Why WHIP will fail:
1. WHIP (the U.S.O.C. and USA Rollersports-funded "Wheels on Ice Program") thinks they're going to "find the next Chad Hedrick." What are the real odds of this? At the time Chad switched from inline to ice speedskating, he had won something like 25 world titles in inline. WHIP has thus far not been able to attract inliners of this caliber. Second of all, Chad had played ice hockey as a kid, so unlike pretty much all the other inliners, Chad already knew the feel of a blade on ice.
2. WHIP will fail in the short term because it is unlikely that their skaters will have time to get ready to be medal contenders by 2010. As an example: Jessica Smith is a world championship podium-level inline skater, and it is taking her some time to climb the rankings in ice speedskating.
3. WHIP will fail as a long-term plan because it actually is a band-aid solution that is supposed to take the place of a long-term plan to save speedskating in America. In reality, it is nothing more than an excuse to allow the destruction of ice speedskating infrastructure to continue along its current path.
4. WHIP will fail because it IS NOT IN FACT THE BEST WAY to choose the best possible medal contenders for the Vancouver Olympics. How likely is WHIP to produce a 3K skater who will go 4:05, as ice skater Maggie Crowley did in her very first World Cup performance last year at age 19? How likely is WHIP to produce a 1000-meter skater who will go 1:17, like ice skater Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. did last year, at age 18, without even training specifically for that event?
Four years ago, I was a talented ice speedskater with a great deal of potential who was rejected by USSPEEDSKATING. I will not stand here and watch the same thing happen to others. Do you know what an awesome feeling it is for me to be able to take all of the U.S. Team clothing I've earned over the years and shove it into a box way back in my storage closet, all the while being 100% confident in the knowledge that it is not in USSPEEDSKATING's or the U.S.O.C.'s best interest to have mistreated an athlete like me, and to feel sorry that during my competitive career I never had the PRIVILEGE of working with someone of the caliber of those top international coaches and program directors who had said they would LOVE TO work with an athlete like me?
Peter Mueller, whose last words to the USS administration years ago (before he left to seek employment elsewhere) were, "Go fuck yourselves," said it was a shame that I quit speedskating just as I was starting to get good. Well, too bad! I can't afford to do this any more. When I skated a 16th-place time in the 1000 meters at the 2005 World Cup final, on ice conditions that were disadvantaged compared to the rest of the Top 20, I came home to a monthly stipend of $140 a month. Now, Derek Parra is telling me that "inline skaters are the future..." and implying that ALL THEY NEED IN ORDER TO PROVE THEY'RE BETTER THAN ME IS MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE SUPPORT I EVER GOT.
Derek, if I went to the Home Depot, I'm reasonably sure I could trust you to explain the relative advantages and disadvantages of laminate, hardwood, and bamboo flooring, but you have FAILED to explain to me why inline skaters are CATEGORICALLY BETTER than ice speedskaters. Perhaps you'd like to ask Chris Witty, Casey Fitzrandolph, Kip Carpenter, Shani Davis, and Tucker Fredericks about their experiences on wheels? Perhaps you'd like to go up to athletes like Paul Dyrud, Mike Blumel, Tyler Goff, Maria Lamb, and Matt Plummer and tell them what you told me to my face: That it's too bad that this sport has passed them by, because inliners are the future.
This whole situation reeks.
1. WHIP (the U.S.O.C. and USA Rollersports-funded "Wheels on Ice Program") thinks they're going to "find the next Chad Hedrick." What are the real odds of this? At the time Chad switched from inline to ice speedskating, he had won something like 25 world titles in inline. WHIP has thus far not been able to attract inliners of this caliber. Second of all, Chad had played ice hockey as a kid, so unlike pretty much all the other inliners, Chad already knew the feel of a blade on ice.
2. WHIP will fail in the short term because it is unlikely that their skaters will have time to get ready to be medal contenders by 2010. As an example: Jessica Smith is a world championship podium-level inline skater, and it is taking her some time to climb the rankings in ice speedskating.
3. WHIP will fail as a long-term plan because it actually is a band-aid solution that is supposed to take the place of a long-term plan to save speedskating in America. In reality, it is nothing more than an excuse to allow the destruction of ice speedskating infrastructure to continue along its current path.
4. WHIP will fail because it IS NOT IN FACT THE BEST WAY to choose the best possible medal contenders for the Vancouver Olympics. How likely is WHIP to produce a 3K skater who will go 4:05, as ice skater Maggie Crowley did in her very first World Cup performance last year at age 19? How likely is WHIP to produce a 1000-meter skater who will go 1:17, like ice skater Nancy Swider-Peltz Jr. did last year, at age 18, without even training specifically for that event?
Four years ago, I was a talented ice speedskater with a great deal of potential who was rejected by USSPEEDSKATING. I will not stand here and watch the same thing happen to others. Do you know what an awesome feeling it is for me to be able to take all of the U.S. Team clothing I've earned over the years and shove it into a box way back in my storage closet, all the while being 100% confident in the knowledge that it is not in USSPEEDSKATING's or the U.S.O.C.'s best interest to have mistreated an athlete like me, and to feel sorry that during my competitive career I never had the PRIVILEGE of working with someone of the caliber of those top international coaches and program directors who had said they would LOVE TO work with an athlete like me?
Peter Mueller, whose last words to the USS administration years ago (before he left to seek employment elsewhere) were, "Go fuck yourselves," said it was a shame that I quit speedskating just as I was starting to get good. Well, too bad! I can't afford to do this any more. When I skated a 16th-place time in the 1000 meters at the 2005 World Cup final, on ice conditions that were disadvantaged compared to the rest of the Top 20, I came home to a monthly stipend of $140 a month. Now, Derek Parra is telling me that "inline skaters are the future..." and implying that ALL THEY NEED IN ORDER TO PROVE THEY'RE BETTER THAN ME IS MORE THAN THREE TIMES THE SUPPORT I EVER GOT.
Derek, if I went to the Home Depot, I'm reasonably sure I could trust you to explain the relative advantages and disadvantages of laminate, hardwood, and bamboo flooring, but you have FAILED to explain to me why inline skaters are CATEGORICALLY BETTER than ice speedskaters. Perhaps you'd like to ask Chris Witty, Casey Fitzrandolph, Kip Carpenter, Shani Davis, and Tucker Fredericks about their experiences on wheels? Perhaps you'd like to go up to athletes like Paul Dyrud, Mike Blumel, Tyler Goff, Maria Lamb, and Matt Plummer and tell them what you told me to my face: That it's too bad that this sport has passed them by, because inliners are the future.
This whole situation reeks.
posted by Eva at 11:01 AM
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