USATF Membership

I like the first sentence that the new chair lady talks about the average runner not knowing what usatf does etc. I have benn running for 17 years and am a member of the aggies/usatf, i work for a track and field company, my sister worked for a track and field company and I don't even know what usatf does. Fuck the average runner, start at the top. You don't see the average football player out promoting the sport or whatever. Enough of talking about the problem, just get it done.

Well, for one thing it would be nice to know what our USATF Card does for us??? What do we get for our $15? And why should some guy who is trying to break 40 minutes for a 10K need a USATF Card??

Seagate wrote:

I saw on the front page pole that only 33 percent of us tools are USATF members.

The only reason that I am a USATF member is that it allows me to participate in Grand Prix and team scoring for my running club. It's only 20 bucks so I don't really mind, though.

I was a member (TAC / USATF) for 15 years and paid about $200 or so in dues. What did I get for my money? Eight magazines and the chance to run in poorly attended track / cross country "state / association / regional" championships that attracted less than 50 participants.

Ever attended a national convention? Just a bunch of well intentioned has beens and "superfans" sucking up to the leadership, going to cocktail parties, and attending conferences on proposed rule changes regarding shot / discuss specifications for Bantam level throwers. Snooze.

Current athletes are not involved and probably don't have the time. The leaders only care about sprints and field events since they are high profile. The only other voice is youth athletics. Until the long time bureaucrats are swept aside and athlete interests (and that includes distance runners)are addressed, there's no compelling reason to join.

Oh yes, I nearly forgot...NEW MASCOT!

That speaks volumes about USATF.

Portland Runner,

All your stated reasons for USATF sucking are precisely the reasons why people should join. If your not a member, do you think you have any reason to complain about their lack of promotion for the sport or the fact that the new mascot was chosen by a bunch of ice dancers?

This is a little off topic, but when has that ever stopped anyone on this board...USATF XC Championships were held in Vancouver two years in a row. One reason given for the lack of fans at U.S. Championships is that it's held somewhere different every year, but Vancouver...Ft. Vancouver got the venue two years in a row. With that being said, you would think that they would have a great opportunity to publicize the event and really get some fan base built up. Here's a major competition being held in the same place two years in a row and a fan can get right up close and personal with America's best runners.

Well, that didn't happen. Local press coverage was less than pathetic and self promotion of the event was close to nonexistent. So, in that aspect, I agree with you, Portland Runner. Whoever we have managing the sport sure is doing a half-assed job.

Where do your $15 go? That's a good question, but whoever it was that asked this question has to realize the money's not going into some huge mutual fund. It's going to pay the salaries of USATF employees. It's going to pay the insurance for a select few U.S. athletes. It's going to a whole lot of different things and I think $15 is a small price to pay. It gets you into U.S. Championships and considering that I usually am able to get my race entry covered by the race organizers, I don't complain.

Portland Runner, you are right about what the national convention is all about, not much. It would be great to have runners and athletes more involved, but sometimes in the past I think that has backfired. I can think of more than a few runners who have been on LDR Boards (Womens and Mens), who have played favorites, acted selfishly and done nothing to advance the sport. We need athletes involved, but ones who know who how to run a business, not ones who see USATF as their place to carve out their little territory and work their expense account. And the higher ups at USATF care more for the sprints than distances. One time at the World Cup in Cuba I remember the team leaders being ticked off because the U.S. lost both relays and the 100. They didn't care about anything else.

I'm guessing that in most parts of the country, there isn't much incentive to join USATF, but here in Northern California, the Pacific Association puts on 3 Grand Prix Series for distance runners (Road, XC and Ultra), and a T&F Grand Prix as well. The team and individual competition is pretty good, and in order to score in these events, one must be a PAUSATF member.

Well worth the $20 a year for me.

A revolution is required to change the USATF. Who will lead that fight?

