Post by sintha on Apr 30, 2006 15:48:56 GMT -5
Found an Interesting article....happy reading! 
Athletes unhappy with training, funding
By GARY D'AMATO
Turin, Italy - Led by stars such as Apolo Anton Ohno, Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis, U.S. Speed skating has become one of the most successful national governing bodies within the U.S. Olympic movement.
Short-track and long-track speed skaters combined to win 10 medals at the Turin Games and in the last two Winter Olympics have accounted for 21 of the Americans' 59 podium finishes, an impressive 35.6%.
Based on those numbers, one would assume U.S. Speed skating is an efficient, cohesive organization that knows how to train athletes and keep them happy.
That assumption would not be entirely accurate.
Some athletes are grumbling about the national team model used by U.S. Speed skating, saying it is outdated. The organization is at odds with several of its star skaters. And President Andy Gabel is pushing for significant changes in the way U.S. Speed skating conducts business.
Almost everyone in the sport agrees U.S. Speed skating is at a critical juncture and the organization most likely will undergo a transformation before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"I absolutely think this is a crucial time," said Joey Cheek, who won two medals in Turin. "I think speed skating is going to look different in a couple of years. We've been national team-centric and at some point we might have to look at it from an organizational standpoint and ask 'Is this the best model?' "
One of the problems with the national team model, according to some speed skaters, is its restrictive nature. Athletes must train in Salt Lake City under the national team coaches. If they leave the program to train under their own coaches, they forfeit all U.S. Speed skating benefits.
Olympians who train outside the program include Hedrick, Davis, Chris Witty of West Allis, Wis., and Catherine Raney of Elm Grove, Wis.
Witty left the national program last year after more than a decade of loyalty to U.S. Speed skating. She said the organization's recent emphasis on altitude training did not benefit her.
"I think we need to look at the structure," she said. "It's outdated now. The idea of one coach for distance skaters, one for sprinters, everybody has to stay with the national team . . . I think we've outgrown that."
Raney, who finished seventh in the 5,000 meters, would like to train in the national program. But because there are no women to push her in the distance events, she lives in Calgary and trains with the Canadian team. She gets no money from U.S. Speed skating and is subsidized by her parents.
"There are too many of us outside the program that are successful that don't receive adequate funding, don't receive what we should be getting," she said. "Look at Chad and Shani; those are two guys that are outside the program that aren't getting anything and they're the ones who are winning gold medals."
Some speed skaters are pushing for a pro team model, in which they would band together in small groups or go it alone and sell their own sponsorships.
"We talked about that 10 years ago," said former Olympian David Scrimshank, now a private coach. "We thought the sport was going to go pro and it would be like NASCAR. You go out and get your own sponsors."
KC Boutiette, a four-time Olympian, said he planned to try to put together and manage his own pro team, which would include athletes from other countries.
"It's going to happen no matter what, unless U.S. Speed skating steps up and starts paying the athletes like the professionals we're being shown as," Boutiette said. "We have to wear their sponsor (logos) all the time, yet the money seems to get siphoned through to other things."
Gabel, 41, a former short-track Olympian, said U.S. Speed skating had a $3 million annual budget. The money the organization takes in from sponsors - most notably Qwest and ADT - goes to developmental programs, staff salaries and expenses for elite athletes.
"We don't want athletes in our program to feel disenfranchised," he said. "We need them and they need us. But you can't have it both ways. You can't leave the program and get the benefits. It's not a menu. That's one thing athletes struggle with."
Top athletes in the U.S. Speed skating program receive a $550 monthly stipend from the organization and up to $1,850 monthly from the U.S. Olympic Committee, for a total annual income of $28,800.
"That's your top dogs," Boutiette said. "That's Chad, that's Derek (Parra), that's me, that's Chris Witty. I mean, $500 a month and you get that quarterly; you can't survive on that."
Gabel agrees it is time to take a hard look at the national team model. But he isn't sure the pro team model is the answer.
"In Holland, the guys are making serious cash," Gabel said. "That's a positive. The negative is that at the elite level, the sport is splintered. It's made the governing body weak. The Dutch aren't that good anymore."
The Netherlands won nine long-track medals in Turin.
Gabel stressed that athletes who strike out on their own would have to work closely with U.S. Speed skating in order to compete in World Cup races, the World Championships and the Olympics.
As for the athletes' complaint about the amount of money they receive, Gabel said, "It depends how you define compensation."
He pointed out that U.S. Speed skating covers all costs for its national team members, including ice time, coaching, medical support and testing, travel and accommodations. The team typically makes two trips to Asia and four to Europe each year.
