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"Shin Splints"
A Blog by Doug Logan

The Time of Your Life

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

With all due apologies to Green Day for altering the title of their great song, since taking this job I am having the time of my life, and I think it shows. I am surrounded by a competent professional staff, anxious to adapt to a changing work culture and committed to making the sport better. I serve at the pleasure of a dedicated Board of Directors, excited about a changing future where they will make policy and sound business decisions for the benefit of a dynamic sport on the verge of regaining its rightful place as a major American pastime. And I am honored to serve a universe of talented athletes, wise coaches and just officials who give honor to our competitive endeavors and give us great moments of athletic achievement. How could I not be having the time of my life?

In recent days I have had the pleasure of hiring Michael McNees to the new position of Chief Operating Officer of USATF. This new post is called for in our newly adopted bylaws and plays a role in a structured plan of succession that is also a new requirement. Hopefully, this organization will never again be put in the position it was in earlier this year, making do with the disruption of working with an acting CEO for a half a year. Mike will act as my surrogate during my absence or disability and will also actively direct the day-to-day operations of our business, freeing me to focus on growing the sport.

I cast a wide net in my search to fill this position. I interviewed eight applicants of both genders and diverse racial and cultural makeup. I have known Mike for several years and know him as a disciplined administrator and devotee of team-building. He is a passionate competitor in our sport, stretching from his days as a Big Ten champion and record-setter to his current desire to enter masters competition in the sprints. Most importantly, Mike shares my business values of hard work, accountability, aggressive growth and fairness in dealings with others. Please extend a welcome to him when he joins us on March 1.

Consistent with my desire that our governance be transparent, I am starting what I hope will be an annual, institutional tradition. I am publishing, below, my self-evaluation of my performance for the year 2008. You, as our extended family, are entitled to see what my professional goals are, and, more importantly, how I believe I stacked up against them. Feel free [not that you need my permission] to let us know whether you agree or disagree with my assessment.

As this year comes to a close, I am compelled to think of those less fortunate than we are; who are really struggling in these tough times. I urge all of you to do what you can; from charitable donations to simple acts of kindness, that will help our brothers and sisters during these cloudy times. I wish for all of you the most joyous of Holiday seasons and my best wishes for a healthy and prosperous New Year.

I have urged my colleagues on the National Office staff to get some rest. Starting the first of the year, we are going on afterburners!

30UK12

# # #

Douglas G. Logan

Chief Executive Officer

Self Evaluation-2008

Paragraph 4 of my Employment Agreement requires the following: "Executive shall annually report in writing to the Board and USATF membership a self-evaluation of his accomplishments and a review of the goals for the prior year". Despite the fact that I have been in my position for only five months, it is my opinion that the Board and the membership are entitled to receive my evaluation of my performance for 2008.

Upon being hired, I expressed publicly seven identifiable goals for the future. They were:

*Maintain and improve the US position at the top of the medal charts in World Championships and Olympic Games

*Be a passionate messenger in the battle against performance enhancing drugs

*Be a firm and fair agent for change as the organization goes through a restructuring of governance

*Improve grass-roots membership numbers

*Foster better relations with the USOC, IAAF and IOC

*Grow sponsorship sales, television outreach and number of domestic events

*Institute a "customer service culture" in the National Office in its dealings with the volunteer leadership and membership

For purposes of this evaluation I will use the following six ratings:

*Exemplary

*Above Average

*Average

*Below Average

*Poor

*Incomplete/In progress

Maintain and improve the US position at the top of the medal charts in World Championships and Olympic Games

My belief is that we did "maintain" our position as the top medal winner at the 2008 Games but I take no credit for that achievement. There were some disturbing trends that emerged from our experiences in Beijing and we took decisive action to get better in future Championships and Games. The establishment of the Project 30 Task Force and the top-to-bottom examination of our methods will lead to us improving our position. Rating: Above Average

