Membership to USSpeedskating.org

[aaosmts19]

FOr $15.00 you can get what is called a 'fan membership'. They advertise "unique benefits" for members only, to include copies of their newsletters, magazines and other e-letters. You also get a login to a special area.

I was wondering if anyone has a membership and how do you like it? What kinds of information does the login provide? Do you get a subscription to "Blades", etc.

ANy specially-reduced tickets at speedskating events?

Thanks!

[Lori]

Apr 19, 2008 16:15:47 GMT -5 aaosmts19 said:

FOr $15.00 you can get what is called a 'fan membership'. They advertise "unique benefits" for members only, to include copies of their newsletters, magazines and other e-letters. You also get a login to a special area.

I was wondering if anyone has a membership and how do you like it? What kinds of information does the login provide? Do you get a subscription to "Blades", etc.

ANy specially-reduced tickets at speedskating events?

Thanks!

aao, I'm a fan member. No reduced rates or anything (at least not that I'm aware of). I do get some of the publications, which are fun to read. The members-only area is basically just the schedule, and ways to update your profile or renew your membership, change your password, etc.

I do get press releases, such as the one I posted yesterday on the Apolo News thread.

[susie]

You can also attend the USS meetings if you wish. I believe that they're semi-annual. I've been told that they are quite interesting -- you can sit in on individual committee meetings, and meet up with people afterwards. You learn a lot.

[debbief]

I have been a fan member for about 3 years. Just like Lori said, you do get some interesting publications and all of the press releases. If there are any GA members that have actually attended a board meeting, it would be great to hear the details.

[aaosmts19]

Annual Report of US Speedskating presented at recent board meeting.

This is a great read for all of us interested in the development of speedskating. It’s the USS Staff Report presented at the Spring Board Meeting, just completed this past weekend in Bethlehem, PA. Written by Robert T. Crowley, Executive Directory.

Here is the link: webpoint.usspeedskating.org/files/Event_PDFs/760_Event_OtherDoc4.pdf

It is, essentially, a recap of the season just past as it compared to 2006-2007, and the future of speedskating. Here are the parts of the document, and in () are my own comments.

Headquarters Operation and Staffing
(Survived staffing and other cutbacks that were due to financial situation.)

Financial
(Finances have been stabilized but still of concern)

Membership Development
(Grew from 1900-2300 this past year; membership categories revised to encourage people to join.)

Governance

Events and Competition
(hosted WC events after no hosting the year before; talks about WC in February was exceptionally well run, with sold out arena on Saturday night)

Broadcast Agreements

Webcast
(Major success, received well by fans and members; permission granted to USS by USOC to do this)

Vision and the Future
Subcategories are:

World and International Medals
(Skaters on the podium are a primary mission in order to ‘advertise’ to the up-and-comers and should help the base for the 2014 Games.)

USS Membership
(# of membership don’t accurately represent the # of speedskaters in the US; need to continue to reach out and support grass roots levels)

Program Development

Coaching as a Profession

Fundraising, Sponsorship and Financial Stability
(Area of primary concern, needing improvement)

Television and Webcasting
(Domestic webcasting provides opportunities for fan development. Initiative is essential for future growth in every area of the USS)

Headquarters Operation

It then includes the individual reports of program directors.

Guy Thibeault, High Performance Directory.
This is a great report, citing Accomplishments and Best Ever results:

(Accomplishments:
Successful move from Colorado to Utah.
Coaching staff finalized
Sarah Newman hired as trainer for the program

Best Ever Results:
1st overall world champion (men)
1st ever world team title (men)
3 men in top 8 at Worlds, 2 ladies in top 12
Full quotas for the 2009 World Championships (1st time ever)
45 “top 5” results in world cups or world championships (twice as much as any season in the past 10 years)
12 “top 5” results at the 2008 world championships, ranking USA 2nd best country in the world (after Korea with 14)
10 different skaters achieving a top 5 result this season
Most American records were improved

Next priorities:
Pad System
Dartfish specialist (relay training, others)

Also interesting nod to Nanna Meyer (nutritionist), whose cooking abilities were a huge plus to the ST team in China

The last sentence in Guy’s report is “We now have a world-class team that can expect to be the best in the world.”

Chris Weaver, Sport Development and Event Coordinator

Kori Novak, Director of Media and Public Relations
(A very interesting read, not only about the new website, Online Store, Media and PR, but also how she is working with the athletes to promote speed skating. PR campaigns to grow as athletes become more recognizable.)