"It costs about $100,000 a year for an elite skater," Gabel said. "If we didn't pay, they'd have to. You have two choices. You can worry about money or you can worry about skating. Most athletes choose to let us do it.”
He said the answer could be a team model that is performance-driven. The athletes would be on their own when it comes to sponsorships and expenses, but would be compensated handsomely for podium finishes in international competitions.
"Maybe we pay $100,000 for a gold medal at the Olympics," he said. "The USOC is moving toward being much more performance-driven."
Whether the model changes, Gabel said it was imperative for U.S. Speed skating to change the way it does business. Once run largely by volunteers, the unwieldy organization has become more streamlined during Gabel's 3½ years as president.
"We've given the staff more authority," he said. "It's a big change for our organization. I want this to be a true business. We need to start thinking and acting like a big-time organization."
To that end, Gabel wants U.S. Speed skating to reduce and eventually end its financial dependence on the USOC.
"One of our financial goals is to be independent," he said. "We're funded by the USOC. It was 60-40 when I got here and now it's 40-60. I want to be 100% self-funded. Then you control your own destiny."
Someday, Gabel said, he would like to see the organization run its own events, operate venues and perhaps even buy its own training center.
"Properties are huge," he said. "Maybe we buy the Pettit (National Ice) Center. Why not? We've got to start thinking outside the box."
Gabel met with officials from NBC last week to discuss televising future events, such as the U.S. Championships.
"I don't want any money (from the network)," he said. "Heck, they could have the commercials. Then you can go to a sponsor and say, 'Listen, we're going to get four hours on NBC. What's that worth to you?' "
But even with stars such as Hedrick and Davis, does speed skating have mainstream appeal in the United States?
"Speed skating will never be big in America," said Peter Mueller, a former U.S. Olympic medal-winner who coaches in Norway. "You'll have your little pockets here and there and the Olympics every four years, but there's too many distractions with hockey, baseball, basketball and football.
"If you win five Olympic gold medals like (Eric) Heiden, then they'll remember you a little bit."
Regardless, change is coming to U.S. Speed skating.
A new 15-person board of directors is to be elected in April. Gabel, who is unpaid in his position as president, doesn't know if he'll run again. There is unrest among the athletes.
"I believe we have to change how we do business in all facets," Gabel said. "The sport is like football before and after free agency. It's changed. We've got a lot of stars that have the ability to make a lot of money. We want to keep those guys around."
Athletes unhappy with training, funding
By GARY D'AMATO
Turin, Italy - Led by stars such as Apolo Anton Ohno, Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis, U.S. Speed skating has become one of the most successful national governing bodies within the U.S. Olympic movement.
Short-track and long-track speed skaters combined to win 10 medals at the Turin Games and in the last two Winter Olympics have accounted for 21 of the Americans' 59 podium finishes, an impressive 35.6%.
Based on those numbers, one would assume U.S. Speed skating is an efficient, cohesive organization that knows how to train athletes and keep them happy.
That assumption would not be entirely accurate.
Some athletes are grumbling about the national team model used by U.S. Speed skating, saying it is outdated. The organization is at odds with several of its star skaters. And President Andy Gabel is pushing for significant changes in the way U.S. Speed skating conducts business.
Almost everyone in the sport agrees U.S. Speed skating is at a critical juncture and the organization most likely will undergo a transformation before the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"I absolutely think this is a crucial time," said Joey Cheek, who won two medals in Turin. "I think speed skating is going to look different in a couple of years. We've been national team-centric and at some point we might have to look at it from an organizational standpoint and ask 'Is this the best model?' "
One of the problems with the national team model, according to some speed skaters, is its restrictive nature. Athletes must train in Salt Lake City under the national team coaches. If they leave the program to train under their own coaches, they forfeit all U.S. Speed skating benefits.
Olympians who train outside the program include Hedrick, Davis, Chris Witty of West Allis, Wis., and Catherine Raney of Elm Grove, Wis.
Witty left the national program last year after more than a decade of loyalty to U.S. Speed skating. She said the organization's recent emphasis on altitude training did not benefit her.
"I think we need to look at the structure," she said. "It's outdated now. The idea of one coach for distance skaters, one for sprinters, everybody has to stay with the national team . . . I think we've outgrown that."
Raney, who finished seventh in the 5,000 meters, would like to train in the national program. But because there are no women to push her in the distance events, she lives in Calgary and trains with the Canadian team. She gets no money from U.S. Speed skating and is subsidized by her parents.
"There are too many of us outside the program that are successful that don't receive adequate funding, don't receive what we should be getting," she said. "Look at Chad and Shani; those are two guys that are outside the program that aren't getting anything and they're the ones who are winning gold medals."
