Monday, May 20, 2013

Hammertime at the Congress

The USSA Congress is absolutely nuts. It’s 5 days of back-to-back-to-back meetings that addresses every conceivable area of the sport of ski racing, from the width of a slalom pole (and the designation that it shouldn’t be referred as a gate) to the size of the collegiate quota for US Nationals if the NCAA champion doesn’t attend to disciplinary actions if an athlete at a USSA-affiliated camp uses marijuana in a state like Washington or Colorado after it is legalized (sorry hippies, it’s still a no-no) to my personal favorite, a request for more involvement with ski racing with Big Ten schools. I’m envisioning a night slalom in the Big House now...Add in the equally, if not more, important meetings and meals with the constituency, USSA coaches and officials, trustees, college coaches, etc., and it makes for a very involved couple of days. In all, the Congress was a fantastic experience and I think it was useful in creating policy to shape ski racing in the US in a more positive way.


Working with Chip Knight and Gina Gassman, the athlete reps to the USOC and USSA, respectively, we staffed many of the committees to hit the minimum 20% requirement of athlete representation as mandated by the Ted Stevens Amateur Athletic Act. I am now formally an athlete rep to following alpine committees: Executive Committee, Development and Education Subcommittee, Collegiate Working Group, Quotas and Selections Committee, and Judicial Committee. I’m told this is a lot of work, but each of these subcommittees is important, and I can’t think of one that I shouldn't be on. Besides, I sat in on each of these committees this year, many of them had 2 or even three sessions, so if I didn’t collapse this time then might as well keep chugging!

Also, it has been recommended that there be athlete representation on each regional board. The current alpine athlete reps and I have been asked to submit recommendations to the USSA to fill out these positions (we might even choose them, it’s yet to be determined). I think the idea of athlete involvement on the regional level is a great one, and necessary to ensure that the end-user of the product of USSA ski racing is being considered in every decision making process. One only needs to have competed in the last 10 years to be eligible, so I encourage any and everyone who takes the future of their sport seriously to contact me (charleschristianson@gmail.com) and I will explain in further detail what being an a regional athlete rep would entail, and all the ass-kicking that you can do with a voice and a vote.

One of the best parts about the Congress was the amount of engagement that the USSA officials expressed and wanted to have with myself and the other athlete reps. Scott Macartney said it best when he stated, “there is no ‘man behind the curtain’ at the USSA.” That is not to say that I agree with all of the policies of the USSA, we certainly have more work to do in a lot of areas, but I never experienced a moment where the opportunity to engage the appropriate people wasn’t available. Luke Bodensteiner, USSA Executive Vice President of Athletics, was very helpful in directing me toward which parties would best handle each concern that I brought forth on behalf of the athletes. Through this I addressed certain issues off-line, like billing practices for unfunded USST athletes, creating opportunities for collegiate skiers to train with the Team, and putting in requests to expand quotas to certain European January races that are historically oversubscribed.

In terms of formal motions put forth during the Congress, it was fitting that Gina and I sponsored a motion to support a student USSA license for USCSA athletes, specifically, "to support Student License with USSA and collegiate head tax component program for affordable collegiate ski racing”. The USCSA, a group of 178 colleges across the country boasting a 4,700 member group of largely self-organized, funded, and coached collegiate ski racers and snowboarders, left the USSA last year after a shift in the head-tax policy increased costs by a factor of 3-4 for each team in an effort not to price the teams out the sport. I, along with many others, believe that our sport’s national governing body is most complete when it represents all groups of the ski racing groups in this country. The task force charged with deploying the findings of the McKinsey report is going to take on assessing the viability of this proposed USSA license tier, from the cost structure to the access that this type of license will provide. I look forward to learning these findings and moving one step closer toward including the USCSA back under the umbrella of the USSA.

I want to thank everyone who helped me get up to speed and allowing me to be a more effective athlete rep than I otherwise would be. It was great to learn that many issues can be discussed in an open and productive setting, and I look forward to more opportunities to represent the athlete’s voice in these discussions. Time to do some serious follow up!


Monday, May 6, 2013

Gearing up for the USSA Congress


In a little more than a week the powers that be in US Skiing will meet in Park City, UT for the annual USSA Congress. The 5-day event is open to all USSA members and features meetings of sport committees and subcommittees, as well as the USSA Board of Directors. Here is a link to the schedule. Over the past couple of months, I have gotten the chance to meet or speak with a number of people involved in the USSA, most notably Dexter Paine (Chairman, Board of Directors), Bill Marolt (CEO), Luke Bodensteiner (Executive VP, Athletics), Darryl Landstrom (Chairman, Alpine Sport Committee) and various trustees, all of whom have have been helpful explaining the complexities of the USSA and what they see as the most pressing issues. I consider it a privilege to engage the top executives in the sport as the Athlete Rep on how to continue moving US Skiing in a positive direction and share the feedback that I have received from USSA members on this topic thus far.

My tentative schedule at the Congress is to serve on the Athlete's Advisory Council, the Board of Directors, and focus on the subcommittees and working groups within the Alpine Sport Committee that are most relevant to my role as Alpine Athlete Rep: the Development and Education Subcommittee, the Collegiate Working Group, and the Quotas and Selections Working Group. I have been in touch with the chair of all three groups to announce my intentions and learn the best way I can serve in these meetings. This may involve presenting in front of the group, or simply advising on issues, each group has their own format. 

As you might have guessed, navigating what committee or working group to sit on or speak at is no easy feat. A lot of the alignment of working groups and subcommittees has come under review, not just within the USSA but their regional structure and partnership with local clubs. The latter was  addressed in the McKinsey Study released a little over a week ago. The consulting firm proposed a more streamlined approach of governance in accordance with a best practice NGB model, as well as suggestions for improved communications and strengthened club and member value. I support any type of process that achieves these goals, and I am excited to see what the result of the actions the USSA takes to make this happen. However, I was disappointed to see that out of the 100 interviews performed by McKinsey, only 8 were with parents or athletes of the USSA. More alarming was the fact that this "perspective" of USSA stakeholders was not evaluated using traditional interviews, but through their own analysis of a 2012 USSA general survey. McKinsey also groups interviews with Board members and other USSAs who were parents or athletes into this bucket (I was not interviewed), bringing into question how relevant they saw this group in providing input toward building a better organizational structure. Therefore, it is all the more remarkable that the need for a broader communication with the members was still an outcome of this report. Also impressive is the fact that the USSA has already sought to implement these changes to strengthen the communication and transparency between them and the regional and club levels. It's good to hear that people are listening, should make for an interesting week!