Blame the Norwegians?!?
Now it is time for me to have a little fun.
I recently had the opportunity to read some of the reports from the USS Spring Board Meeting, and I was happy to see some evidence that my writing may have had an effect. It must have been a painful pill to swallow, but I am glad that people seem to be waking up and taking a look at some of the things that are going on. For example, I'm glad that the USS coaches are realizing that it is important to use the data that is collected on their athletes to help EACH INDIVIDUAL athlete perform well, and that they deserve this kind of attention once they reach National Team level. (They also seem to be realizing how much more effort and education this is going to require on their part.)
The thing I really want to discuss in this post, though, is an accusation made by one of the US coaches, that....oh my heck!!! The Norwegians are stealing our intellectual property!
The three main things that the Norwegians supposedly stole from us are the Nike Swift Suits, the blade polishing method, and the cooperative team training atmosphere. Let's address these issues individually.
1. The Swift Suit: Yes, the Norwegians are also wearing Nike suits, but that is between Nike and the Norwegian federation and has nothing to do with US Speedskating. (Don't forget the Dutch, Chinese, Australians, and other teams that have deals with Nike.) Besides, by this time, practically every speedskating team has a racing suit made up of some sort of material that is more like vinyl than spandex.
2. The polishing technology: It is true that the mirror polishing technology developed by NASA and US Speedskating resulted in blades that glided farther when the skate was tested by sliding down a ramp, but how does that result actually transfer into speedskating performance? This technique can eat away at your edges if you don't use it properly, and many skaters choose not to use it. I know for a fact that Derek Parra did not use it in his world record performance in the 2002 Olympic 1500 meters because he had already screwed up a pair of blades trying the polishing procedure a few weeks before. Who knows how many of the Norwegian skaters actually use this method? Who knows how many American skaters use this method? It sure wouldn't be a convenient thing to do when you've stripped an edge in your 500 meters and only have an hour to sharpen your skates before your 1000.
3. And finally, the Norwegians apparently stole our cooperative team atmosphere. Where do I begin on this one? I can start by saying that my year training with the US Allround Team in 2003-04 was, without a doubt, THE WORST and most unpleasant year I have ever had, as far as team interaction goes.
"Eva!!! Is that your hockey stop on the outer lane?"
"I hate to skate behind you. You're out of step again." (Hey, sometimes a girl has to take an extra step in the straightaway...)
"I'm sorry, that was the last seat on the van. I guess you'll have to drive yourself to Butte." (Yeah, right, in my old Pontiac that keeps stalling?)
"I don't want to skate with Eva. Can I skate with that other group of guys?"
There were incidents of backstabbing. There were conflicts between men and women, which I could never understand, because men and women do not compete directly with each other. And, this year, there was a case of repeated teasing of one individual that tore him down so badly that he severely underperformed, and when the season ended he ran off to San Diego to live in his car for a couple of months.
Yes, I am sure that the Norwegians were just drooling at the thought of misappropriating the cooperative team atmosphere of the Americans!
From the other side, I know that the Norwegians have emphasized a positive team environment for years. If you've ever seen the old-school ISU training video starring Koss, Karlstad, and Sondral, you will know that in one segment, they go into detail on how important it was for their team leader, Geir Karlstad, to establish a positive team atmosphere. This video was made in the early 1990's, after Koss had won his first World Championship. I have also heard from Tor Snare Bakke that the members of the Norwegian team used to be required to say something nice to each of their teammates at each practice session.
So, now that I have ripped apart each accusation against the Norwegians, I'd like to ask the question, "Why are we picking on the Norwegians?" Maybe it has to do with the fact that they are coached by the extremely successful Peter Mueller, who was at one time rejected by US Speedskating. Or maybe it is because we were left with the unpleasant aftertaste of a Viking smackdown at the World Singles in Inzell. What did we expect? Whom did we expect to win on an outdoor track, in blizzard conditions? We should consider ourselves lucky that Grodum was sick.
One final point: Who was USS Program Director during the 4 years leading up to the highly successful 2002 Olympic Games? You have got to give the guy some credit.
It was Finn Halvorsen....of Norway.