Be a passionate messenger in the battle against performance enhancing drugs

From the first day on the job I have aggressively attacked those who have done harm to our sport and impressionable young men and women. Whether by writing letters, speeches or other public communication ,I have persistently expressed our abhorrence for those who cheat or for those who influence others to. Rating: Exemplary

Be a firm and fair agent for change as the organization goes through a restructuring of governance

The manner in which our organization re-invented itself in the last half of this year was a major institutional victory. There were many who share the credit for this victory, not the least of whom was a Board of Directors who put the common good above parochial interests. Of greatest satisfaction to me was the fact that compromises were achieved in a spirit of comity and good will and received near-unanimous endorsement at every level. Rating: Exemplary

Improve grass roots-membership numbers

This goal is still a work-in-progress. We have put in place several initiatives to achieve greater membership numbers, but the measurement of gains will not occur until the end of 2009. Rating: Incomplete/In Progress

Foster better relations with the USOC, IAAF and IOC

By dint of our successful restructuring of governance, our relations with the USOC are immeasurably better than they were six months ago. We are beginning to make some strides with the IAAF. We have not begun to reach out to the IOC. Rating: Average

Grow sponsorship sales, television outreach and number of domestic events

While we are still preparing for the 2009 sales season, we have seen a softening of the sponsorship market in the last months of 2008. We must be far more aggressive in the coming months to overcome the disadvantage of a faltering economy. Although the strengthening of our sales efforts is still in its infancy, we should have done more to capitalize on the results of the 2008 Games. Rating: Below Average

Institute a "customer service culture" in the National Office in its dealings with the volunteer leadership and membership

I believe we have turned around the perception of the National Office by our persistence, from the first day, on serving our customers in a professional manner. We have brought in outside experts in customer service to conduct employee retreats, talked about the issue repeatedly in our staff meetings, lengthened our telephone answering hours and presented a new professional image at meetings and conferences. Rating: Above Average