Some speed skaters are pushing for a pro team model, in which they would band together in small groups or go it alone and sell their own sponsorships.
"We talked about that 10 years ago," said former Olympian David Scrimshank, now a private coach. "We thought the sport was going to go pro and it would be like NASCAR. You go out and get your own sponsors."
KC Boutiette, a four-time Olympian, said he planned to try to put together and manage his own pro team, which would include athletes from other countries.
"It's going to happen no matter what, unless U.S. Speed skating steps up and starts paying the athletes like the professionals we're being shown as," Boutiette said. "We have to wear their sponsor (logos) all the time, yet the money seems to get siphoned through to other things."
Gabel, 41, a former short-track Olympian, said U.S. Speed skating had a $3 million annual budget. The money the organization takes in from sponsors - most notably Qwest and ADT - goes to developmental programs, staff salaries and expenses for elite athletes.
"We don't want athletes in our program to feel disenfranchised," he said. "We need them and they need us. But you can't have it both ways. You can't leave the program and get the benefits. It's not a menu. That's one thing athletes struggle with."
Top athletes in the U.S. Speed skating program receive a $550 monthly stipend from the organization and up to $1,850 monthly from the U.S. Olympic Committee, for a total annual income of $28,800.
"That's your top dogs," Boutiette said. "That's Chad, that's Derek (Parra), that's me, that's Chris Witty. I mean, $500 a month and you get that quarterly; you can't survive on that."
Gabel agrees it is time to take a hard look at the national team model. But he isn't sure the pro team model is the answer.
"In Holland, the guys are making serious cash," Gabel said. "That's a positive. The negative is that at the elite level, the sport is splintered. It's made the governing body weak. The Dutch aren't that good anymore."
The Netherlands won nine long-track medals in Turin.
Gabel stressed that athletes who strike out on their own would have to work closely with U.S. Speed skating in order to compete in World Cup races, the World Championships and the Olympics.
As for the athletes' complaint about the amount of money they receive, Gabel said, "It depends how you define compensation."
He pointed out that U.S. Speed skating covers all costs for its national team members, including ice time, coaching, medical support and testing, travel and accommodations. The team typically makes two trips to Asia and four to Europe each year.
"It costs about $100,000 a year for an elite skater," Gabel said. "If we didn't pay, they'd have to. You have two choices. You can worry about money or you can worry about skating. Most athletes choose to let us do it.”
He said the answer could be a team model that is performance-driven. The athletes would be on their own when it comes to sponsorships and expenses, but would be compensated handsomely for podium finishes in international competitions.
"Maybe we pay $100,000 for a gold medal at the Olympics," he said. "The USOC is moving toward being much more performance-driven."
Whether the model changes, Gabel said it was imperative for U.S. Speed skating to change the way it does business. Once run largely by volunteers, the unwieldy organization has become more streamlined during Gabel's 3½ years as president.
"We've given the staff more authority," he said. "It's a big change for our organization. I want this to be a true business. We need to start thinking and acting like a big-time organization."
To that end, Gabel wants U.S. Speed skating to reduce and eventually end its financial dependence on the USOC.
"One of our financial goals is to be independent," he said. "We're funded by the USOC. It was 60-40 when I got here and now it's 40-60. I want to be 100% self-funded. Then you control your own destiny."
Someday, Gabel said, he would like to see the organization run its own events, operate venues and perhaps even buy its own training center.
"Properties are huge," he said. "Maybe we buy the Pettit (National Ice) Center. Why not? We've got to start thinking outside the box."
Gabel met with officials from NBC last week to discuss televising future events, such as the U.S. Championships.
"I don't want any money (from the network)," he said. "Heck, they could have the commercials. Then you can go to a sponsor and say, 'Listen, we're going to get four hours on NBC. What's that worth to you?' "
But even with stars such as Hedrick and Davis, does speed skating have mainstream appeal in the United States?
"Speed skating will never be big in America," said Peter Mueller, a former U.S. Olympic medal-winner who coaches in Norway. "You'll have your little pockets here and there and the Olympics every four years, but there's too many distractions with hockey, baseball, basketball and football.
"If you win five Olympic gold medals like (Eric) Heiden, then they'll remember you a little bit."
Regardless, change is coming to U.S. Speed skating.
A new 15-person board of directors is to be elected in April. Gabel, who is unpaid in his position as president, doesn't know if he'll run again. There is unrest among the athletes.
"I believe we have to change how we do business in all facets," Gabel said. "The sport is like football before and after free agency. It's changed. We've got a lot of stars that have the ability to make a lot of money. We want to keep those guys around."