Paul Brabants, Director of Business and Finance

Peri Kinder, Administrative Assistant/Membership Coordinator

Derek Parra, Inline Transition Director

Tricia Stennes, Short Track Head Coach Marquette Development Program

Ryan Shimabukuru, LT National Spring Team Head Coach

Jae Ju Chun, National Short Track Head Coach
(This was a very interesting read; it is basically a thank you note for support and hardwork. He indicates that there were problems with the beginning of last season due to philosophy, attitude and cultures between he and the athletes. As the season progressed they became more accepting of his ways, resulting in an increase in their physical performance.)

[mtnme]

Very interesting read aaosmts19. Very interesting indeed.

Is it just me, or was there a healthy amount of Chad and Tucker butt kissing, while other names were conspicuously missing?

Shani, Apolo, Ryan, Jeff, Jordan, JP, Katherine, Allison, Kimberly, Carly, Lana who?

[aaosmts19]

Apr 19, 2008 17:12:48 GMT -5 Lori said:

Apr 19, 2008 16:15:47 GMT -5 aaosmts19 said:

FOr $15.00 you can get what is called a 'fan membership'. They advertise "unique benefits" for members only, to include copies of their newsletters, magazines and other e-letters. You also get a login to a special area.

I was wondering if anyone has a membership and how do you like it? What kinds of information does the login provide? Do you get a subscription to "Blades", etc.

ANy specially-reduced tickets at speedskating events?

Thanks!

aao, I'm a fan member. No reduced rates or anything (at least not that I'm aware of). I do get some of the publications, which are fun to read. The members-only area is basically just the schedule, and ways to update your profile or renew your membership, change your password, etc.

I do get press releases, such as the one I posted yesterday on the Apolo News thread.

I signed up as a fan member yesterday. You're right about the menus in the login area...bare bones...when you go the member home page, it just tells you how to manage your account. A bit disappointing. However if you read in the Annual Reports just presented at the BOD in PA, you see how limited they were in funding and the struggle with the website, the newsletters and publications. So hopefully we'll see some improvements.

Also, when you sign up you can donate extra $$ to 1 of three funds, an education/scholarship fund, the general fund and a third (can't remember). It would have been nice if youcould click on each fund and get a description of how the $$ is used.

(I can't help myself...it's the software quality assurance engineer that comes out when I view sites...usability, readability, broken links)

Like I've noted, it is bare bones but the annual reports reflect where they've come and where they want to go with the website.

[sk8er]

The Annual Report is where you find the good stuff. Even better is to go to the Committee
Meetings, especially the Short Track Committee. You see who is moving and shaking and who is griping. For about the first time EVER they actually mention fans and the importance of developing them. Julia Agostinelli did a fabulous indepth report for them in 2003 on how to build and develop the fan base...it was File 13ed as far as I know. A waste of a professional PR person's donation. I'm glad to see someone up there is aware of webcasts...duhhh...and how they really bring in the fans who can't travel. Too bad we can't crack the Chinese Code!

[sk8er]

Just to put things in perspective, there are 10,000 CURLERS in U.S. Yes, there are. And they compete with speedskaters for ice time along with the ubiquitous hockey players. So you see what a small sport this is, and how we need every ounce of support we can get. By all means I encourage everyone to sign up as a fan, or even better start skating

[apolostarr]

I've always wanted to do curling. 10,000 is A LOT!

[aaosmts19]

A few weeks back I was going thru WCSN to see what was new over there, and it was ALL about the curling!

[aaosmts19]

While reading thru the proposed changes to be presented the board meeting, I came across a couple of interesting items:

1) Change the blocks to have little feet on them as a security measure:
Revision: Article IX, Track Layout and Measurements, Paragraph 8 Add a sentence to allow for the use of modified blocks with ISU approval.
Rationale: Blocks frozen to the track cause a number of falls when skaters hit them during short track races. Some of these falls can result in serious injuries (e.g. Mitchell Conley¡¯s fall after hitting a block in the 500m heat at North Americans in March of 2007 resulted in a broken tib-fib, requiring two plates and 16 screws to fixate). Experimental data shows that ISU standard blocks can require nearly 12 lbs. of force to remove after as little as 3 minutes on the ice. Blocks modified to reduce the bottom surface area by creating ¨Dfeet¡¬ showed an average 50% reduction of the force required to dislodge the block. This reduction should make short track skating safer by possibly allowing a skater to hit a block and continue racing instead of crashing.