Now it is time for me to have a little fun.
I recently had the opportunity to read some of the reports from the USS Spring Board Meeting, and I was happy to see some evidence that my writing may have had an effect. It must have been a painful pill to swallow, but I am glad that people seem to be waking up and taking a look at some of the things that are going on. For example, I'm glad that the USS coaches are realizing that it is important to use the data that is collected on their athletes to help EACH INDIVIDUAL athlete perform well, and that they deserve this kind of attention once they reach National Team level. (They also seem to be realizing how much more effort and education this is going to require on their part.)
The thing I really want to discuss in this post, though, is an accusation made by one of the US coaches, that....oh my heck!!! The Norwegians are stealing our intellectual property!
The three main things that the Norwegians supposedly stole from us are the Nike Swift Suits, the blade polishing method, and the cooperative team training atmosphere. Let's address these issues individually.
1. The Swift Suit: Yes, the Norwegians are also wearing Nike suits, but that is between Nike and the Norwegian federation and has nothing to do with US Speedskating. (Don't forget the Dutch, Chinese, Australians, and other teams that have deals with Nike.) Besides, by this time, practically every speedskating team has a racing suit made up of some sort of material that is more like vinyl than spandex.
2. The polishing technology: It is true that the mirror polishing technology developed by NASA and US Speedskating resulted in blades that glided farther when the skate was tested by sliding down a ramp, but how does that result actually transfer into speedskating performance? This technique can eat away at your edges if you don't use it properly, and many skaters choose not to use it. I know for a fact that Derek Parra did not use it in his world record performance in the 2002 Olympic 1500 meters because he had already screwed up a pair of blades trying the polishing procedure a few weeks before. Who knows how many of the Norwegian skaters actually use this method? Who knows how many American skaters use this method? It sure wouldn't be a convenient thing to do when you've stripped an edge in your 500 meters and only have an hour to sharpen your skates before your 1000.
3. And finally, the Norwegians apparently stole our cooperative team atmosphere. Where do I begin on this one? I can start by saying that my year training with the US Allround Team in 2003-04 was, without a doubt, THE WORST and most unpleasant year I have ever had, as far as team interaction goes.
"Eva!!! Is that your hockey stop on the outer lane?"
"I hate to skate behind you. You're out of step again." (Hey, sometimes a girl has to take an extra step in the straightaway...)
"I'm sorry, that was the last seat on the van. I guess you'll have to drive yourself to Butte." (Yeah, right, in my old Pontiac that keeps stalling?)
"I don't want to skate with Eva. Can I skate with that other group of guys?"
There were incidents of backstabbing. There were conflicts between men and women, which I could never understand, because men and women do not compete directly with each other. And, this year, there was a case of repeated teasing of one individual that tore him down so badly that he severely underperformed, and when the season ended he ran off to San Diego to live in his car for a couple of months.
Yes, I am sure that the Norwegians were just drooling at the thought of misappropriating the cooperative team atmosphere of the Americans!
From the other side, I know that the Norwegians have emphasized a positive team environment for years. If you've ever seen the old-school ISU training video starring Koss, Karlstad, and Sondral, you will know that in one segment, they go into detail on how important it was for their team leader, Geir Karlstad, to establish a positive team atmosphere. This video was made in the early 1990's, after Koss had won his first World Championship. I have also heard from Tor Snare Bakke that the members of the Norwegian team used to be required to say something nice to each of their teammates at each practice session.
So, now that I have ripped apart each accusation against the Norwegians, I'd like to ask the question, "Why are we picking on the Norwegians?" Maybe it has to do with the fact that they are coached by the extremely successful Peter Mueller, who was at one time rejected by US Speedskating. Or maybe it is because we were left with the unpleasant aftertaste of a Viking smackdown at the World Singles in Inzell. What did we expect? Whom did we expect to win on an outdoor track, in blizzard conditions? We should consider ourselves lucky that Grodum was sick.
One final point: Who was USS Program Director during the 4 years leading up to the highly successful 2002 Olympic Games? You have got to give the guy some credit.
It was Finn Halvorsen....of Norway.
posted by Eva at 4:36 PM
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