USAT AAC

Athletes,

Last month USAT decided to implement a new policy for the resident
athletes at the Olympic Training Center.

As of January 1, 2006 any athlete on the U19 Squad, U23 Squad and
the Resident Team may not also be a member of a trade team.

I questioned Libby Burrell about the policy and her reply explaining
the policy is below. I would like to know your feelings
on the issue. It will most likely be raised at the USAT Board
meeting next month. After reading the purpose of the policy in
Libby's explanation, please take the poll I am going to post on the
e-lite beat, and post any comments here.

Thanks!

-Victor

***

Hi Libby,
I have some questions regarding the proposed policy regarding trade
teams and resident teams for next year.

First- were any of the resident athletes consulted for feedback on
the policy?

Second, is the policy in regards to sponsorship or participation,
and does the policy limit a resident athlete's ability to seek any
sponsorship outside of USAT's sponsors, or does it only apply to
trade team sponsorship?

Third, if a trade team accepts a resident athlete and allows that
athlete to use and endorse the USAT sponsors would that breach the
policy?

Since a trade team serves two purposes - 1) a marketing purpose and
2) a tactical purpose, the USAT policy restricting participation on
trade teams in regards to sponsorship would not necessarily conflict
with the trade team's tactical purpose. The less clearly
defined "best interest of the development of the athletes," implies
that trade teams limit an athlete's development. Can you explain
why you feel that is the case?

I look forward to your reply,
Victor

From: "Libby Burrell" <libbyburrell@earthlink.net>
Subject: RE: Trade Teams and Resident Team and Squads
Date: Mon, 10 Oct 2005 11:50:29 -0600

Victor and All

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to explain the aims and
objectives of the USA Triathlon Resident Program. I will restrict
this discussion to matters pertaining to the Resident Program as it
was this aspect that was in question in Victor's email.

Over the years the program has evolved into a program that services
many athletes at varying stages of their athletic development but
still with the ultimate objective being the Olympic Games. As this
is a USOC initiative we ascribe to their philosophy of all OTC
programs being athlete centered and coach driven. It is with this in
mind that the coaches developed various levels within the Resident
Program as follows:

Resident Team: This is a year round program where athletes apply on
an annual basis and are accepted based on performance; potential and
willingness to work within the scope of the program that provides
the athletes with year round coaching; technical support and sport
science and medicine. USOC allots us 12 on campus slots and 4 off-
campus slots per year and monthly reports on athlete's training and
racing progress is submitted to the USOC on a monthly basis. All the
athletes on the Resident Team are coached and managed by the
resident program staff. This is a "TEAM" in every sense of the word
and the athlete's race and train as a group with the ultimate
objective still being the maximizing of each athlete's individual
potential in a systematic and progressive way. This system has been
slow to evolve but the success of the program over the past season
has inspired the staff/coaches to develop this concept even
further. The success of the U23 Squad and the U19 Squad this past
season goes without saying and the lessons learned there will be put
into good use as we progress through the rest of the quad. The
Coaches and Technical staff have developed a system of scouting
reports for all races and strategy and tactics for the group are
developed around these reports. With this in mind we feel it is best
to not allow members of the Resident Team to race for another team
as it could be likened to a college swimmer racing for two college
teams in one season. Quite simply this would not work and be
confusing to the athlete and to the coaches working for the
athletes. Realizing that all athletes need product and sponsorship
support we have also managed to obtain several sponsors to support
the athletes BUT we still allow them to honor their own sponsors if
they have them. A marketing and sponsorship team at USAT will assist
with this process and has already been very successful in signing a
number of new sponsors.

National Team Members (Gold): Gold National Team Members also elect
to be part of the Resident Program but have the freedom to train
with their own personal coaches if they wish. Right now (and in
2006) Andy Potts and Hunter Kemper are part of this section of the
program. They are excellent role models for the rest of the program
and their presence is an inspiration to all that train at the OTC.
If they choose to be part of the Resident Team they are more than
welcome to do so and in fact this was the choice that Joe Umphenour
made for himself. Some National Team Members choose to arrange short
term stays primarily to meet a specific training need at a strategic
time within their annual plan (Susan Williams has chosen this option
on many occasions) while others plan visits to enable them to work
with the service providers at the USOC (sports medicine or sport
science). National Team Members who choose to not be part of the
Resident Team may race for any team they wish.

Emerging Athlete Program (Short Term Residency): The Emerging
Athlete Program is a short term program that allows athletes
(irrespective of their affiliation) to access the facilities for as
short or as long a time as they can afford to spend at the OTC.
Athletes apply for this program and the dates and duration of their
stay is jointly determined by the athlete and the National Team
Program Director depending on the athlete's individual needs. Some
athletes select to join us at our winter destination in Chula Vista
and others select to spend some time up at altitude in Colorado
Springs. This year we have catered to a cross section of athletes
ranging from Olympic Gold medalist in swimming with no prior
triathlon experience to athletes on the verge of making the National
Team such as Julie Swail. We also supported young athletes through
rehabilitation such as Sarah Groff. This section of the program has
been a great addition to the Resident Program as a whole as it
provides access to a diverse cross section of the Elite athlete
community and exposes us to these athletes so we can get to know
them better and it also affords the athletes with a great
opportunity to meet their specific needs at a time of the year they
can work into their annual program.

With the above in mind I am sure you will all be able to appreciate
how accessible the program is and how far we have come over that
years to address the needs of a larger cross section of the
community. The decision to embark on this type of program came from
feedback we were given over the years from coaches and athletes
alike. USOC also encouraged us after their review of the
organization to allow the National Program Director to develop
programs in the interest of growing and developing the program. I
believe over the years I have taken that lead and for the most part
believe we have made progress in the right direction. Our goal is to
develop a program that will allow each athlete to develop to their
full potential and since each athlete has very specific needs the
program was developed to allow for this diversity. I believe we have
achieved this now.

I trust that I have answered all the questions asked within this
explanation of our program

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posted by andy  # 4:07 PM