The best thing that athletes can do is form a union similar to professional athlete's unions. Then, athletes can set the agenda for all aspects of the sport. If USATF won't play, then the athletes (sprinters, distance, field events, roadies, etc.) can marginalize Masback and his cronies by not taking part in Golden Spike and other USATF competitions. As part of a collective bargaining unit, distance runners would have a greater voice in the process.

It seems like most athletes want the same things. Stronger doping controls, permanent national championship sites, better marketing exposure, more development dollars, etc. So long as athletes essentially remain independents, they cannot force USATF to work for them.

Similar situation in NJ. The USATF-NJ Association's New Balance-New Jersey Grand Prix -- a.k.a. the "Jersey League" -- is wildly popular among runners who will never get within a mile of running a 30:00 10k. Among other things, there are discounted entry fees for USATF-NJ members. There are races with prizes only for USATF-NJ members. Admittedly, being within a small state (geographically) helps.

I join every year, if for no other reason than when USATF's national association goes to solicit promotional partners like Nike, Visa, Pontiac, SoBe, etc etc, they have an enrollment figure -- a.k.a. "an addressable market" for potential partners -- that's larger by one. That helps (in a very small way) instead of doing nothing and is worth $15 to me even tho I no longer race.

There is a bit of backlash among some speedy guys who want USATF-NJ "to do more for them," but when I suggest going to their open-to-the-public meetings and offerign suggestions, the guys balk. It figures.

Isn't USATF responsible for certifying road courses, ratifying track meets, creating rules for both, etc.?

I don't think it's a great organization, but when a course is USATF certified, I assume somebody had to go out there and measure it... So that's at least one thing they do.

What I find most annoying about the USATF is that its pretty clear that the PAUSATF organizes the best road racing circuit in the country and has the most active membership. When was the last time we had a National Championships on the road? Other associations that don't do a damn thing are getting all the cherries. No fair.

As for measuring courses, there is usually someone form within the regional association who is qualified to certify courses and he/she more often than not is helping to put on the race in the first place.

one quick thought/question here. not that USATF can be equated with MLB, NFL, etc., but aren't most of those sports organizations run by realatively successful business leaders who might have an adequate understanding of the sport, rather than being run by sports folks who might or might not have an adequate understanding of business? admittedly, USATF might not have the $$ (at only $15 a pop) to hire someone away from a successful company, but it seems that they might want to hire a person with some type of success in running a company to do the thing. isn't it far more important that USATF officials be able to run an organization than simply run? i mean come on, the NBA has been wildly successful with david stern at the helm, but who is david stern going to dunk on? i've never been able to convince myself that i should join.

also, what say to the members have, if any in selecting who runs the thing? also, what is the real operating budget of USATF? could it possibly be that they're actually doing a decent job given the limited resources made available to them? i don't know - it's just a thought.

A lot of good points on this thread. Chiming in on two: I agree with Seagate about join it to change it. Reminds me of an old Zappa quote (paraphrased) something like, "If you don't like the military, don't stand outside the ROTC building throwing rocks. Walk inside, join up, and change it from the inside." It may be a highly flawed organization, but it's OUR highly flawed organization.

Second, I've gotta question any relevance the NFL or NBA might have to our situation. We're a blanket organization for an amateur sport, even if there is now some money at the top. The NFL and Pop Warner football leagues don't have the same governing body. A more analagous example may be something like US Figure Skating. Starts with the kiddies, but the upper levels of the sport are wildly popular. Perhaps other popular but similarly structured sports to ours may have more to teach us. And as far as youth programs getting a big say, great. That's where the future is. Much more so than coddling Master's runners or some similar waste.

But I'd sure like to see some awareness that the organization is not going to exist simply to let elite and near-elite athletes whine that the purpose of the organization ought to be to give them money. There just ain't enough in the till for that, folks.

Oh, and whoever said that players don't spend time promoting their sport in major sport leagues like the NFL must not be aware of the number of public appearances current players put in in their various cities in shopping malls and such. Why, when you go to JO Nationals, for example, aren't Marion and Michael and such folks just cruising around? Sure would wow an awful lot of kids.

