USAT AAC

Hey folks,

As your USOC AAC rep I attended the USOC Olympic Assembly last
weekend in Phoenix, AZ. There were two panels presented - one on
doping (panelists were the head of USADA, a lawyer who represents
athletes, Howard Jacobs, and banned sprinter Kelli White) and one
from the corporate sponsors of the USOC representing NBC, GE,
McDonalds, Visa, and Bank of America.

There was a presentation for the USOC athletes and Teams of the
year, and the awarding of the medal of the Olympic Order to swimmer
Shirly Babashoff who won 8 swimming medals in 1972-76, 7 of them
silver to East German women who were later exposed as steroid
users. Mike Eruzione of the 1980 Olympic Hockey team gave an
interview and spoke of the experience. The new USOC Board was
presented (10 members compared to the previous 120+ member board),
and Jim Scherr (wrestling) was announced as the USOC CEO.

The AAC met and voted on two things: who would be the Athlete
Services Coordinators for the upcoming World University Games and
Winter Olympic and ParaOlympic Games, and who would be the Athlete
representative to the US Olympic Foundation Board of Trustees. There
are two athlete representatives serving overlapping 4 year terms.
Nick Becker (former AAC member - volleyball) is currently beginning
his 3rd year on the USOF. This is an extremely important position as
the assets under management of the foundation are quite
significant. Henry Filter (sailing) won the second position after
recommendations from the selection committee.

It was emphasized that new ideas are welcome on how to make the
Olympic movement more successful. The new board promised to be more
responsive to suggestions since it is a small and cohesive group.

Those are the highlights, but if you have any specific questions
please don't hesitate to ask.

In addition, I received a message today from Jim Scherr which stated:

"1. The USOC will double the amount of direct athlete funding it
provides to America's Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls effective July
1 and for the remainder of 2005. Athletes eligible for the
increased direct funding are those who meet approved international
performance standards as established by the USOC and the athletes
National Governing Body.

We are extremely pleased that our organization can offer this
support to America's athletes, and we believe it will positively
translate on the field of play.

2. The USOC will eliminate base funding for National Governing
Bodies effective 2006. To ensure there is no misunderstanding about
what this means, we want to be clear. While it is true NGBs will no
longer receive guaranteed funds in the form of a base dollar amount,
the dollars still remain for NGBs in a pool format. Under the new
system, NGBs will be awarded funds based on the USOC’s review of
the NGB’s performance and programs. In some instances NGBs will
receive more dollars, and in other cases less, but all funding
decisions will be based on a thorough review by the USOC."

-Victor

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posted by andy  # 2:56 PM