COMMENTS
I like the openness of the organization and the ambition that it has from the top down! Keep it up, Sir! David
Posted by: David Watkins on 12/24/2008 11:43:55 AM PT
Didn't you appoint Carl Lewis? If he was competing today he'd be banned for life for using performance enhancing drugs, as under the current rules you are responsible for whatever ends up in your body. This is not an opinion, this is a fact. So how can you say you're being tough on drugs? If someone is banned today for being caught, we burry them out of existance in the world of track. Why should Carl Lewis be treated any differently just because he was competing under rules that kept athletes from being banned? Direct Quote from Dick Pound about how the US was treating drug cases. (this does not neccesarily pertain to Lewis) "It's got to be pretty embarrassing to the USOC to have their secretary-general writing in the letter where he advises an athlete of a positive A sample, 'I have to send you this, but we already decided this was inadvertent,' " If you want to prove you are actually tough on drugs. Don't be like the people before you who let the drug cheats off the hook.
Posted by: Michael Randall on 12/24/2008 10:00:09 PM PT
Doug, you've really impressed me with your openness and willingness to hear out all segments of USATF. My main focus is masters, but I'm also keenly interested in how USATF communicates with members and others. Toward that end, would you please put this at the top of your New Year's resolutions: Install a search engine prominently on the home page of usatf.org. Thanks! And have a great 2009!
Posted by: Ken Stone on 12/25/2008 2:03:03 AM PT
Doug, I am coach of the Greater Boston Track Club. We want you to strengthen the club system so more and more graduates of college teams continue in our sports of xc, T&F, and Roadracing. We want you to stop using the confusing term, "grassroots." Talk about post-collegiate running. We need strong association championships nation-wide like we have in New England. Post-collegians can be a powerful resource for USATF as they age in the sport and become masters. (like college alumni) Children's athletics is a waste of USATF's energy because schools cover them until they graduate. What we see as your mission is to grow the post-collegiate club system. That system will be the plinth upon which professionals and Olympic medalists will stand. www.gbtc.org Tom Derderian
Posted by: Tom Derderian on 12/25/2008 6:59:37 AM PT
Doug, I believe your candid willingness to communicate with those who love Track and Field and the creating of a forum for regular exchange of ideas and opinions is a tremendous service to the sport and the USATF as an organization. It is truly refreshing to observe someone in such a leadership capacity earnestly care about the opinions of others, even if they differ from yours. Keep up the excellent work!! I wish to provide a comment to Tom Derderian of the GBTC. Shame on you for any suggestion that Children's athletics is a waste of USATF's energy. As an individual actively engaged in the Youth Track and Field Club program, I believe continued support of such clubs is critical to the continued health and long-time growth of Track and Field in the USA. The life lessons and genuine hard work efforts that kids put into their events associated with competing in the Youth Club programs is too be admired and not admonished as insignificant as you might suggest. Not all youth is afforded an opportunity to learn and compete in a competitive school environment, that is especially true of the youngsters 7-14 years of age. The USATF has taken an important step by creating a Youth Chair, it is hoped that such 'visibility' will only strengthen the national commitment to our youth, the clubs and the future of Track and Field.
Posted by: Don Perry on 12/26/2008 8:18:13 AM PT
Here is a scientific and administrative challenge: does USATF get more from money/energy spent on programs for children rather than adults? To think about that you have to divide "grassroots" into Children and Clubs. Then figure it out. What I see is that children's athletic needs are so well met in our society by soccer, football, basketball, hockey, little league baseball that track and field can't and need not compete with them.(Besides kids like those ball and puck sports better than athletics.) All that good stuff that Don Perry mentions is already provided by other organizations. No organization other than USATF can provide for adults. Further that have been too many kids stuck in conflicts between club programs and school programs. Time, money, and people are limited so you have to ration.
Posted by: Tom Derderian on 12/26/2008 7:43:49 PM PT
I support parts of what both Tom & Don write. I am a T&F athlete of over 20 years. I came up in the youth system, ran collegiate track and now run Masters. Tom is right about a great need to focus on post-collegiate athletes. The NCAA semis and finals showcase some of the greatest up & coming talent in the nation. But what percentage of those great athletes actually continue to train to be professionals that represent the country in international competition? However, Don is right about youth track. It is a feeder for collegiate track. Fact is many high schools do not have coaches who live T&F, so the only way those athletes get exposed to the high-level training and national competition is through USATF youth competition. Reducing the youth focus equals reducing the number of post-collegiate athletes. In the past, USATF boasted the largest body of youth athletes of all sports. Why should we shift away from our strength when we should be capitalizing on it further?
