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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 21, 2012 21:37:52 GMT -8
And now for various articles in today's news... I did not know that Allison has been elected her to a four-year term as a speed skating representative on the United States Olympic Committee athlete advisory council. Olympian Allison Baver Continues to Move Forward, Despite Recent Events: Fan InterviewBy Sean O'Brien | Yahoo! Contributor Network / Sept 21, 2012 "I'm the type of person who wakes up with the blinds always open and a positive attitude, no matter what the situation. We will, as a team, form a stronger bond and will become tougher both on and off the ice," Baver said. Read the entire article: sports.yahoo.com/news/olympian-allison-baver-continues-move-forward-despite-recent-203100753--spt.htmlNOTE: The link above no longer works, and no replacement has been found.
------------------------ Expanding on the article link that gasp posted upthread: The Chicago Tribune's Philip Hersh seems to be really on top of the current USS situation and has pumped out yet another noteworthy article - this one explores the ramifications of the turmoil on team unity. Charges split U.S. speedskaters With Olympics on horizon, rift could be dangerousby Philip Hersh / Chicago Tribune / September 21, 2012 No matter happens with the ongoing investigation and the scheduled arbitration hearing into charges leveled against both U.S. short track speedskating coaches and the federation itself, the short track teams that will represent the United States from this fall through the 2014 Olympics clearly will be deeply divided as a result of the case.Read the entire article: Charges split US speedskaters------------------------ According to Dailyhouse: Cho Could Face Ban For Sabotaging Canadian’s Skates. Added Sep 21, 2012 Today the International Skating Union (ISU) issued a statement that, while not directly commenting on the case at hand, does hint that the governing body might take action in the case.
The ISU statement said in part: “In presence of reasonable evidence of misconduct, the ISU has always taken and will continue to take the necessary steps…” As NPR reports, the ISU statutes could impose fines up to $16,000 and suspension or exclusion from the sport for any duration up to life. If investigated and found guilty, both Cho and Chun could face disciplinary action from the international body.Read the entire blog entry: dailyhouse.com/2012/09/21/cho-could-face-ban-for-sabotaging-canadians-skates/NOTE: The link above no longer works, and no replacement has been found.------------------------------ Speed skating coach portrayed as man prone to verbal and physical violence SEAN GORDON / The Globe and Mail / Sept 21, 2012 Chun is a blunt, old-school sort who rose through the demanding – and wildly successful – South Korean skating program and had a brief stop in Canada before catching on with United States.Read the entire article: www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/speed-skating-coach-portrayed-as-man-prone-to-verbal-and-physical-violence/article4559136/
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 21, 2012 21:48:13 GMT -8
Lastly (but certainly not least)... I was about to post something reminding people that even though they see headlines saying things like, "Cho admits to sabotaging Canadian's skates", we shouldn't take it to the bank. From what I gathered, there had been NO admission to authorities - it was simply an allegation that "Cho admitted to another skater..." But holy catfish! This article says something far more concrete - is The Globe & Mail a reputable source in Canada? Do they have their facts right that there's been an actual statement by Cho in court documents? American admits to sabotaging Canadian Olivier Jean’s skates by SEAN GORDON / The Globe and Mail / Friday, Sept 21, 2012 Cho alleges in documents filed with a U.S. arbitration panel that he was put up to it by recently suspended U.S. short-track coach Jae Su Chun, who is facing dismissal because of apparent ill treatment of his charges.Read the entire article: www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/more-sports/american-admits-to-sabotaging-canadian-olivier-jeans-skates/article4557986/
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Post by sk8er on Sept 23, 2012 17:39:14 GMT -8
I hope that there is no possibility of the USOC or the IOC acting as did the governing body in the Penn State scandal....voiding all results under Chun's tenure if he is found at fault. In this case the athletes have acted with great restraint for a very long time and apparently tried to bring their concerns to the authorities. They should not be punished.
On the issue of stipends: I thought it a very bad idea to move the short track team from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs even it if was administratively more convenient to have all the US Speeding elite teams in one place. At the OTC the athletes had a dorm room, a cafeteria, work out facilities, and medical care all in one place. If you have taken the tour it is just like a small campus. The ice rink was a bike ride away, just a few miles. I talked with Jordan Malone several years ago when the ST team first moved to SLC. They had around 6 guys in one apartment (if I'm remembering that number correctly). Now they have to shop for food, cook nutritious meals, clean up (!) and all the mundane tasks. At the OTC in Colorado Springs they even had the caloric and nutritional details on all the food in the cafeteria, what a great idea! No....the move to SLC was to satisfy the powers that be at US Speedskating. I don't care if Eric Heiden is in charge of medical care at the hospital (I'm not sure about the details here, take that with a grain of salt). If an athlete requires that level of care it is easy enough to medivac them in from the Springs.
