 |
|
|
|
To submit a news item send an email to press@mountainnews.com. The Industry Report is published by Mountain News Corp., which also publishes OnTheSnow.com Editor-In-Chief: - Craig Altschul Executive Editor: - Roger Leo President & Publisher: - Rob Brown Managing Director: - Chad Dyer Advertising Information: - sales@mountainnews.com Subscriptions:
Archives: - September 2009 - August 2009 - July 2009 - June 2009 - May 2009 - April 2009 - March 2009 - February 2009 - January 2009 - December 2008 - November 2008 - October 2008 Recent Posts: |
|
|
« Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » Tough Times Affect Everything: Even The Ski Team In An Olympic YearBy Roger Leo 
"I think they're going to get through 2010 OK, but where the team is really going to feel it is further down the road, for the next Olympic Games," Pam Fletcher, a charismatic retired member of the U.S. Ski Team, an Olympian, and now an executive at Nashoba Valley in Mass., a family-held ski area, told The Industry Report. "When I was racing, there were four-year agreements to carry through the Olympics, not only the private and corporate donations, but also the team sponsorships. Some of the budgets got cut, I'm sure, because companies say, 'Our budgets are being cut and we can't afford XYZ.' The first few years after these Games will be really tough; 2011, 2012 will be the toughest years, and certain expenses will have to go away," Fletcher said. Industry Report conversations with current and former Olympians, the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association's long-time spokesperson Tom Kelly, and others close to the often-tumultuous world of on-the-snow competition, suggest some of the current stress is normal. They attribute it to the usual ferment always present in this high-pressure, personality-driven arena less than a year away from when the sports are in the media spotlight again. Tensions are heightened by the impact of a sliding economy on skiing and snowboarding programs. USSA's budget is $24 million, which it uses to support ski and snowboard teams comprising about 175 athletes as well as development programs involving 30,000 USSA members across the country. The organization also just opened its $22.5 million Center of Excellence in Park City, built to give athletes a state-of-the-art training facility that makes available the latest and best information on nutrition, training, evolution, and development. All this takes considerable funding, which comes in the form of contributions from individuals, companies, and organizations such as the U.S. Olympic Committee, which itself relies on philanthropy. Kelly said USSA took steps beginning last fall to limit economic distress to administration rather than athletes, when the seriousness of the slide had become apparent. Even so, Kelly said, the organization came up about $100,000 short of its "significantly reduced" budget goal. Regardless, observers point out that some cuts do affect athletes. That's where the tough love comes in. For example, USSA has dropped the U.S. Women's Ski Jumping Team for the coming winter. Women will not be jumping at the 2010 Olympics. Top American jumper Lindsey Van and 13 others have appealed a recent Canadian court's decision that the 2010 Games can proceed without a women's ski jumping event. The USSA dropped a portion of the Whistler Cup Race this past winter, a championship for 11- and 12-year-olds, after 20 years, as too expensive, and substituted the less costly Can Am Race at Sugarloaf in mid-April for youngsters in that age group from the Eastern United States and Canada. The U.S. Women's A Team this year has but two members – top ski racers Lindsey Vonn and Julie Mancuso. The Women's B Team is replete with talent, but A Team members receive a higher level of support, said a source who did not want to be named. The men's A Team has eight members. Also, the U.S. Cross-country team dropped from 18 members to 11, a move driven by athletic ability, according to Kelly. Fletcher stressed the vital importance of financial support for U.S. ski and snowboarding programs, and the potentially disastrous impact of cutbacks in charitable giving. She said it can cost six figures a year to keep a top athlete in world competition. "It's really expensive, with health insurance, entry fees, lodging, food, training, travel, time on the road, and vehicles," she said. If it's tough for USSA-sponsored athletes, Fletcher said, it's even tougher for an independent such as Bode Miller, who raises money without a full-time fundraising staff. "I can only imagine how difficult that is," Fletcher said. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Ross Powers, in the hunt for a spot on his third Olympic team, stressed the excitement of top-level competition, the explosion in numbers of snowboarders, and the speed with which riders can progress to the top of their sport – as long as they have the financial support to train, travel, and live. "Every Olympic year is a big year," Powers said. "Everyone is working hard and putting it all on the line, trying to be at top of their game, working on the mental side of the game, a little more serious and intent than in a normal snowboard year." What It Means Amateur sports aren't likely to get a bail-out and certainly are not a target for government takeover. Private philanthropy remains the backbone of America's national programs. It hurts a bit more publicly during an Olympic year when the Games happen to be just across our northern border. Balancing urgent current needs against the task of ensuring a steady stream of successful athletes in years to come is not an easy task, but one that faces everyone who cares about winter sports. « Previous Story | The Industry Report Home Page | Next Story » |
|