Posted by: Leon Bullard on 12/26/2008 8:35:44 PM PT
I agree with Michael - please add a search box to the website ASAP (web design 101). Thoughts about age divisions: how many other professional sport organizations manage all levels of the sport under one umbrella? For example, does the NFL manage Pop Warner football or MLB manage Little League? If we are to flourish as a professional sport beyond Olympic years, and not languish at the bottom of the rung with bowling and badminton, the age divisions (masters, open, and youth) must establish separate organizations to represent their interests. Varied demands of each group have detracted energy and resources that need to be focused on building our sport. We are truly digging ourselves out of a hole decades in the making, and I hope there is the will to change.
Posted by: Linda Garmisch on 12/26/2008 9:21:39 PM PT
A follow-up note - both the "USATF privacy statement" and "terms of use" links at the bottom of the Post Comments box generate a Page Not Found error.
Posted by: Linda Garmisch on 12/26/2008 9:25:54 PM PT
You deserve a POOR rating for TELEVISION OUTREACH. Track and Field, the Olympics' marquee event, was relegated to sideshow status by NBC,ON YOUR WATCH! Has track and field ever been so ignored during an Olympic coverage? Even David Letterman complained that he did not see enough track and field during the Olympics. You should have been fired for this travesty.
Posted by: Condor on 12/27/2008 10:34:34 AM PT
Please pass along to your webmaster - Google provides a free custom search engine for non-profits: http://www.google.com/coop/cse/ The Southern California Association uses it: http://www.scausatf.org/
Posted by: Linda Garmisch on 12/27/2008 3:00:51 PM PT
I somewhat agree with Condor's comments. There's no reason to fire you what so ever. You were hired during the Trials, so you can't be completely at fault for the NBC situation. But I do think it needs to be heavily addressed. The total lack of confidence in Track fans by NBC needs to be called out. NBC says that people dont get up early to watch track events, that people on the west coast would be affected. I was one of those people who stayed up during late nights into the early mornings to watch the trials and the finals for the sprints. And yet I couldn't. But guess what; I do remember seeing the REDEEM TEAM playing basketball early in the morning, for the final live if I might add the same morning Usain Bolt beat the record. I understood how NBC would like to keep their marquee events for primetime, but the total lack of coverage on the webcasts or at least on one of the other NBC channels is crazy. And what's most messed up about this, NBC broke the news after the races and still proceeded to wait till primetime to show you. Every other country in the world watched the Track events live, except the United States. What's with that? Take a stand for track when Berlin and London approach.
Posted by: Hansen White on 12/27/2008 5:45:34 PM PT
Another item for your New Year's resolutions list: Conduct and publish a census of USATF membership, especially masters. Here's my take: http://masterstrack.com/blog/002988.html
Posted by: Ken Stone on 12/28/2008 2:22:19 AM PT
As a coach, lifelong competitor, and especially as a very dedicated 50-year fan, I think your category: "Grow sponsorship sales, television outreach and number of domestic events" is by far the most important. If you are successful here, the rest will come much more easily. We need all the positive exposure we can get. The Beijing television coverage of T&F was DREADFUL! Dedicated track fans saw very little live, and very little of the earlier rounds of competition. You've got lots of liasing to do, and I wish you all the luck in the world, as you'll need it, judging from recent trends in T&F! I think you've made a great start on paper, but now the real work begins.
Posted by: Pat Crandall on 12/28/2008 7:29:36 AM PT
The money and effort spent promoting youth programs is worthy, and secures the future of our sport. Without exposure to Track & Field and Cross Country we won't get athletes. Waiting for our future athletes to come out of other sports is OK, but to say that those sports are satisfying their athletic needs is nonsense. There is very little exposure to Track & Field and Cross Country at the grade school level and as a previous post mentioned the coaching in grade schools and Middle school/Jr High is suspect. If not for local youth track clubs and strong volunteer youth programs at the Association Level, many young T&F and XC athletes are lost and disappointed, which in turn leads to a disappointing future on the national and international level. Also, you can't compare professional organizations like the MLB or NFL or NBA, or MSL to the USATF, we don't have a players union, we don't have the money and sponsorship, never have, and we've only been "professional" for a short while. We depend upon volunteers more than any other sport, it's those volunteers that bring a passion and purity to our sport that the others don't. Please don't forget about the youth programs, many of us coach kids that love the sport (even while they play the other sports ie. - soccer, football, baseball, basketball), and as they tire of the team sports; the abuse and false promises, they become full time T&F athletes earn college scholarships and become our national champions.