2) Make the pads cut-proof to prevent skate blades from getting caught in them on impact. ouch, ouch, ouch, check out the video

"Revision: Article X, Short Track Padding Add Paragraph 5, Pads in high impact areas shall be draped with a cut-resistant material to prevent a skater¡¯s skate or blade from piercing the vinyl cover and getting caught in the foam. The high impact areas are defined as follows: Draw a line parallel to the blue line passing through the apex block, and the final block in the turn. The pads just before and after these lines, and all pads in between would be considered the high impact area.
Rationale:
A short-track speedskater achieves the highest speed just after the apex block in a turn. When falls occur in this area, the skater often hits the pads skates first, cutting the vinyl pad cover. In some cases, the cut can be so severe that the entire blade will penetrate the vinyl cover and the foam pad itself. This YouTube video from the 2007 US Nationals shows clearly what can happen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoirKa0Qzgc&NR=1. The video shows Anthony Barthell piercing a pad and badly twisting his knee, but luckily, he was able to continue in the meet. At the 2007 North Americans, Mitchell Conley pierced the pad and his skate completely embedded in the foam, immobilizing his lower right leg, while he continued moving, resulting in a broken tib-fib, requiring two plates and 16 screws to fixate. Susan d**e of Midland Speedskating measured the pad that Mitch crash into after the meet and found the following: ¨DOur pads are 8" thick, and there is a thin flimsy plastic between the foam and the vinyl covering the pads. The details: There are 2 slits; the first one is a few inches from the bottom of the pad, in the middle, is horizontal, and 22" long. The cut is about 2" deep into the foam for most of the length, but on the side towards the right when facing the pad, there is a deep V cut into the foam, which goes about 6" into the foam. The length of the short side of the V extends about 6" toward the top of the pad. The point of the V when we saw it was pushed into the foam and curled in, so there was a depression in the foam. We pulled it out and it fit back into the V shape perfectly. There was a spot along the 22" just past the deep V cut where there was hardly a penetration into the foam at all, and then the rest of the slit was about 2" deep. The second slit is higher off the bottom of the pad, almost to the middle, and is at a slight angle toward the first slit from the horizontal. It is 11" long, and is a bit curved as well. It pierced not only the vinyl, but a clear heavy plastic pouch that we put advertising signs in. It is about 2" deep, and it also has a V cut into the foam on the end that is pointing toward the floor (and the other slit). The length of the short end of the V cut into the foam is about 3", and the point of the V in this cut was also curled in toward the wall. The depth cut into the foam at the point of the V was about 4". The V's were cut into the foam, and not into the vinyl.¡¬
Draping the pads in high-impact areas with cut-resistant material would prevent these types of injuries."

[Lori]

This YouTube video from the 2007 US Nationals shows clearly what can happen: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BoirKa0Qzgc&NR=1. The video shows Anthony Barthell piercing a pad and badly twisting his knee, but luckily, he was able to continue in the meet.

OMG, that's our ANTHONY! What a tragic coincidence that one of the more bizarre crashes at the final AmCup this season also involved Anthony and the pads. He crashed and his arm/hand got stuck under the pads. He was uninjured, but because they stopped the race to free him, they didn't allow him to re-start - it seemed so unfair!

[aaosmts19]

DVD available:
The order form can be found here:
www.usspeedskating.org/pdf/12047340928032_DVD_ORDER_FORM.pdf
It's in a different place than ordering it from the Online Store, don't ask me why...

"Now you can purchase the US National Speedskating Championships & Short Track American Cup Finals on DVD! You can buy one, multiple or all races which are being webcast from the Pettit Center in Milwaukee March 7,8 and 9! To order, please download the attached form and email or fax to [e-mail] or 801-417-5361. This form may also be found under forms on the US Speedskating website at www.usspeedskating.org"


www.usspeedskating.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4&products_id=36

[Lori]

Aao, that's cool that we can buy those DVD's! Things are definitely starting to look up for the fans.

I forgot to answer you specifically about getting 'The Racing Blade' as a fan member of USS - yes, you do, and I just got my copy today. I scanned some pages y'all might find interesting.























;D Note Barry Winslow, JR Celski and Kyle Uyehara among the Class of 2008, and Jacqueline Chen, Sarah Chen, Skylar McCormick, Kirsten Todd and Ryan Bedford among the Age Group Champs! ;D