Great reporting (as usual) by Gault covering a lot of the financial figures and behind the scenes details we don't usually see.
Man, I know Siegel has a difficult job but it's hard to make this guy sound like anything other than a complete hack. Ask him a question and all you get back is "ah i'm not gonna discuss that" or "it was never important anyway"
“I’m not getting into the business details of that,” Siegel said. “It would be shocking to me that an agreement not being signed or uncertainty two weeks before the meet had a negative impact on the meet.”
A really great article. The High-Performance division really needs to be the main focus of USATF. Sure, youth and masters are important, but it would be like the NBA spending a third of their resources on a masters basketball league. I compete in masters events, but it should be a small part of USATF.
Another great point is USATF should have the definitive calendar of events. I realize practically every meet is an independent enterprise, but maybe give these meet directors some type incentive to be part of the collective. Wouldn't it be great if the Drake and Penn relays were held on DIFFERENT weekends? Not so much for the athletes, but to have meets on TV for two weekends instead of one.
A really great article. The High-Performance division really needs to be the main focus of USATF. Sure, youth and masters are important, but it would be like the NBA spending a third of their resources on a masters basketball league. I compete in masters events, but it should be a small part of USATF.
Another great point is USATF should have the definitive calendar of events. I realize practically every meet is an independent enterprise, but maybe give these meet directors some type incentive to be part of the collective. Wouldn't it be great if the Drake and Penn relays were held on DIFFERENT weekends? Not so much for the athletes, but to have meets on TV for two weekends instead of one.
JG, keep up the good work.
we need a sports czar
Commissioner of all sports who makes sure they all grow and the calendar doesn't get messed up
re "NBA," we have this discussion in soccer, particularly when the men's or women's national team players want a pay increase. is the Federation for the kids, the adults, or what? for the NBA, NFL, MLB, they have a lucrative and functioning pro sphere. they don't need to increase participation or promote youth development -- they get it for free. they don't need to increase the sports' profiles -- they already made it. they don't need to make the events solvent and the sponsors interested -- the sponsors are on board and the teams generally make profits.
men's soccer used to be more of an every 4 years type sport like track. women's soccer is starting to pass through the same point, like WNBA. at that point the fed can flip back towards youth participation and development.
A really great article. The High-Performance division really needs to be the main focus of USATF. Sure, youth and masters are important, but it would be like the NBA spending a third of their resources on a masters basketball league. I compete in masters events, but it should be a small part of USATF.
Another great point is USATF should have the definitive calendar of events. I realize practically every meet is an independent enterprise, but maybe give these meet directors some type incentive to be part of the collective. Wouldn't it be great if the Drake and Penn relays were held on DIFFERENT weekends? Not so much for the athletes, but to have meets on TV for two weekends instead of one.
JG, keep up the good work.
Agree. And Youth should be regional focus only, there is no reason to have national championships until about age 16.
i think we need an expanded diamond league with more US stops. if the few big events are in eugene what does the rest of this country care? and also events in australia, latin america, etc. maybe even regionalize qualifying a little. East-West, North-South, something like that.
a way of sharing costs for second tier type meets would be an americas-wide series. NACAC's meet has near zero public awareness. jamaica is about the only other country in the americas whose meets register here.
maybe some sort of a team concept. if lebron is hurt it's still lakers-knicks. that deals with your marketing problem.
Max Siegel and Renee Washington need to leave if there is any hope of reforming USATF. Both have been in charge for over a decade so any failures and shortcomings belong to them.
USATF Junior Olympics proved to be another fragmented disaster for second year in a row. Inadequate facilities, high prices for tickets ($21 a day) and parking ($20 a day) plus weather delays, constant rescheduling, and the hassles of getting to a small city have just turned me off. The local organizers tried but were in over their heads and USATF doesn’t do 💩 after collecting their bidding fees and setting up their own merchandise sales.
Supporting high performers?! What a joke! USATF provides a pittance to athletes that are already pro thanks to the collegiate system. Max doesn’t want to talk about things because he has nothing to talk about. He’s accomplished nothing because he’s never attempted any effort to accomplish anything with this sport. He could talk your ear off about his NASCAR projects. He seems to actually care about that.
Man, I know Siegel has a difficult job but it's hard to make this guy sound like anything other than a complete hack. Ask him a question and all you get back is "ah i'm not gonna discuss that" or "it was never important anyway"
Max Siegel and Renee Washington need to leave if there is any hope of reforming USATF. Both have been in charge for over a decade so any failures and shortcomings belong to them.
USATF Junior Olympics proved to be another fragmented disaster for second year in a row. Inadequate facilities, high prices for tickets ($21 a day) and parking ($20 a day) plus weather delays, constant rescheduling, and the hassles of getting to a small city have just turned me off. The local organizers tried but were in over their heads and USATF doesn’t do 💩 after collecting their bidding fees and setting up their own merchandise sales.
Supporting high performers?! What a joke! USATF provides a pittance to athletes that are already pro thanks to the collegiate system. Max doesn’t want to talk about things because he has nothing to talk about. He’s accomplished nothing because he’s never attempted any effort to accomplish anything with this sport. He could talk your ear off about his NASCAR projects. He seems to actually care about that.
The answer is to put Michael Johnson in charge of USATF. Now he knows how to get things done
The article mentions that USATF provides financial support to 14 elite meets this year.
Pre is obviously one, the two GST meets that actually happened, and then eleven World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meets.
In 2024 there were just nine Continental Tour Silver meets. Track Fest, Sunset Tour, Sir Walter Miler, and Atlanta City Games added, and Holloway Pro Classic and Edwin Moses Legends canceled. And then the three USATF Grand Prix events “replaced” by GST.
Is the American Track League still a going concern? The schedule page on their website doesn’t list any 2025 events, and three of the four 2024 events weren’t held this year.
After reading JG’s feature, it’s clear to me Max Seigel is an absolute buffoon. For every question, he “won’t get into that.” Well, if he doesn’t want to explain himself for anything relating to his job, then he won’t have to “get into that” if he’s relieved of his duties.
Is Max actually still running his NASCAR enterprise? The CEO cannot have any other active businesses (or at the very least need to go into a blind trust). I find it mind-boggling and astounding that he is allowed to continue to operate his other business while being the CEO of USATF. The CEO should have no other distractions and eat and sleep T&F 24/7.
Whatever board allowed this should be immediately replaced and sued for malpractice.
A really great article. The High-Performance division really needs to be the main focus of USATF. Sure, youth and masters are important, but it would be like the NBA spending a third of their resources on a masters basketball league. I compete in masters events, but it should be a small part of USATF.
Another great point is USATF should have the definitive calendar of events. I realize practically every meet is an independent enterprise, but maybe give these meet directors some type incentive to be part of the collective. Wouldn't it be great if the Drake and Penn relays were held on DIFFERENT weekends? Not so much for the athletes, but to have meets on TV for two weekends instead of one.
JG, keep up the good work.
Agree. And Youth should be regional focus only, there is no reason to have national championships until about age 16.
100% agree. And while at the Master's end of the spectrum we do have US championships, these athletes themselves pay their own way. I assume USATF doesn't allocate too many resources to host them, though that's just my personal belief.