Posted by: Frank Dauncey on 12/28/2008 3:25:27 PM PT
Yesterday at an open meet at Boston University a team from the Waltham Track Club composed of little boys ran in the 4x1600. They had fun and it was a good thing. But why do these kids need a national program? They don't need a national program to learn the sport. Isn't youth athletics something for the local associations to do?
Posted by: Tom Derderian on 12/28/2008 3:36:08 PM PT
Here is the bottom line. If USA track and field ever decides they want to become the powerhouse that this country is capable of being, priority must be focused on post collegiate training and funding. To many good collegiate track and field athletes end up quitting because there is no further support. Fix this problem and you will see world records broken high performances attained and more interest in this sport. This will lead to further sponsorship and popularity/recognition. This association has done a horrible job when it comes to the further support of the post collegiate. Also please don't try to use the Olympic training center as and excuse because if remember correctly there were either no medal winners from the athletes who trained there or less then 3. This should speak volumes about that situation alone. Further support and funding for the post collegiate athletes and this sport will turn around tremendously.
Posted by: b on 12/28/2008 3:39:17 PM PT
I apologize for errors in the above post...for some reason my browser(Firefox) keeps messing with my paragraphs.
Posted by: b on 12/28/2008 3:43:04 PM PT
Doug, I didn't see you at the 2008 USATF Junior Olympic XC Championships in Virginia, (I didn't see Tom Derderian either), but no matter, I was there and I saw more than a thousand athletes from 8 to 18 having a great time. It's a great experience for everyone there and it builds on our future. Take a look at the results and you'll see some extraordinary times and performances, thanks to volunteer coaches, dedicated athletes, and supportive parents. This is the American Athlete of the future, they love it, they live it, they deserve your support. Thanks for the opportunity to share.
Posted by: Frank Dauncey on 12/28/2008 9:01:35 PM PT
The Youth folks in my Association want nothing to do with promoting high school competition - all they care about is their own neck of the woods and protecting territory. DyeStat does an outstanding job promoting high school cross country and track & field, and like it or not, this is where the greatest numbers of participants are by far. In my experience, younger age groups often lose interest or are burned out by the time they reach high school anyway.
Posted by: Runner Joe on 12/28/2008 10:05:11 PM PT
Does this candid message reach the athletes, and, to what degree is it being met, dissected and utilised? Rubbing elbows on occasion doesn't equate to gaining their support.
Posted by: EPelle on 12/29/2008 2:34:09 AM PT
Post-Collegiate athletes are just one area where you can find athletes. You can find athletes from different points of life. If you just focus your efforts on just developing post-collegiate athletes, you will missed out on some Post-Scholastic athletes from schools in which their coaches whose may not give a care about the sport in which they are assigned to coach. What about the people who came out of the military who still wanted to compete or people who discovered this sport later on in life. USA Track and Field supposed to be the support system for all these organizations whose support track and field, a safety net. This is the area we should be focusing on.
Posted by: John Carter Jr. on 12/29/2008 5:14:33 AM PT
One poster above referenced Olympic track & field coverage and blamed Doug for poor coverage. Doug was hired on July 21, 2008. The Olympic television schedule -- a product of the IAAF, the IOC, and NBC -- was set in stone in 2007. At the point where Doug came on board, there was no way for him to influence the schedule. On another topic, I have been and will remain a club development supporter, and will use my newly found "spare time" to do more in this area.
Posted by: Bill Roe on 12/29/2008 11:40:58 AM PT
So there is the Nike Nationals for high school kids, the Footlocker Championships, and the USATF JO National Championships. Why complete with other programs. One nation, one national championship. USATF, give it up. Put you money where there is a need and a payoffpost collegiate clubs. To John Carter Jr. post-collegiate certainly does embrace post military or any twenty-something athlete regardless of having been on a college team. You are right to mention a rich sources that should not be ignored.
Posted by: Tom Derderian on 12/29/2008 7:10:11 PM PT
Sorry about the typos. I can only see a little bit of what I type.
Posted by: Tom Derderian on 12/29/2008 7:11:50 PM PT
