Old School

When both members of the governing body and director of elite ski and snowboarding athletic programs place themselves in unfavorable light, in full view of the American public and sponsors large and small, the board of directors would be wise to take notice. Put the money donated for athletes toward supporting the athletes. Apparently individuals are getting rich from $10.00 donations yet can't find the money necessary to fund the athletes they are supposed to be working for. I suspect there are several dozen gifted and dedicated young MBA's graduating in June who are passionate about skiing and snowboarding, who would love nothing better than to turn the focus of this organization back where it should be. Write or call USSA officials, voice your concerns, and provide meaningful input. Our elite US Alpine Snowboard athletes deserve funding commensurate with their training and travel requirements. <O:p

I disagree that our input (and that of the New York Times) will not influence the outcomes of the upcoming meetings. And, yes, of course I agree, SSWSC and the dedicated, hard working coaches you mention have done a great deal for US Alpine Snowboarding in recent years. When both the governing body and director of elite ski and snowboarding athletic programs place themselves in unfavorable light, in full view of the American public and sponsors large and small, the board of directors would be wise to take notice. Put the money donated for athletes toward supporting the athletes. Individuals are getting rich from $10.00 donations yet can't find the money necessary to fund the athletes they are supposed to be working for. I know there are several dozen gifted and dedicated young MBA's graduating in June who are passionate about skiing and snowboarding, who would love nothing better than to turn the focus of this organization back where it should be. Write or call USSA officials, voice your concerns, and provide meaningful input. Our elite US Alpine Snowboard athletes deserve funding commensurate with their training and travel requirements. <O:p</O:p

U.S. Snowboarding Staff Jeremy Forster, U.S. Snowboarding Program Director 435.647.2079 jforster@ussa.org Abbi Nyberg, U.S. Snowboarding Program Manager 435.647.2081 anyberg@ussa.org U.S. Snowboarding Sport Committee Sport Committee Chairman Michael Mallon jusridn@yahoo.com USSA Eastern Chris Clark crdclark@gmail.com USSA Central Tom Casey TomC@americanagencymn.com USSA Far West Dylan Omlin d_omlin@yahoo.com USSA Intermountain Andy Gilbert andy@svsef.org USSA Northern Vacant, interested parties please contact anyberg@ussa.org USSA PNSA Hans Hibbard hans@mbsef.org USSA Rocky Mountain Paul Krahulec rockymtsb@ussa.org Athlete Representative Lisa Kosglow lkosglow@gorge.ent Athlete Representative Tricia Byrnes tbyrnes@radishdesign.com Industry Representative Marty Carrigan marty@boatechnology.com Coaches Representative Peter Foley pfoley@ussa.org IJC Representative Phoebe Mills phoebemills@yahoo.com USASA Representative Jason Toutolmin jason@usasa.org FIS Representative Bill Slattery weslattery@scisteel.com

U.S. Snowboarding Staff Jeremy Forster, U.S. Snowboarding Program Director 435.647.2079 jforster@ussa.org Abbi Nyberg, U.S. Snowboarding Program Manager 435.647.2081 anyberg@ussa.org U.S. Snowboarding Sport Committee Sport Committee Chairman Michael Mallon jusridn@yahoo.com USSA Eastern Chris Clark crdclark@gmail.com USSA Central Tom Casey TomC@americanagencymn.com USSA Far West Dylan Omlin d_omlin@yahoo.com USSA Intermountain Andy Gilbert andy@svsef.org USSA Northern Vacant, interested parties please contact anyberg@ussa.org USSA PNSA Hans Hibbard hans@mbsef.org USSA Rocky Mountain Paul Krahulec rockymtsb@ussa.org Athlete Representative Lisa Kosglow lkosglow@gorge.ent Athlete Representative Tricia Byrnes tbyrnes@radishdesign.com Industry Representative Marty Carrigan marty@boatechnology.com Coaches Representative Peter Foley pfoley@ussa.org IJC Representative Phoebe Mills phoebemills@yahoo.com USASA Representative Jason Toutolmin jason@usasa.org FIS Representative Bill Slattery weslattery@scisteel.com