That said, the most important benefit of training at the Utah Olympic Oval is the padding system used to form the ST rink, inside the 400m oval. To form the "walls" of the ST rink a series of pads is fastened together. When a skater hits the pads they "give" moving outward, absorbing much of the kinetic energy. When you hit a pad that has a hard hockey wall behind it there is no "give"....and more injuries. That is the only, very important, advantage to training in SLC that I see. I'm sure there are more issues that I don't see however.
SusanG
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Post by wildfire on Sept 24, 2012 16:30:35 GMT -8
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 24, 2012 23:24:46 GMT -8
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Post by mtnme on Sept 28, 2012 7:21:59 GMT -8
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Sept 29, 2012 22:09:38 GMT -8
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Post by sk8er on Sept 30, 2012 16:28:22 GMT -8
Smart move.
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Post by melissa on Sept 30, 2012 18:10:06 GMT -8
sports.yahoo.com/news/cho-expects-punishment-skate-tampering-230953706--spt.htmlNOTE: The link above no longer works, and no replacement has been found.Interesting new article with post-competition comments from several skaters re: the investigation, whether they will accept a place on the World Cup team if Jae Su is reinstated, etc. Also, as obvious from the title, comments from Simon Cho. The whole thing is so sad. I really feel for Simon, and, whatever happened at team championships, I'm glad he hired a lawyer to look out for his interests before he made any public comments.
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Post by mtnme on Sept 30, 2012 20:00:11 GMT -8
So sad that all of this has escalated to this point. Having to hire lawyers... like the skaters can afford to pay attorneys in the first place. *heavy sigh*
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Post by mtnme on Sept 30, 2012 20:12:59 GMT -8
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 1, 2012 0:10:21 GMT -8
Thanks Mtnme & Melissa - two excellent articles! Must be a difficult situation for Emily to see Simon so embattled - not to mention Simon himself. Nice to hear Katherine's viewpoint and Derek Parra's as well.
Welcome to the board, Melissa!
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Post by mtnme on Oct 1, 2012 18:27:03 GMT -8
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 1, 2012 21:07:28 GMT -8
Selection trials end, but skate tribulations continueReport on investigation of U.S. short track coaches expected this weekGlobetrotting by Philip Hersh / Chicago Tribune / October 1, 2012 The trials are over. The tribulations are not. ...US Speedskating has told the athletes it will allow them to wait for the outcome of the investigative and arbitration proceedings before making a final decision on whether to join the World Cup team. Read the entire article: Selection trials end, but skate tribulations continue
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Post by Laura (Lori) on Oct 2, 2012 15:11:57 GMT -8
Hmmmm... Arbitration delayed in case against U.S. Speedskating coach New date is Nov. 1 to hear charges of alleged abuse against skaters By Michael C. Lewis / The Salt Lake Tribune / Oct 2, 2012 An arbitration hearing to resolve allegations of abuse leveled against a U.S. Speedskating coach has been pushed back again, the federation said Tuesday, meaning the case might not be settled before athletes compete in World Cup events later this month in Canada... ...Presumably, then, the skaters would have to tolerate Yeo in order to travel and compete... ...A spokeswoman for U.S. Speedskating said the federation planned to have an update soon "explaining how the first two World Cup’s will be handled"... Read the entire article: www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/55009947-77/arbitration-cup-skaters-speedskating.html.csp---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- Here's a roundup of some other articles that I didn't get a chance to post - the first one also contains a video statement by Simon Cho (and interestingly enough, does not touch on the skate-tampering allegations): U.S. speed skater tells ABC4 team remains dividedBy: Emerson Lotzia / Sept 26, 2012 www.abc4.com/content/news/slc/story/U-S-speed-skater-tells-ABC4-team-remains-divided/ibbZTGaOhUuML8DUEaXPyw.cspxNOTE: The link above no longer works, and no replacement has been found.------------------------------------ Document details alleged abuse by speedskating coach Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY / Sept 28, 2012 www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2012/09/27/document-details-alleged-abuse-by-speedskating-coach/1598669/----------------------------------- Celski says team divide has been tough on speedskaters Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY Sports / Sept 30, 2012 www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2012/09/30/speedskating-trials-end-controversy-surrounding-coach-continues/1605043/
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