As the title says, change was inevitable but how long will it last… or will there be any changes? Even with the apparent victory, I still have some reservations for the future of US Diving and the sport. I guess I'm just an untrusting individual but only because past actions have put me in that posture. The manner in which the outgoing president presented his departure placed him in a position to return in 2 years assuming that people forget his accusations of embezzlement toward one candidate. That alone may have cost that candidate the election even though there was no truth to the charges. This appears to have been an orchestrated event against one candidate with Bill Walker appearing as the sacrificial lamb. He will stick around US Diving, probably as the General Council a position, which he once held. Somehow he will get re-appointed.

My skepticism is further enhanced by the idea that a rather large sum of money promised to US Diving will be overseen by Tom Gompf, Steve McFarland and Mikie King Hogue. These are all former Presidents of US Diving. I can't envision that group without Ron O'Brien being involved somehow. Are they claiming ownership of US Diving by positioning themselves around this donation? They really should claim ownership for the lack of medal performances by our divers. Since their philosophy has not worked thus far, my hope is that other ideas would be considered and implemented under our new leader. These two items raises some doubts about the success we have just seen with the elections. To this observer that money may have been solicited for the sole purpose of continuing the training site idea, which has not found any support from the coaches and/or divers in the past.

My gut feeling is that those 4 names plus a few others are a part of the hidden leadership that we've been struggling against over the years. What kind of support will they give our new leader? We have gone into deficit spending in excess of $200,000 this year according to the financial statement handed out at the convention. Some insiders say that the actual amount of this deficit is in excess of $400,000. With those names controlling that large sum and knowing the philosophy they have supported, we may see some conflicts develop over the next 2 years. Will deficit spending be one of those conflicts facing the new guy? Many suspect that a couple of the above names would be capable of instigating that conflict. It's amazing what greed and a lust for power can make people do. Our new leader has only 2 years instead of four to make his mark on the organization. Any conflict could place the new President in a position to be viewed as incompetent, which would lead the way to get the former President re-elected or for that matter someone sympathetic to the on going faulty philosophy. If that occurs, in 2 years we're back to where we just came from and then God help us.

• Will the new guy have the time to carry out his duties as President? He is a full time coach and relies heavily on that for his livelihood. If he doesn't have the time to lead the organization, who will? The answer is probably the same people as before the election, which means… no change. As President does he already face a conflict of interests? Rumor has it that another training site is slated for the Florida area. Guess whose facility is being considered? Will the new guy risk a guaranteed income by rocking the boat? That remains to be seen.
• Word has it that the Foundation's money is being heavily relied upon at this time. There are some pretty hefty lawsuits pending against USD. If and when they are settled, where will that money come from? With or without the large donation mentioned above, USD could go broke. Some insiders are still very confused with the financial operations of USD.
• In January everyone will have to pay the fee increase for membership. It will be interesting to see how many more people decide to drop out of USD. Some are getting tired of paying more for less.
• How is it that USD asked for diving related information from its members then packages and sells it with out credit/pay to the individuals' whose information they are using?
• Any voting process is questionable where the athletes have a three to one-margin over the coaches. Yes, the competitions are for the athletes but many are only passing through while coaches are involved much longer. That voting process doesn't seem to coincide with the code of 20% coaches and 20% athletes. Where does the other 60% of the vote come from? If they are not coaches or athletes, who are they? Are any of these people appointees and are they all dues paying members of USD? How many of them have a background in diving (diver/coach)?
• The athletes want an increase in their stipend for training. Any stipend should be directly tied to their medal performances and training expenses only. I don't believe that the membership should be paying for a lifestyle many of us would like to enjoy ourselves. Let them find their own sponsors or get a job. It's called "work", a word they don't seem to understand and maybe that's why they aren't in medal contention.
• How did we get to the point where USD spends almost an equal amount of money on programs and administration?
• How is it that the financial statement shows US Diving spent zero dollars on marketing? That is a paid position and makes it appear we are paying someone to do nothing.
• If the USOC is giving money for the training sites, why does the hidden leadership of USD feel it necessary to allocate more for additional sites that no one supports? Don't they understand the "Chinese way" doesn't work in the USA? Intelligent people understand that if something doesn't work after a period of time, they move on to something else that will work. Even an idiot knows not to stick his hand in a flame after he's been burned once.
• I also wonder what $7,000 was spent on in the name of the grass roots. That's the same amount spent on the Master's program, which is separate from other USD programs. Anyhow it's not much money for any campaign if it was spent for the purpose of increasing the number of grass root people.
• Why hasn't US Diving spent more time, energy and money to entice more people to become members? It seems like every initiative taken has caused a loss in those numbers. The Junior/Grass roots have taken the largest losses and now the trend seems to be moving up the ladder.
• Why has there no emphasis debunking the safety statistics of the sport by the Education and Safety committee. There seems to be a crisis facing diving at all levels. One would think that this would be a priority to guarantee the activity's place in the world of sports. Apparently they are more interested in creating mandated courses rather than protecting the sport from outside influences.

Even with all of these concerns, I would like to congratulate the new President and wish him much success as our new leader. I would also caution him to be aware the above concerns for the future of Diving.

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