[THE BUSINESS OF SPORT]


SUCCESS THROUGH


FUNDAMENTALS BY LAURIE LOPEZ


We have heard it said that for-profit business starts with people and ends with money, and that non-profit business starts with money and ends with people. Simply stated, yet true. As the governing body for the sport of Olympic weightlifting, our success in the fundamentals of business —


❱ vision and mission ❱ marketing ❱ product development ❱ sales and service ❱ quality control ❱ advertising & promotion


❱ finance management ❱ processes and systems ❱ technical acumen ❱ organization & management


❱ operational administration


— are all crucial to the success of our mission, which is “to achieve sustained competitive excellence in Olympic competition and to promote and grow the sport of weightlifting in the United States.”


To produce internationally competitive


athletes is a long and complex process, the results of which can be unpredictable and challenged by the human elements involved. Without professional oppor- tunities in the sport of weightlifting, our athletes need support in ways that can help them develop and reach their potential. To that end, USA Weightlifting’s Board of Directors has committed a mini- mum of five percent of USAW revenues to Direct Athlete Support and Development, soon to be identified for 2012. USA Weightlifting is beginning to see a


vision shift from the non-profit mindset to the development and common business practices used in the for-profit world. CEO John Duff, who joined USAW early in 2011, quickly recognized the need to formalize


programs in colleges, providing opportu- nities for youth athletes to continue train- ing after high school. With an extensive background in Broadcast Marketing, Duff is also focused on improving weightlift- ing’s exposure across the country. Another avenue to gaining more ex-


posure for the sport is through participa- tion in multi-sport events. The 2012 USA Weightlifting National Championships and Olympic Trials will be held in conjunction with the vastly popular and well-attended Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, March 2-4. There is little doubt that the popularity of weightlifting in the U.S. is largely attributable to this model being used in decades past. While in recent years we have experi- enced stagnant membership growth and


4 >> WEIGHTLIFTING.TEAMUSA.ORG


declining revenues, we are now seeing a tremendous interest in learning the Olympic lifts! Primarily taught on an organizational level through USA Weight- lifting’s


formalized Coaching Education


Program, plans are being developed to provide clinics for athletes to learn the basics of the lifts hands-on from other athletes and coaches. Ask any lifter with a heart for the sport,


and they will tell you that they are not in it for the money, but for the dream of competing in the Olympic Games on the international stage. As long as we have athletes who continue to strive toward that end, we must do all that we can to ensure a successful business that can completely and consistently support them. n


❱ risk management ❱ long-range planning ❱ sponsorship ❱ communication ❱ public relations


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