Shaw reflects on first 100 days in office

By Published On: June 26th, 2014Comments Off on Shaw reflects on first 100 days in office
Tiger Shaw at the 2014 FIS Congress in Barcelona, Spain. USSA

Tiger Shaw at the 2014 FIS Congress in Barcelona, Spain. USSA

In his first 100 days at the helm, USSA President and CEO Tiger has made it a priority to engage with the membership and present his vision for the future. This summer, Shaw says it’s time to focus on executing reform in three critical areas: elite teams, broadening the scope of participation and internal business operations. Ski Racing had a chance to catch up with Shaw as he passed the 100-day benchmark.

Ski Racing: What have you been up to since we last touched base at USSA Congress in May?

Shaw: We had FIS Congress right afterwards, but after that, I cruised through the East for a week and then came back to (Park City). I also went on a couple fundraising trips to L.A. and San Francisco, meeting with some potential donors, and also gave the commencement address at Stratton (Mountain School) and Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy.

SR: What’s your general impression after the first 100 days in office. Do you think changes are being received well?

Shaw: It’s been good, but I’m not the one to judge that anymore because I’m too close to it. I’m inside, so to speak. These days, I need to check with other people and see what the perception is. We’re putting into place a number of things like we said we would. We continue to listen as closely as we can.

There continues to be attention and controversy on individual things from time to time. Certainly a lot of volleys going back and forth concerning Sasha (Rearick’s) slalom camp and his comments afterwards, which is all really good dialogue. I’m thrilled that is happening.

I also feel good that I’ve been able to spend time in the office meeting with my staff to prepare for next year and review last year — work on objectives and long-term strategies, which we really aren’t able to do until the change of our season.

In the 100-day letter [see below], I talk about the various committees, one of which is the Strategic Planning Committee that we’re reconvening, which originally met in the spring of 2010. We’re also going to reconvene individual committees within each sport to discuss the state of affairs within each sport, ideas for how to increase membership within each sport.

SR: In your 100-day letter, you highlight three primary areas of focus (elite teams, broadening scope and business operations). Could you briefly discuss each and talk about why these are important topics moving forward?

Shaw: Our No. 1 focus is elite teams. I say that because it’s true. It’s been true in the past. It’s central to our Best in the World vision. We are being very careful not to take our eyes off that ball.

At the same time, there are other areas in which USSA is empowered and responsible in which we can do a better job. The second bullet is broadening the scope of participation in our programs, and extending that vision to how they play a role in “Best in the World,” whether or not someone is participating in the elite pipeline. That was also a theme at Congress. Everyone who is participating in these programs is part of that by either helping support and athlete or participating in a club or program.

The third area of focus is really internal business operations. We had some staffing changes, small reorganizations, most of which are completely behind us now. We’re refining all of that work now to work on individual departmental goals moving forward, short- and long-term. The reorganization part, I’m pretty much through at this point. I really like my team.

SR: Has anything surprised you or is there anything you did not anticipate prior to taking office?

Shaw: I wouldn’t say “surprised,” but I continue to be amazed by the passion of the people here in Park City and the dedication that enables this organization to be successful. I would say there haven’t been any big surprises. It’s been rather intense for me. The change from being a casual observer as the COO with Bill Marolt in charge to everyone looking to me for direction and execution — it’s obviously been an incredible challenge. It’s resulted in what I knew was coming — a very busy spring.

I’m proud of my team, running a good USSA Congress, being successful at what we’re trying to achieve at the international level at the FIS Congress, and also handling our financial situation with determination and skill. We are certainly in a challenging situation having an expensive year where we’re in a bit of a deficit. We need to be really careful the next few years that we keep the institution in a strong financial position.

SR: One of the things many have noticed about your first 100 days is the amount of time you’ve spent out in the field meeting with people at the grassroots level. Is that something you expect to continue or at some point do you have to hunker down in Park City?

Shaw: Now that we’re in this annual review and planning process, I am going to have to hunker down in Park City. I did want to get out immediately. People ask the question: Who is this guy? I wanted to get out there and make statements, explain the issues and also parlay our attitude of being open and willing to accept change. We’re willing to take input from the field and hoping to unify some of the groups that have been less unified under us recently.

I need to follow that up with action, which we’re working on heavily, because if you promise the world and you don’t deliver then you really lose credibility. Part of me being out in the field pontificating the way we’re going to be moving forward also sends a message to all of our employees.

We want input. We’ll be reaching out with these committees, one for every sport, as well as the Strategic Planning Committee. If anybody has any input, reach out to myself or Tom Kelly or anyone at USSA to direct the input to the appropriate departments. This is a long-term planning process that we want everyone involved in. There are plenty of people who reach out and make their thoughts known and there are some that may be reluctant to do so because they feel that they can’t make an impact. My message would be that they can; they just have to make themselves known.

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100-Day Letter

As I pass the 100-day benchmark at the helm of the USSA, I’d like to share with you some of our changes, achievements and events. We are excited to move the organization forward with new staff additions, fresh initiatives and many new projects and events on the horizon. As a key stakeholder in our success, we appreciate your engagement!

