This is the best account of US Sailing Olympic that I know of... US Olympic is almost completely different from the organization that Dave loves to disparage.
YMMV.
From SA...
This is Bryan Boyd. I think we may have crossed paths at a regatta or two. I was a member of the team in the Finn Class from 2001-2010. I would like to speak to your comment about the 2010 coaching budget and tie it into what I think are some popular misconceptions about the ways the OSC "support" for our athletes has evolved. I was involved in three separate Olympic quads and there were some pretty stark differences in each. For clarity, I'll outline each quad and discuss what I think were some of the ways the OSC did/did not help the athletes. This won't be comprehensive , but I hope it addresses your illness over the budget figures you quoted.
Let me preface my analysis by saying I am not an apologist or insider looking to defend my buddies or cronies. I'm not a member of the Olympic Sailing Committee, and don't much care for the weather in Portsmouth, RI. I grew up in redneck Florida, live in California, didn't start sailing until I was 17, and I'm from a non-sailing family. Neither do I have an axe to grind over past or present injustices. I come at this from what I think is a fairly informed perspective and with a personal philosophy that abhors bitching because it takes time away from plotting my next move (on the race course or otherwise).
2004 Quad:
-No transparency in the process of getting either dollars or coaching.
-I campaigned full time and the only thing I knew for sure was the criteria for qualifying for the US Sailing Team.
-I got one grant check a year for around $500-$1000 and box of Nautica clothes.
-I never once enjoyed a day of coaching, provided or paid for.
-Other athletes got a LOT more than that, but I couldn't tell you for sure how they went about getting it.
-This system was fucked in a big way. I knew that they objectively didn't have much money, but I also had very little trust that the OSC was even doing what little they could be for us.
-I was at-best an upper mid-fleeter internationally
2008 Quad:
-Transparency and a coherent plan for acquiring funding starts to appear this quad.
-I actually didn't campaign full time, but I knew EXACTLY how much money was out there for EVERY athlete to go get and HOW to get it.
-I knew what what every other athlete got in terms of dollars.
-Some classes still enjoyed more coaching support than others. This was a bummer, but it was always explained to us that coaches were almost entirely paid for out of USOC money which mandated that it go to classes with the best medal chances. The OSC's message to athletes was "we know it sucks, we're working to get more money to spread the coaching support around more."
-I have still never enjoyed a single day of coaching this quad either.
-The system is improving, but the rest of the world is improving faster. At least I now have some trust in the OSC, I just wish they'd hurry the kiss up because I'm getting old and tired.
-I'm still just an upper mid-fleeter internationally
2012 Quad:
-Still transparent and coherent funding plan.
-There is a LOT more direct dollar funding available for the earning. You are still making a HUGE financial sacrifice to do this, but it's almost manageable.
-The OSC made good on the promise of more indirect money and turned into a ****-TON of coaching days for sailors. Does that money go into my pocket? No, it goes into the pockets of coaches that I couldn't afford to hire. For the most part, excellent coaches.
-I return to a full-time campaign because the one thing I could never afford on my own is now being poured all over me...coaching. Yes, I had to bootstrap my way to a minimum level of results in order to get that coaching, but life is tough and the resources still aren't limitless.
-The system is still improving, as is the rest of the world. I now have total trust that the OSC is acting in good faith. A LOT of game changing decisions have been made, and I suspect that some of those were wrong. That's the price you pay when you're running fast and going big.
-I make the jump to top-ten in the world rankings. I am winning individual races at every ISAF World Cup event and at the World's. Life, however catches up to me. I'm 35 with a world of responsibilities that have nothing to do with sailing circles around some blow-up buoys. I shed my tears and let go my dream. Where was this program and this opportunity ten years ago?.....
My point is this: I don't think spending the money they've spent on coaching is misguided, self-serving, or shady. It is athlete support; the kind we both would've killed for back in the bad ol' days. Ask any athlete whether they'd rather have another $30,000 cash each year or access to 150 coaching days shared with 2 or 3 of their teammates. Because that's the trade-off. The OSC chose coaching, and I think they made the right call. No one is getting rich coaching the US Sailing Team. $107K is a great salary for sure. It pays someone who has worked their way to the top of their industry to endure being constantly on the road, never seeing their family, and living in almost constant fear of their job. Whether or not an Olympic Committee Chairperson should be paid is a separate issue in my mind and a very reasonable concern. It would be great if someone old, wealthy AND RIGHT FOR THE JOB could do it gratis. Any volunteers? $125K is a big paycheck, but it's also a huge job. Dean took that $125K investment in his time (and it was/is a full time commitment) and turned it into a LOT MORE dollars for the program. That much is quantifiable and unassailable. As a budding entrepreneur, I'd happily hire any employee who returned over 10x on their salary (i'm pretty sure Dean's return was higher).
We need to do some serious root-cause analysis of the team performance in Weymouth, but let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Please don't make this about bashing some perceived Cult of Personality. If were that, then Dean wouldn't be leaving.
Cheers,
Bryan Boyd
