Post by mtnme on Mar 4, 2008 3:28:20 GMT -5
Hi Everyone,
(Get a glass of wine, coffee, whatever, as this may get a bit long winded….)
As we have been hinting about, we are starting a project to help out financially struggling Short Track skaters who are either on the National Team or are trying to make the team, and hopefully, also make the US Olympic Team. We are posting our ideas to date on the forum so you can help us brainstorm, but more importantly, we want you all to feel a part of this and be involved. YOUR ideas and feedback will give us a good idea on how best to proceed.
As you may or may not know, unlike many countries that compete in the Olympics (as well as Nationals, Worlds, World Cups, American Cups etc), - our athletes do not receive money from government funding. Athletes who compete at the elite level, must rely on their own resources. Families make great sacrifices for their kids to compete, and the further they go in competition, the bigger the expenses become. When a short track skater makes the National team, they do get a stipend, depending on performance. Athletes that medal at the last Olympic Games, also get money from the USOC. If you want to be in the know of what a skater is aloted, you can read about it on the USS link below.
www.usspeedskating.org/pdf/AthleteAgreementBenefits.pdf
At that level, the skater really need donations and sponsorships to pay for not only living expenses, but a lot of the expenses associated with competing. That’s where our little grass roots organization comes in.
A Little History:
Here’s how this all got started. Those of us who were going to WC6 wanted to get the $45 VIP tickets like we did at Nationals. Unfortunately, the VIP seats were only available to the ISU members and sponsors. So we looked into that. The minimum sponsorship was $3000, which we couldn’t pull together in 2 days. (and we wouldn’t have gotten 40 seats out of the deal for all of us anyway) So we were thinking of donating the difference of what we would have spent on the VIP and our regular seating tickets ($15 ticket) and giving it to a skater who was financially struggling, at which point we contacted USS. Unfortunately, we could only donate to the organization, (Read: Feeding the Beast) not directly to a skater, where it might actually do some good.
So we moved on to plan B:
Set up our own website where everyone and anyone could donate to a list of skaters, and whatever you felt comfortable with. Remember, no donation would be too small, it all adds up.
Apolostarr has offered to help us with the website and here is an outline she started for us. (Although I did a little rearranging)
1) What is Short-track (explains what athletic endeavor you would be donating to)
2) List of Athletes you can donate to
a) Picture of athlete, a little info on who they are
b) The athletes competition schedule (should you want to come and cheer for your sponsored skater)
c) Results (How they’re doing in the competitions they are in)
3) Donate
a) Who you can donate to
b) how to donate
c) where the money goes
d) Possible blog where you can cheer on your sponsored skater, leave well wishes, etc, on the site
4) About the site
a) site's mission
b) owners/maintainers
c) Suggestions
5) Links
a) related links (ISU, USSpeedskating, skaters sites)
b) Fan sites (The idea here is to bring the power of ALL the people at ALL the sites together for the greater good – OZ, GA, DI, AJ.com – most of us lurk at more than one site, we just may call one or two ‘home’. For the ‘lurkers’ – and I know there’s A LOT of you! Here is your chance for you to come out of the shadows and really support what you find so fascinating to read about.
6) INFO
a) Short Track Schedules
b) Suggestions on going to a short-track events.
c) Links to yahoo groups, travel sites, etc
d) How to get together with your fellow fans (Believe me, you will have the time of your life. If you haven’t gone because you think you will be there by yourself- fugedaboudit! You will have plenty of friends)
Here’s where we need your input. We have discussed a few different ways to get money to the Athlete
(Vote for)
______ Paypal. This allows you to donate money with your credit card without giving out your credit card info to the donatee. Used by e-bay, Ohnozone and many others, it is relatively safe and secure. It also protects the personal information of the skaters without giving out their personal address. Paypal charges a fee, so your donation will have this amount deducted from the amount you donate. My understanding is you can also donate anonymously. Disadvantage: Not as personal, you can’t send a well wish with your money. (Disadvantage for us- We have to set it up on a website, both the skater and you have to fill out a form with all your information so you can send money, and they can receive it.)
______ PO Box. The athletes would have to set one up. Allows you to send a check directly to the skater, along with a nice note, funny card, or something you think will just make a skaters’ day. Remember, support doesn’t come with just money, but the feeling of having a bunch of fans rooting for you and in your corner. (Don’t underestimate this, the skaters like you at the events rooting at the top of your lungs- they feed off the cheering, whether it’s in person, or just an acknowledgement of how hard they work and how dedicated they are.) The whole amount of the donation goes to the skater. Disadvantage: You actually have to sit down and write the check and mail it. (You remember mail, right? ….Envelopes, stamps, etc…)
_____ USS. You can still donate money directly to USSpeedskating. Don’t count on the money going to an athlete or something specific you feel strongly about. Don’t count on getting any ‘love’ from USS as a fan.
VOTE on a name for our Group:
_______ SkaterAid (Lori’s suggestion…I like it!) Come up with a slogan
(and I’ll let Lori elaborate on this)
_______ therockerfund.com – (Apolostarr) a rocker has to do with the ST blade shape.
________ HelpFinishtherace.com (Apolostarr: i dont know if this sounds too related to a cancer charity site)
________ Start-the-line.com - like starting line of the track, help the line to start
(Me: I believe they say "go to the start")
_______ (Your idea here!) Come up with a slogan.
Give us your Thoughts and Ideas, and remember, Apolo’s love for his sport is what started all of this. Hopefully you will all want to get involved, and in doing so, you will also want to come to the competitions in the future.
Use this thread to post your ideas. Put on your thinking caps and have fun with this!