Our emphasis has been in three primary areas:

  • Ensuring continued focus on our Best in the World vision through development and elite teams.
  • Broadening the scope of participation in our athletic programs so that everyone including athletes, parents, clubs, judges/officials, coaches and volunteers has a role in our Best in the World vision and knows their role as an active participant in its success.
  • Enhancing and modernizing our business operation to better serve our vision.

The management of an athletic track to the top is critical to our success. But in support of that track, we need to have broad participation at all levels of our sport – essentially a double pyramid where the larger base supports the narrower path to excellence.

Elite Teams

Our Olympic success this season was matched by our athletes’ World Cup, Grand Prix, X Games and other world class level achievements. The 17 Olympic medals won, with a record eight gold, was extraordinary! But so were the numerous World Cup titles and podiums achieved. The season concluded with very successful national championships and spring competitions around the US and the world.

Long before the spring competition season ended, our staff was already focusing on the season to come, budgeting, managing coaching staff, planning schedules and nominating teams. This behind the scenes process consumes much energy and time, but sets the stage for a great year to come.

Long term strategic planning analysis, guided by the methodology of our 2010 USSA Strategic Plan, led to the difficult decision to alter the funding model for our nordic combined program. We will maintain a core program and have invited the constituent community to engage and support the sport in a new way, which includes earmarked funding and seeking alternative, additional sponsors. We have seen some success with this model and will continue to work with stakeholders to find creative and strategic alternatives, including working with new training and competition partners in other countries.

Some team sizes were reduced; a normal occurrence following an Olympics. Funding was also shifted to support the addition of new Olympic sports, with which we had great success in slopestyle and halfpipe. We must continue our forward momentum and dominance in these new sports while continuing development efforts in all sports.

Staffing Changes

We have made a number of strategic staff changes to increase the strength of our business operation. We must have the best team possible in place to grow revenue and manage our very complex multisport business, which continues to evolve.

In March, Alex Natt joined USSA as Executive Vice President and General Counsel. Having Alex return to the team has been critical as we implement USSA governance initiatives indicated by the McKinsey study findings, adopt new SafeSport policies to protect our children, as well general strategy with partners of all types worldwide.

In May, Trisha Worthington returned to the executive team at the helm of the Foundation, as Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer. I am excited about where Trisha will lead us: general growth as well as increased trustee engagement via new roles and staffing structures. Building her major gifts officer team as well a renewed alignment of the Gold Pass and events programs are top of her long list of ways to evolve the Foundation supporting the future of our athletic teams.

On July 1, George “Jory” Macomber will join the USSA as Head of School and Vice President, Athlete Career and Education. Jory’s charge is two-fold. First, he will oversee consolidation of the varied services we have been offering athletes into a singular athlete career, education and life skills development program. He will also address the age-old problem many of our sports face: world class, high school and college aged athletes needing to travel 100+ days per season, causing conflicting academic and athletic goals. In leading our TEAM Academy, as well as working closely with pipeline partner programs comprised of our clubs, academies and schools, Jory will rely upon his more than 20 years of experience teaching and leading New Hampshire’s Holderness School, as well serving on the board of directors of Burke Mountain Academy.

Julie Glusker recently joined Jory’s team as a director, supporting Jory’s responsibilities and working alongside Lauren Loberg, who will continue our career, mentoring, counseling and college scholarship support. Joe Rhodes joins Elaine Peterson on our academy teaching staff.

To support and move the USSA into the future with IT efforts, Lori Stevenson now leads the IT staff as Senior Director of Information Systems. The USSA is moving into a new era of consolidated systems that will help tremendously with event management, donor management and membership. We have already started several core projects that will reduce internal silos of information and support close collaboration internally and externally with partners of all types.

In addition to the changes, my executive team remains anchored and led by CFO Mark Lampe, Executive Vice President, Athletics Luke Bodensteiner, Vice President, Events Calum Clark, CMO Mike Jaquet and Vice President, Communications Tom Kelly. I am thankful to have this powerful and cohesive team working closely with me as we evolve the USSA.

Sport Governance

The USSA Congress was big success this May in Park City, attended by more than 200 representatives, volunteers, officials, staff members and stakeholders in the USSA family. I am deeply grateful for the efforts of our volunteers, whose six days of working group, sub committee, committee and board meetings provide a solid foundation upon which I can manage this complex business.

An important element of Congress was the culmination of a yearlong effort to develop a written understanding of the relationship between the USSA and its alpine divisions – important to the future governance and organization of the USSA and its regions, divisions and local clubs. This effort is a central recommendation of the McKinsey study and is a key initiative of my team in Park City and regional leadership nationwide.

Recurring themes in feedback from our sports include concern over the USSA’s role in development at early career stages, sport participant entry, athlete retention and attrition, sanctioned competition outside of the elite pipeline and the general costs of participation. We have been taking this input seriously and are developing committees to further study the issues and to acquire and organize input that can be used to make recommendations for program directions. These efforts are important to the USSA as we need them to help guide our strategic decision-making moving forward.