Poster John Carter Jr. Stated that there are athletes out there besides post collegiate. This is a very true statement. The other day my neighbor started referring to himself as an athlete because he can jog a mile every morning. Does this really make him an athlete.I think not. Does my neighbor have the potential to compete internationally or at an Olympic level? Possibly, if he trains for the next 7-10 years. Looking at athletes who are on the verge of becoming nationally recognized should get attention. There should be more support and funding for the post collegiate athletes plain and simple. The average Joes or less then mediocre will just have to wait their turn. Also note that when I mention post collegiate, Im referring to athletes who have attained a certain mark, time or distance that would consider them being on the cusp of elite level performances. 99 percent (domestic) came out of the collegiate system. Like I mentioned before, fund the athletes who are on the come up and positive changes will start to occur on all ends of the spectrum.
Posted by: B on 12/29/2008 8:17:10 PM PT
I agree with Tom D.on post collegiate focus and funding. We must do more to fund drug testing at regional and national events. Speeches are fine, but funding is essential. I disagree with dropping the 'B" standard for Olympic Trials. Let "B" qualifiers compete even if they must pay their own way. "B" qualifers can become "A" qualifers 4 years later if they are allowed to compete against the best. The trials experience should provide motivation and positive memories to young talented post collegiate athetes. In addition, each athlete that runs in the trials has a support team of family, friends, and coaches that brings more general interest to the sport.
Posted by: Vince Juliano on 12/30/2008 6:29:53 PM PT
Dear People of the Blog: My name is Lauren, a 10-year old girl who is participating in Youth Track and Field. My father was looking through the blog and showed me entries made by people. He thought it would be a good idea for people to see how a youth athlete felt about this discussion. Well, I feel that anyone who wants to take away Youth Track is selfish and uncaring and definitely unaware. Track and Field has built so many good characteristics for kids. Track has given kids courage, confidence, and the satisfaction of giving something their all. Track has built up so many good athletes and good people on and off the track. I've gone all over the country and competed against all kinds of people. But track has taught one main thing and that is 'don't give up'. That phrase "don't give up" has driven me to keep trying and don't give up. Track and Field is something very important to kids all around the country. If you take it away from the youth you'll be breaking down kids. Maybe some kids are too young to run on their school track teams. Even the ones who are old enough, what are they supposed to do all summer when their favorite sport has been taken away by unaware, even uncaring people. But why? Why do you have to tear down kids to provide for people who have had their time to shine. I don't know what they did with their moments or if they had any at all. But the point is they had a chance. The best athletes start when they are young. And when they get older it's their choice to keep running or stop. But they know one thing for sure, they are not going to bother Youth Track because they know how it feels and they know how it would hurt if it was all gone. And I don't konw if anybody cares about what I said, but I definitely meant it. And to end this letter I have to ask a question to the ones who want track and field for the youth gone. Why? - Spoken for the youth of Track and Field
Posted by: Lauren on 12/30/2008 8:02:30 PM PT
We will see if Doug Logan can muster the resources of USATF to analyze the efficacy of programs and make a reasoned decision or pander to emotions. What percentage of money spent on youth or post-collegiate more likely to make a change in the US positions at the top of world medal charts?
Posted by: Tom Derderian on 12/31/2008 8:28:58 AM PT
Those of you who want to ignore the kids or the guy who can run a mile (not sure what usatf is doing for him anyway), where do you think the money comes from? I know where you want it to go, but how many of the 90000 members are kids or non elites. I am sure visa and nissan are really targeting you post collegiates that make 25k a year. I bet a lot of post colleg work out at 24 hour fitness and eat hersheys.
Posted by: Danny on 12/31/2008 12:32:53 PM PT
Tom, your scope is too narrow. There are thousands of members, very young, young, middle aged and senior that are paying members of the USATF, we should all have a say in where the funding goes. I totally agree that the funding for post collegiate athletes should be increased, but not by cancelling other programs. If you had your way we wouldn't even send athletes to the World Junior Championships, and that would be a shame. Open your field of vision and little and try and represent all of USA Track & Field, not just the few at the GBTC.
Posted by: Frank Dauncey on 12/31/2008 2:05:50 PM PT