Seagate, I don't think you get it. Take every athlete that is eligible to compete in the level of competitions that USATF offers right now, have them all pay dues (which they do, or they're not allowed to compete), and you don't pay the salary for more than what, 3 people? USATF has two choices: 1.) cater to the elite athletes, ala the NFL, and ignore the hoi polloi who run everyday but will never excel; or 2.) get hordes of people to join USATF by providing benefits such as all comers's meets, the track equivalent of football or softball leagues, etc., and use the hundreds of thousands of $20 dues to fund themselves.

USATF is focussing on the first option, partly because that's also their charter as a national governing body. But they aren't going to do the second one - I wrote Masback a few years ago about this, and he very nicely answered me less than a day later, while he was in Europe at World XC, and told me that USATF was taking approach 1.

So here I am, Joe Average, I'd run the 100m if I could (in 12 or 13 seconds, but I don't care, it's fun!), but there are no meets. Or just one. So I don't run track, I play basketball, cause I can find a game anywhere. And you want me to pay $20 so someone else can race? Or so kids can have track over the summer, but not me? And it's not called a charity?

Oh, and by the way, I'll pay to watch pro basketball, because I can relate to what those guys do on the court - I do the same thing.

What a very shortsighted approach.

Imagine if the USATF required membership for anyone wanting to run one of its championship races. They'd have 30,000 or so new members overnight (if they took my Boston idea) Thats 30,000 dues paying recreational runners who just might become fans of the sport. Instead of reading Runners World they will at least get a few magazines a year informing them of the exploits of our elite runners. You never know they might then just show up to watch a track meet or two, or complain to their cable company that Footlocker or the Chicago Marathon isn't on TV. We just might see the beginnings of a turn around.

If the USATF is to succeed as an organization they need to turn recreational runners into fans of the sport. The ivory tower approach is counter productive.

The all comers meets you talk of should be the responsibility of the regional associations. If the Pacific Association can do it the others can too.

USATF's membership only accounts for about 10% of its total operating budget and the division that is funded through that line current operates at a small loss every year, but is coming close to breaking even. The salary of about 5-6 people and the production of the quarterly magazine comes from this. For your measly $15 (lower for youth, higher for adults) you get a full color magazine quarterly, discounts on many magazines and other products, discounts on camps, clothing and specialty stores is also available. If you want the complete list, go here:

http://www.usatf.org/membership/benefits/

The problem here and on all the other lists is that T&F athletes, fans, coaches, etc., are the cheapest MFers on the face of the earth. Stop the F'n whining about "what do I get", " I want....." and do something positive for once in awhile. The world we live, aka the real world, has no time for spoiled, whiny little brats who want everything handed to them on a silver platter. Shut the F up already!

You have a choice in life. Do something positive to make a difference, or stop your useless bitching on the F'n couch and go support basketball instead. If you are real T&F fans, you would pay whatever the membership was, would pay to go to meets, even at $50 admission (like basketball), would buy merchandise, would donate to your hs & college teams, would compete in open meets wherever they were and would bring all of your friends to do so as well.

Its obvious that most of you don't have the capacity to do the above, so continue your useless & miserable lives on the message boards so you can avoid real life.

1. Do you support track and field? Yes

2. Do you hate USATF? Yes

3. Are you a member? No

4. Is it because you are cheap? No

Then why not send your $$ to another avenue of the sport.

a. Local club

b. high school track team

c. elite club (hansons, indiana invaders etc,)

There are several ways to make a difference. Bitching on message boards isn't one of them.

Tom Petty sings in the last DJ, "They are gonna see how much you pay for somethin' you used to get for free..."

So true...all cooperations are the same. You used to get a load of free stuff at races, now you are lucky to find a local race that gives out tap water at the finish. Ok, I'm exagerating here. I have no problem paying my 20 dollars to run in USATF championship races. After all I apreciate the fact someone took a wheel to their road races and made sure it was somewhat accurate. As for all the other BS, I don't care, whatever.