The FIS Congress, held in Barcelona the first week of June, was a huge success for USSA. We took a very strategic approach to our initiatives, bringing staff and volunteers together as one U.S. delegation. We had many major achievements:

  • USSA Chairman Dexter Paine was elected to the 17-member FIS Council, and also to one of four the Vice President seats.
  • Bill Marolt was elected an Honorary Member of FIS, joining Hank Tauber as one of only a handful of individuals to receive this high honor.
  • Aspen was narrowly awarded the 2017 Alpine World Cup Finals, the result of a strategic battle led by Bill Marolt in the FIS Council.
  • The community of Park City, with participation from all three resorts, was awarded the 2019 World Championships in freestyle, freeskiing and snowboarding.
  • Athlete Commission Chair Kikkan Randall was placed on the FIS Council as an athlete representative, presently non-voting – a major move for FIS adding much- needed athlete input to the Council.

While the USSA continues to contend among the classic world powers in alpine and nordic, and remains the leader in the new slopestyle and halfpipe sports within freeskiing and snowboarding, we have been advocating at FIS for big air and team snowboardercross (SBX) inclusion in the Olympic Games. We are happy to report that FIS approved an effort to move forward into strategic discussions with the IOC, which means these sports may be included on the Olympic program for PyeongChang 2018.

New Sports

In past Olympics we have seen the dramatic impact that new sports can have on our athletic success. Our organization has long been on the forefront of identifying relevant sports that are attractive to youth and developing successful athletic programs around them.

In addition to our specific initiative for big air and team SBX at FIS Congress, I have been actively engaging with sport leaders including Jake Burton and leadership of the TTR World Snowboard Tour. We plan to continue a very open dialogue within snowboarding and freeskiing to capitalize on those sports and to provide a true global showcase at the 2019 World Championships in Park City.

Partnerships

We continue to enjoy strong partnerships with the National Ski Areas Association through Michael Berry and SnowSports Industries America led by David Ingemie, both ex officio members of our USSA board. I met with both boards in early May to introduce our vision. There is broad support from the industry, which sees our success as a strong marketing tool. As a result of those efforts, the NSAA has made 50 more Gold Passes available to the USSA for this coming season to support our fundraising efforts.

Bringing major events in our sport to iconic competition communities like Aspen and Park City is a strong strategic follow up to the 2015 World Championships in Vail/Beaver Creek. This long-term strategy to keep a global focus on snowsports here in the USA is a valuable asset.

Our long-term partnership with NBC, along with a creative approach to acquisition of U.S. broadcast rights to the 2015 and 2017 World Championships, has resulted in the strongest coverage plan ever for Vail/Beaver Creek next February. NBC, NBCSN and Universal Sports will combine for over 25 hours of coverage including live broadcast of every event and a live pre-race show before each broadcast.

We anticipate a very strong turnout at our annual Partner Summit here at the Center of Excellence July 23-25.

FY14 Financial Results and FY15 Forecast

With the 2014 fiscal year ending April 30, we are estimating a deficit of approximately $367,000. As with any Olympic year, it was challenging to provide sufficient athletic funds to achieve athletic success while also encountering a number of expense challenges such as greater than expected costs encountered in Sochi, Olympic qualifying events with weather delays and re-schedules, and mid-winter Olympic prep camps to enhance our medal preparations.

Our FY15 forecast includes a $150,000 surplus, which required a conservative athletic planning effort to achieve. It is imperative that we run a surplus in FY15 and remain conservative in our marketing forecast to ensure that we run in the black this year. We are comfortable with our budget and feel that we will be prepared athletically for all events including World Championships in every sport.

Looking forward to 2015

As our teams prepare for the 2014-15 season and World Championships, including those on our home turf with Vail’s Alpine Worlds this February, we are also working on strategic planning that will guide us past next year. These efforts will include convening several working and study groups:

  • Strategic Planning Committee, examining our resource allocation process.
  • U.S. Alpine Ski Team Development Committee, evaluating our development pipelines.
  • USSA Sport Entry and Retention Committees, studying membership and cost.

These committees will return recommendations that our staff can use to guide decision-making into the next quad, which will drive our successes and ensure we build on our Best in the World status.
I’m looking forward to working with you moving forward, as we evolve and grow this organization to the next level of financial stability, sustained athletic success, and inclusion of all who are passionate about our sports and add to the strength of the USSA family. Close alignment provides a powerful means to propel our organization, as we found during our governance efforts surrounding the USSA divisions. We plan to bring this to all aspects of our operations.

Thank you for your continuing support.

Tiger Shaw
President and CEO
U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association

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About the Author: Geoff Mintz

Geoff Mintz is a former alpine ski racer who cut his teeth at Ragged Mountain and Waterville Valley, N.H. After graduating from Holderness and UVM, he relocated to Colorado, where he worked on the hill prior to pursuing a career in journalism. Mintz served as associate editor for Ski Racing Media from 2011 to 2015. He later reconnected with his local roots to manage all marketing and communications for Ski & Snowboard Club Vail before resuming work at SRM as editor-in-chief.