(Get a glass of wine, coffee, whatever, as this may get a bit long winded….)
As we have been hinting about, we are starting a project to help out financially struggling Short Track skaters who are either on the National Team or are trying to make the team, and hopefully, also make the US Olympic Team. We are posting our ideas to date on the forum so you can help us brainstorm, but more importantly, we want you all to feel a part of this and be involved. YOUR ideas and feedback will give us a good idea on how best to proceed.
As you may or may not know, unlike many countries that compete in the Olympics (as well as Nationals, Worlds, World Cups, American Cups etc), - our athletes do not receive money from government funding. Athletes who compete at the elite level, must rely on their own resources. Families make great sacrifices for their kids to compete, and the further they go in competition, the bigger the expenses become. When a short track skater makes the National team, they do get a stipend, depending on performance. Athletes that medal at the last Olympic Games, also get money from the USOC. If you want to be in the know of what a skater is aloted, you can read about it on the USS link below.
www.usspeedskating.org/pdf/AthleteAgreementBenefits.pdf
At that level, the skater really need donations and sponsorships to pay for not only living expenses, but a lot of the expenses associated with competing. That’s where our little grass roots organization comes in.
A Little History:
Here’s how this all got started. Those of us who were going to WC6 wanted to get the $45 VIP tickets like we did at Nationals. Unfortunately, the VIP seats were only available to the ISU members and sponsors. So we looked into that. The minimum sponsorship was $3000, which we couldn’t pull together in 2 days. (and we wouldn’t have gotten 40 seats out of the deal for all of us anyway) So we were thinking of donating the difference of what we would have spent on the VIP and our regular seating tickets ($15 ticket) and giving it to a skater who was financially struggling, at which point we contacted USS. Unfortunately, we could only donate to the organization, (Read: Feeding the Beast) not directly to a skater, where it might actually do some good.
So we moved on to plan B:
Set up our own website where everyone and anyone could donate to a list of skaters, and whatever you felt comfortable with. Remember, no donation would be too small, it all adds up.
Apolostarr has offered to help us with the website and here is an outline she started for us. (Although I did a little rearranging)
1) What is Short-track (explains what athletic endeavor you would be donating to)
2) List of Athletes you can donate to
a) Picture of athlete, a little info on who they are
b) The athletes competition schedule (should you want to come and cheer for your sponsored skater)
c) Results (How they’re doing in the competitions they are in)
3) Donate
a) Who you can donate to
b) how to donate
c) where the money goes
d) Possible blog where you can cheer on your sponsored skater, leave well wishes, etc, on the site
4) About the site
a) site's mission
b) owners/maintainers
c) Suggestions
5) Links
a) related links (ISU, USSpeedskating, skaters sites)
b) Fan sites (The idea here is to bring the power of ALL the people at ALL the sites together for the greater good – OZ, GA, DI, AJ.com – most of us lurk at more than one site, we just may call one or two ‘home’. For the ‘lurkers’ – and I know there’s A LOT of you! Here is your chance for you to come out of the shadows and really support what you find so fascinating to read about.
6) INFO
a) Short Track Schedules
b) Suggestions on going to a short-track events.
c) Links to yahoo groups, travel sites, etc
d) How to get together with your fellow fans (Believe me, you will have the time of your life. If you haven’t gone because you think you will be there by yourself- fugedaboudit! You will have plenty of friends)
Here’s where we need your input. We have discussed a few different ways to get money to the Athlete
(Vote for)
______ Paypal. This allows you to donate money with your credit card without giving out your credit card info to the donatee. Used by e-bay, Ohnozone and many others, it is relatively safe and secure. It also protects the personal information of the skaters without giving out their personal address. Paypal charges a fee, so your donation will have this amount deducted from the amount you donate. My understanding is you can also donate anonymously. Disadvantage: Not as personal, you can’t send a well wish with your money. (Disadvantage for us- We have to set it up on a website, both the skater and you have to fill out a form with all your information so you can send money, and they can receive it.)
______ PO Box. The athletes would have to set one up. Allows you to send a check directly to the skater, along with a nice note, funny card, or something you think will just make a skaters’ day. Remember, support doesn’t come with just money, but the feeling of having a bunch of fans rooting for you and in your corner. (Don’t underestimate this, the skaters like you at the events rooting at the top of your lungs- they feed off the cheering, whether it’s in person, or just an acknowledgement of how hard they work and how dedicated they are.) The whole amount of the donation goes to the skater. Disadvantage: You actually have to sit down and write the check and mail it. (You remember mail, right? ….Envelopes, stamps, etc…)
_____ USS. You can still donate money directly to USSpeedskating. Don’t count on the money going to an athlete or something specific you feel strongly about. Don’t count on getting any ‘love’ from USS as a fan.
VOTE on a name for our Group:
_______ SkaterAid (Lori’s suggestion…I like it!) Come up with a slogan
(and I’ll let Lori elaborate on this)
_______ therockerfund.com – (Apolostarr) a rocker has to do with the ST blade shape.
________ HelpFinishtherace.com (Apolostarr: i dont know if this sounds too related to a cancer charity site)
________ Start-the-line.com - like starting line of the track, help the line to start
(Me: I believe they say "go to the start")
_______ (Your idea here!) Come up with a slogan.
Give us your Thoughts and Ideas, and remember, Apolo’s love for his sport is what started all of this. Hopefully you will all want to get involved, and in doing so, you will also want to come to the competitions in the future.
Use this thread to post your ideas. Put on your thinking caps and have fun with this!
~Lori
The upcoming athletes will praise you of your kindness and dedication! 
I needa job asap!