Hardbooters: The USSA may cut the Alpine Snowboard Team at their meeting this week. As a result, our elite athletes, Tyler, Vic and Justin, may receive no coaching, support, or funding from the USSA (and the up-and-comers, Madeline, Trappy, Heather, etc. may have no US FIS races or US WC Team to “up-and-come” to). Members of the snowboard carving community throughout the United States have close ties to the athletes and we all enjoy the technical innovations they make possible. If we all voice our concerns and ideas to USSA top officials this week, it is possible to shape the outcome of the proposed budget cuts. "change the vibe of the world...one turn at a time". There has to be a workable solution - one that funds and supports our elite athletes who have dedicated their lives to their sport and enabling them to continue to compete at the highest WC levels, while continuing to encourage young athletes to follow their own dreams in the footsteps (or trenches or race course) of those who went before. Please, talk with USSA officials you know, and all of those you don't. <!-- / message --><!-- controls --> <!-- / controls --> <!-- this is not the last post shown on the page --><TABLE class=tborder id=post303842 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead>#2 <!-- status icon and date --> 3 Days Ago <!-- / status icon and date --> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt2 style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><!-- user info --><TABLE cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2></TD><TD noWrap>ncermak <SCRIPT type=text/javascript> vbmenu_register("postmenu_303842", true); </SCRIPT> Trench Digger </TD><TD width="100%"></TD><TD vAlign=top noWrap>Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: South Grafton, MA Posts: 1,540 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- / user info --></TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_303842><!-- message, attachments, sig --><!-- message -->My understanding is that there will be some funding for some elite level athletes, and that USSA will continue to support RTTC and Nor-Am races. There won't be a coach, Wax tech, or camps. In reality, This may turn out to better for the athletes. I am exploring what can be done to expand upon the support USASA gives (via the Pac-Sun Team) to alpine athletes who do not meet the criteria for support from USSA. The biggest obstacle is finding a significant sponsor ($25K-$50K) who believes in alpine enough to fund it. feel free to PM me any ideas or contacts. <!-- / sig --> <!-- controls --><!-- / controls --> <!-- message, attachments, sig --> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><!-- post 303842 popup menu --><TABLE cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead>ncermak</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vbmenu_option>View Public Profile</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vbmenu_option>Send email to ncermak</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vbmenu_option>Visit ncermak's homepage!</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vbmenu_option>Find all posts by ncermak</TD></TR><TR><TD class=vbmenu_option>Add ncermak to Your Buddy List</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> <!-- / close content container --><!-- / post #303842 --><!-- post #304184 --><!-- open content container --><TABLE class=tborder id=post304184 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=4 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead>#3 <!-- status icon and date --> 19 Hours Ago <!-- / status icon and date --> </TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt2 style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><!-- user info --><!-- / user info --></TD></TR><TR><TD class=alt1 id=td_post_304184><!-- message, attachments, sig --><!-- icon and title --> <HR style="COLOR: #3399ff" SIZE=1><!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->Nothing is set yet. Not a good idea to be complacent and hope it all works out well. I do hear you, but we need to keep a full court press going at this time to assure a positive result. Riders, coaches, racers of all ages, parents and supporters of Alpine Snowboarding: your continued input and support is extremely important. Call or message USSA officials today! <!-- / message --><!-- controls --> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Nothing is set yet. Not a good idea to be complacent and hope it all works out well. I do hear you, but we need to keep a full court press going at this time to assure a positive result. Riders, coaches, racers of all ages, parents and supporters of Alpine Snowboarding: your continued input and support is extremely important. Call or message USSA officials today!

Hardbooters: The USSA may cut the Alpine Snowboard Team at their meeting this week. As a result, our elite athletes, Tyler, Vic and Justin, may receive no coaching, support, or funding from the USSA (and the up-and-comers, Madeline, Trappy, Heather, etc. may have no US FIS races or US WC Team to “up-and-come” to). Members of the snowboard carving community throughout the United States have close ties to the athletes and we all enjoy the technical innovations they make possible. If we all voice our concerns and ideas to USSA top officials this week, it is possible to shape the outcome of the proposed budget cuts. "change the vibe of the world...one turn at a time". There has to be a workable solution - one that funds and supports our elite athletes who have dedicated their lives to their sport and enabling them to continue to compete at the highest WC levels, while continuing to encourage young athletes to follow their own dreams in the footsteps (or trenches or race course) of those who went before. Please, call USSA officials today!

Hardbooters: The USSA may cut the Alpine Snowboard Team at their meeting this week. As a result, our elite athletes, Tyler, Vic and Justin, may receive no coaching, support, or funding from the USSA (and the up-and-comers, Madeline, Trappy, Heather, etc. may have no US FIS races or US WC Team to “up-and-come” to). Members of the snowboard carving community throughout the United States have close ties to the athletes and we all enjoy the technical innovations they make possible. If we all voice our concerns and ideas to USSA top officials this week, it is possible to shape the outcome of the proposed budget cuts. "change the vibe of the world...one turn at a time". There has to be a workable solution - one that funds and supports our elite athletes who have dedicated their lives to their sport and enabling them to continue to compete at the highest WC levels, while continuing to encourage young athletes to follow their own dreams in the footsteps (or trenches or race course) of those who went before. Please, talk with USSA officials you know, and all of those you don't.