OFF THE ICE
MAKING THE WHEELS OF SPORT TURN Executive Director’s Update By Mark Greenwald
In a recent
conversation at a Thanksgiving Eve dinner one of the USS Staff
hosted, I had the opportunity to chat a bit off-line with some of our high per- formance athletes. During the discus- sion, one question I asked was, “Do you notice any change in the sport or your day to day activities with the ef- forts we’ve made in USS over the past year?” I was somewhat surprised by the frank answer I was given, and that was in short “no”. I thought about that discussion quite a bit, considering my own experience as an athlete in this sport, and eventually came to two con- clusions; either we really aren’t making or haven’t made any progress over the past year or, in fact we have, but haven’t done as good of a job communicating and helping athletes and membership understand what that difference is and what we are trying to do. While we intend to circulate a dra business plan to the USS Board of Di- rectors this spring to help the orga- nization be more aware of our plans, I thought it might be helpful to share with the general membership, a bit about the direction I feel we are head- ing, and the “why” behind it. Much of the work that needed to be
done over the past 18 months has been “in the basement” so to speak, and around the foundation where it is not as noticeable. In order to build upward and higher however, one has to begin with a sound foundation, and the infra- structure to support the weight of what you intend to construct. Some of you have heard me present
at the USS Board meetings, about my experience with structures that support the successful advancement of ama- teur sport. Distilling it down, I believe
our story of sport begins with a per- formance or experience that is special, whether that be an Olympic gold medal or special skating experience worth sharing with others. Unfortunately, companies and sponsors tend to invest in the former vs. the latter, but never- theless, there is room for both. Once we have that “performance or experi- ence” we want to share it, so as many as possible are aware, and can partake in it. This is done in the form of an out- ward communication, possibly through a variety of media or means, that reach- es as many people as possible. When people feel strongly about something they hear or see, they oen want to get behind it, and that is why marketing is an important next step. We try to turn our marketing initiatives into resources in various forms, that can be used to advance our programs, events, and initiatives that can advance our goals. This in turn creates oppor- tunities for our athletes and members to compete, participate and create more special stories and experiences worth sharing. I have seen this concept work in practice, and it is one I strongly believe in. Do it right and it tends to snowball in a positive direction for all concerned. Leave out any major piece of this “wheel,” and, it doesn’t roll very well, as an important component of why it works is missing. This is why we have spent a great deal of time getting the right people on board with USS and in the right places within the organization. Obviously, this can take some time. Another part of this initiative that
we’ll likely need to focus on, is with regard to two additional concepts, probably better practiced in business than in sport, but also important for us to consider, and that is the “product” and the “package”. I doubt athletes or members see themselves in this way,
and I hate to sound so clinical, but our athletes are basically the product we are trying to market to both media, spectators and sponsors. If the product is of good quality,
which based on the amazing skating performances we have, I’d suggest it is then the other important part is the look in how we wrap that up, “the package”. Personally, I believe as many of you do, that we have a great prod- uct. Where I believe we can be better however, is with regard to the package. Some items that might be relevant here are things like having “highlight times” during competitions where the finals happen, so spectators don’t have to sit through 8 hours of skating to see them. Yes, I know we want people to like skating, but it is doubtful they will become as fanatical as we are. We are also socialized to consume sport in a professional sport model, which gen- erally consists of about 2.5 hours of viewing, give us more than that, and we don’t consume it as well, we get impa- tient/distracted. Another aspect of the package is
look and feel. This relates to every- thing from what the officials wear, what the rink looks like, to the uniform and appearance of those who repre- sent our teams. As our teams also represent our sponsors, their look is very important and can either encour- age partners to give more or discour- age them, and to look for somewhere they’ll be better represented. An ad- ditional item that is of importance is with regard to our communication and outreach. Expect to see a lot more press conferences in the future of USS, with our athletes and sponsors prominently showcased. We have already begun to make such things a reality, and you can expect to see a lot more as we go forward! n
www.usspeedskating.org Winter 2012 RACING BLADE 5
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