SKI TEAM FUNDRAISER---BY U. S. RACERS
It's a sad sign of unity. On Wednesday, October 10, the entire U. S. men's alpine ski team will host a fundraiser to help qualified racers get to the World Cups they have already planned to compete in---plans that are now in jeopardy.
The event is shocking on several levels, not the least of which is that it may mark the beginning of the downfall of the U. S. ski and snowboard teams.
Two months ago, the United States Ski and Snowboard Assocation (USSA), which is the governing body for both skiing and snowboarding, announced that it was drastically cutting funding for most of its athletes. The timing could not have been worse. Racers and snowboarders who had already qualified to compete on the World Cup level already had their travel plans made. Suddenly, they had to come up with more than $20,000 each for their racing expenses.
At the same time that skiers and snowboarders were told their money was being yanked, USSA was breaking ground on a new $26 million office building and training center, and spending nearly $200,000 on ski and snowboard tuning equipment.
The athletes on the U. S. team were so shocked and scandalized by the announcement that some were close to despair. Many of the promising ones heading up the pipeline will now have to beg for money or drop out of competition altogether.
That's when the guys on the men's alpine team decided to do something for themselves and their teammates.
A fundraising event called the "US Men's Alpine Golf Blowout" will be held at Jeremy Ranch golf course near Park City, Utah. The entire national team will be there, with rounds of golf played with the athletes during the day, a dinner and silent auction in the afternoon, and even games for the kids. Former ski team members and Olympians will attend in a show of support. Anyone wishing to "bid" on golfing with a current or former racer can do so on the fundraiser site: mensalpine.com.
One of the racers who will be there for meet, greet, golf and dinner is gold medalist Ted Ligety, who is one of USSA's few fully funded racers.
The release on the mensapline.com site says, "Money is being raised by and for the Men’s Alpine team to cover athlete expenses for 2007/08, an insurance and injury compensation initiative and special projects. Donations are made to "SFI Foundation" (not the USSA). Win and bid on new ski gear, memorabilia, great trips and more!"
A single golf package is $250 per person and includes dinner for one. A golf foursome donation is $1,000. Dinner alone is $100. All the money goes to the athletes.
Although the event has not received much publicity, everyone in the ski community already knows about it, and most intend to come. The USSA affair is causing much controversy and a lot of harsh emotions, mostly because it has been done at the same time that millions are being spent on new offices and a new training center.
At the same time, USSA has its own problems. The dollar has dropped and is still dropping, so athlete expenses now cost more. In addition, loans taken out for building expenses can't be used to fund athletes. But none of the highly paid management of USSA are cutting back on their own salaries or expenses to help the organization's athletes
This is not the first time USSA has tried to charge racers for their own expenses. It was also done in the early 90's, when America had a goodly number of promising ski racers. But they were distracted from their training by being sent out to beg for money. Those who didn't get it, didn't race. Their promise never had a chance to blossom. The result was that America's ranking in the Nation's Cup dropped from third to near the bottom, U. S. skiers couldn't even get to the middle of the pack, and the U. S. sank from being a skiing power to being a laughingstock.
As one racer said, "That is history. I hope we're not doomed to repeat it."