Wow, many posts have come since I posted earlier. I agreed with the support of both youth and post-collegiate athletics earlier and still do. Masters athletes get the short end of the stick it seems. On another Masters blog the idea was floated that maybe Masters should align itself with another organization like Senior Games. One way to accomplish what Tom suggests as well as what others, like me, want to see with youth is to consider the same for youth. Maybe USATF spends less money by allowing AAU to be the featured youth t&f organization. Masters goes to another organization, too. Collegiate athletes are taken care of and now only professional athletes are invested in by USATF. That's who Visa and others (except Hershey) pay to support anyway. Then, maybe USATF can do more for youth t&f by putting less funding into it, but in a joint venture with AAU so the money goes further.
Posted by: Leon Bullard on 1/1/2009 7:37:01 PM PT
I don't thank that USA track and field should give up the Youth and Masters program. We should form alliances with other organizations. Like our youth program should join forces with AAU, Our masters programs should also join forces with Senior Games people. As for the open program, (the ones that do not meet the B standards) If we can get our colleges to allow open athletes to compete in their meets, it will help these athletes. Right now only a few colleges would allow these athletes to compete. If we can pull all our resources with other organizations, it will benefit not only benefit USA Track and Field, but other organization as well.
Posted by: John Carter Jr on 1/2/2009 5:51:47 PM PT
I wonder if our ideas are even being read Doug Logan?
Posted by: b on 1/4/2009 2:00:05 PM PT
As far as grassroots efforts, I believe any efforts are being greatly hampered by the annual convention. This year, my association spent 80 percent of its membership revenues sending 11 delegates to the convention. So almost 12 dollars of my 30 went just for sending association reps to the convention, not to mention what went to sending national reps. I understand that these are volunteers and that they are giving their time and that not all of their expenses are covered. I also understand that the association wants their voice heard at the national level and doesn't want to not attend. And I also understand you don't want a convention with only 50 people there either. But with almost of the association money being spent on convention, there is no money left to actually do anything on the association level, making it hard to attract new members.
Posted by: Danny on 1/6/2009 6:34:22 AM PT
Hi Doug, This is Angel from Havana, now living in Paraguay, tive been trying to contact you in so many ways ask KEn my number,thank you so much,Angel
Posted by: Angel Real on 1/6/2009 6:50:46 AM PT
Following up on Danny's post, USATF needs to explore web conferencing, social networking, and knowledge management tools to accomplish some of these administrative tasks throughout the year, so the annual meeting will no longer be a necessary expense. Many of these options can now be had for free or very low cost. The challenge is that USATF is very behind the times in the use of technology, and the unfortunate reality is most local Association volunteers are not tech saavy as evidenced by many marginal Association websites. Another suggestion is for USATF to provide a content management system where Associations can maintain professional looking websites that conform to uniform standards. There are many free, open source options out there: Drupal, Joomla, Mambo, etc. Finally, USATF needs to consider online voting for both national and local elections to improve representation, and so membership has a voice - here are two options: http://www.votenet.com/ and http://www.electionsonline.us/
Posted by: Runner Joe on 1/6/2009 8:04:36 PM PT
Is there anyway we can get confirmation that our ideas are even getting read or taken into consideration. I would hate to believe that all of these passionate people on here are wasting their time and effort.
Posted by: b on 1/7/2009 3:45:18 PM PT
I have read these comments and I would like to congratulate Doug on your leadership and vision. It is about time someone let the world of track and field know that they cannot live in a vacume. Our sport need's a new vision, and it seems that you are intent to give it. And to the Project 30 Task Force, I think you put together a great team. And to the person who made the post above, get your facts straight. Carl Lewis tested positive for an over the counter stimulant, not a steroid. Get your facts straight. And you must be a Canadian as you support the US hating Dick Pound. Doud knows what he is doing and we shhould support it. Way to go, and good luck
Posted by: John Woods on 1/7/2009 7:33:30 PM PT
My response to contributor "b" is the following. "Oh ye of little faith". Of course I read the input! Why, in blazes, would I go out of my way to create a mechanism for feedback if I didn't intend to use it. I do not want to get into a debate over issues and ideas that are presented to me. My goal is to be provocative so I can hear what you have to say. Thank you for participating in this exercise of the free flow of ideas.
Posted by: Doug Logan on 1/8/2009 1:16:47 PM PT
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Photo of Doug Logan Doug Logan is the CEO of USA Track & Field (USATF), the national governing body for track and field, long distance running, and race walking. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the organization has more than 90,000 members throughout the country.