bylaws) in an attempt to seek to compel USS’s compliance with the Sports Act, and other requirements / policies set forth above. In addition, he will prosecute this filing with the USOC, by representing the Claimants in any Hearing which may be convened by the USOC to hear and determine the validity of the allegations set forth in the Section 10 Complaint. Preparing and submitting new, USOC compliant bylaws for US Speedskating to consider and adopt at their Spring 2013 Board Meeting Representing athletes as needed as they are requested to sign various agreements in return for obtaining national program athlete support We are hoping to raise $15,000 to help offset the expenses Mr. Williams and firm are incurring in these activities. Some may be able to give more, some may be limited by what they can give due to training and other budgetary constraints. The important thing is to give what you can and show support, to whatever degree you are able. A high level of participation, even at smaller amount of $5 or $50 per person, is as important as the actual amount given. Broadening the circle of support is also important, and, while you may not be able to give as much personally as you would like, perhaps you can leverage your support by reaching out to fellow athletes, family members, friends, and fans of the sport, and ask them to give as well. Mr. Williams and his firm have given over $200,000 in pro-bono legal work to the cause of advocating on behalf of US Speedskating members who have stepped up to ask USS to reform their bylaws and operations to be in compliance with the USOC and other governing laws, to follow their own bylaws correctly, to adopt and follow good governance norms and procedures, and, to be more open and transparent in the reporting and disclosing of information and decisions affecting athletes and other members. He is willing to continue supporting this effort, and we would like to show appreciation for his work with additional financial support from the claimants and their supporters as well as friends of the sport who wish to be part of this important work. Please join us in this effort. To make it easy and convenient on all to do this, we have a paypal account set up to receive contributions at the following link: www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/send-money-onlineIt will ask you for your email address (from), and, the following email address (to): aptelegalfund@gmail.comalong with the dollar amount you wish to contribute. Hit "continue" and follow the rest of the directions. Please be assured that all contributions will kept completely confidential, and, myself, and ed williams will be the only persons who will know the names of the contributors, unless you otherwise wish to have us publicize your name or, unless you are a named claimant. Thank you for considering supporting a positive training environment for speedskating athletes. Questions may be sent to the email address aptelegalfund@gmail.com as well. The APTE's
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Post by Laura (Lori) on May 7, 2013 14:23:25 GMT -8
Many thanks to a Facebook friend for this find. There are some good talking points here - it also touches on things the athletes can do to help their Federation help them: The 15 keys to running a great Sports Federation...McMillanSpeed.com / Wednesday, 17 April 2013 “The biggest problem in Canada - and I see it all the time - is someone gets a job, and they spend all their time guarding against their job, and doing stupid things and making dumb decisions, because they’re guarding against their job. Not for the good of the athletes, not for the sport, and not for the good of the country...” - Donovan BaileyRead it all: www.mcmillanspeed.com/2013/04/the-15-keys-to-running-great-sports.html
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