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USATF to listen to athletes In a revolutionary move, the governing body of United States Track and Field has decided to put the athletes first. As part of a major restructuring effort, USATF will actually solicit athlete advice in a simplified manner and incorporate it into it’s decision making process. USATF president Craig Masback discussed some of the changes. “Instead of having 30 some odd regional associations with a thousand different committees that no one knows anything about, we decided things would run better if we simplified a bit. We are going to incorporate the use of the internet, email, and databases to not only keep elite athletes informed, but to get information from them when we need it.” But the most revolutionary change was that USATF announced that its executives will stay in the same hotels as its athletes. “Considering that the athletes are the stars of the sport, it seemed reasonable that they get treated with the utmost respect. At the next Olympic Trials, we will not be staying for free at the plush downtown Hyatt while the athletes are on the outskirts of town paying their way at the Red Lion Inn.” So the athletes and executives will stay at the same hotel at the next Olympic Trials, but the athletes will still have to pay their way. “We get 20,000 paying fans a night for a week, and national tv coverage, but we’re still in the red. I inherited a near bankrupt organization. Olan Cassell (Masback’s predecessor) preferred to stay at some really really nice places and thus we have a lot of catching up to do,” said Masback.
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