9/11 hits US DIVING
Just as the 9/11 situation has had its affect on the country, the leadership of US Diving just may be self-destructing. The following impressions and opinions of what is occurring are based on perceptions of what I see and hear.
Beginning with the training centers we may shed some light on this perception from the grass root/junior levels. This level is the future of diving which includes many programs that operate outside of US Diving. There are 3 training centers in operation right now with a fourth in the planing stages. These centers are expensive to operate costing over a half a million dollars apiece per year. Why so many training centers? There are only 8 divers that represent us in the Olympic games. That small number doesn’t necessitate having more than one site. The sport is just not that big. What I do see is that the regional centers will become grass root /junior centers only. These centers already compete against other clubs but are subsidized by US Diving. The centers, like Indianapolis, will be charged with finding the talent and developing it. That center has already put a couple of coaches out of business by renting all available pool time in that area. The future may see US Diving develop the sport only at these sites.
That being said, the only reason USD would need the rest of us is to financially support them and those centers. It’s obvious that a handful of coaches and divers can’t accomplish that themselves. Supporting this vision would be like supporting a movement that in the end would cause me to lose my job. It doesn’t make sense. From my perspective, if there is a money problem, why are they spending so much on these training sites? That’s a lot being spent for the smallest number of divers. The leadership is not willing to set priorities. Either you send the divers on trips or you spend money on training sites. Obviously they can't do both.
Other things that have led to this conclusion are:
Is US Diving self-destructing? It appears that they may be. The technical director, in a Miami news article, pointed the finger for our lack of success Internationally directly at the leadership in US Diving. In any case, US Diving has since cut his salary and many of his responsibilities. His willingness to speak against US Diving appears to have suffered this consequence. Maybe the fiscal status even played a part. This is an important concept. Remember years ago the technical director was the person chosen by USD who would lead us in the right direction. He was a part of the in group and had the blessings of the organization for years. When the anointed one falls from grace, it makes it appear that there are some problems within the organization's leadership. Our president did not see that article as being negative. It is being made to appear that it supports the leadership's ideas presented prior to that article's publication. In any event, the performance of our divers has not made any appreciable improvement. Again, how much more time do we need to see the improvement promised by the leadership's PLAN? How many more divers and coaches need to be alienated before someone figures out that the plan is not working?
Over the years there has been a feeling that there is a misuse/abuse of funds by the administration. Some figures show that US Diving has lost 1.5 million dollars from 1998 to 2000 and there are those who still speculate that there may be a misuse/abuse of funds. Audits in the past have not revealed improprieties but still questions arise. Even respected people on these committees are having a difficulty understanding the financial picture. If you look at it from this perspective, it is the same people that provide this information for an audit that are ruining the sport and the organization. You should understand that an auditor doesn’t have access to every receipt. He can only check information given to him by the organization’s accountant. He checks that the figures and protocols match the chosen format. An auditor just states an opinion as to whether or not the numbers presented are materially misstated. (Accounting lingo) In short, the auditor does not verify every entry. They look at the total amounts given, and decide if it is reasonable. That could explain the reason for this on going suspicion.
Dissatisfaction continues to rise within US Diving. There is a rumor that a few states are considering a break from US Diving because of their dissatisfaction with certain incidents that occurred at the last convention. I've heard that before but maybe they’ll do it this time. If it does happen, then there would be less money coming in and therefore US Diving will have to continue raising the fees to cover the costs lost by a declining member base. I really wonder what would happen if there was a mass exodus by the coaches and divers? Apparently we aren’t that frustrated yet.