Foster resigns effective immediately!

[SkateFan123]

http://usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=28770&type=news

[Frau Muller]

So what may be behind this, if anything is behind this? Any theories?

[dbny]

He's no spring chicken; it could be anything.

[WeBeEducated]

Hmmm...well, the new one in his place, Hershberger, was on the ethics commitee back in the late 1990s til 1999, and we all know how ineffective and appalling that was!

[morganm]

This Hersch article is making the rounds on a news server. Pretty much explains what a mess ISU continues to make of our sport. Best wishes for Chuck - he did a good job and didn't need the bullsh*t.

A bitter exit for skate chief
Foster criticizes U.S. association, international boss

By Philip Hersh
Tribune Olympic sports reporter

February 5, 2005

Speaking out after his sudden resignation as president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association, Chuck Foster blasted International Skating Union President Ottavio Cinquanta and the new judging system implemented in the wake of the Salt Lake City judging scandal.

Foster also lambasted the U.S. federation's executive committee for its resistance to change, citing that as the reason for his Thursday resignation.

"I am very disappointed with Ottavio Cinquanta," Foster said Friday in an exclusive interview with the Tribune. "He wouldn't cooperate with any request we made. He didn't talk with ABC at all, and he ended up without a [TV] contract.

ABC declined to renew its $22 million-a-year deal with the ISU after last season. The skating federation received only $5 million a year from ESPN and there now are no international skating events on over-the-air TV in the United States for the first time in more than three decades.

Foster said he asked the ISU for changes in the skating order of three USFSA pro-ams sanctioned by the international federation. The request, which Foster said ABC favored, was turned down in a three-page letter ISU attorneys wrote.

"Cinquanta is not interested in trying to improve the product," Foster said. "He is only interested in his spot on the International Olympic Committee."

Cinquanta could not be reached for comment.

Foster said he has "great reservations" about the new scoring system, widely criticized after Russia's Irina Slutskaya won a sixth European title last week despite a badly flawed program.

"The same old thing is happening," Foster said. "They were doing `protocol judging'--judging on past results. For the huge expense the new judging system places on us, I don't think there will be a measurable difference [in credibility]."

Foster, of Duxbury, Mass., whose two-year term as USFSA president was to expire in May, said he no longer could work with a U.S. federation executive committee that "resists change and wants to continue as a mom-and-pop store instead of a professional organization."

The final straw, he said, was the executive committee's unwillingness even to discuss how to prepare for what Foster thinks will be significantly less TV income after the current USFSA contract with ABC expires in 2007.

"The governance of the USFSA is dysfunctional," Foster said. "There is backbiting and bickering over everything."

Foster expects the U.S. federation to be put on a "SlimFast diet" by new U.S. Olympic Committee mandates requiring each sport's governing body to be directed by a small board. That would eliminate the USFSA's unwieldy, 600-member governing council.

Copyright © 2005, The Chicago Tribune

Philip Hersh
Olympic sports writer
The Chicago Tribune

[skateky]

Thanks for posting this article. Slyvia posted a link to it on UnseenSkaters; the article ran in the Chicago Tribune this morning (and probably elsewhere).

I always try to reserve judgment when I read articles like this, especially ones including quotes possibly taken out of context, which can happen when the reporter may not fully understand the subject matter on which he or she is reporting. (This is not an opinion of Hersh because I do not know him and, as evidenced by my questions below, he likely knows more about the relationship of ISU, US federation and USFS, than I do.) I've seen reporters get facts wrong so many times when trying to report on skating. Gee, I don't even understand all the ISU and US structural nuances even after being involved with figure skating as a parent for over 7 years. Okay, here are the questions I have after reading the article:

Foster also lambasted the U.S. federation's executive committee for its resistance to change, citing that as the reason for his Thursday resignation.
Is the "US federation" one and the same as "USFS"? Or is the "US federation" a separate body? If the US federation is separate, does USFS have responsibility for its management, its members or otherwise?

Foster expects the U.S. federation to be put on a "SlimFast diet" by new U.S. Olympic Committee mandates requiring each sport's governing body to be directed by a small board. That would eliminate the USFSA's unwieldy, 600-member governing council.
My question about this relates to my first question. If the "US federation" is separate from USFS, then how does slimming down the US federation result in a elimination of the USFS's 600-member governing council? USFS cannot exist without its members and if the members cannot vote on how they want their organization run, then the process is no longer democratic. Is Hersh off-base here with this conclusionary statement?

Foster said he has "great reservations" about the new scoring system, widely criticized after Russia's Irina Slutskaya won a sixth European title last week despite a badly flawed program.
Wow, this is the first I've heard that Foster did not truly support the implementation of the new CoP system. From the articles posted on USFS's website over the past year, my impression was that USFS fully supported it with the exception of anonymous judging.

[fadedstardust]

They are not separate- they are the same thing, so what Foster is said to have said applies to the USFS, aka the U.S. federation.

[znachki]

Disclaimer ahead OK - I usually don't post on any of the skating topics. While I enjoy it immensly, and am slightly more informed than the "average joe" I've never been a skater and never been involved in the skating world. Disclaimer over I have been involved with other large organizations that are structured quite like the USFSA.

The following gave me one of those "well, duh" moments

Foster expects the U.S. federation to be put on a "SlimFast diet" by new U.S. Olympic Committee mandates requiring each sport's governing body to be directed by a small board. That would eliminate the USFSA's unwieldy, 600-member governing council. (Emphasis mine)

No wonder there are so many problems. The only other organization I can think of this large is the US Congress - and I think you can draw your own conclusions!

[Mel On Ice]

As a frequent delegate to the governing council, I can tell you that it's very democratic in spirit, but in my opinion, precious little gets done.

[SkateGuard]

Thanks for posting this article. Slyvia posted a link to it on UnseenSkaters; the article ran in the Chicago Tribune this morning (and probably elsewhere).

I always try to reserve judgment when I read articles like this, especially ones including quotes possibly taken out of context, which can happen when the reporter may not fully understand the subject matter on which he or she is reporting. (This is not an opinion of Hersh because I do not know him and, as evidenced by my questions below, he likely knows more about the relationship of ISU, US federation and USFS, than I do.) I've seen reporters get facts wrong so many times when trying to report on skating.

Um, no. Hersh is just as much a fool as the rest. Apparently, this is news that warrents comment, but the Belbin/Agosto citizenship situation isn't--even though Ben is from Chicago and his family still lives there. Or that Michelle Kwan is skating to "xxx" boring music (his annual Sept column), but the national success of skaters who live and train in _Chicago_ are not. Do a search for Natalie Mecher, Megan Oster, or Chicago Jazz on chicagotribune.com, and you'll come up empty.

As for this article, considering that Foster's turn as president is almost over anyway, it's not much news. He had a tough term--the implementation of a new scoring system--and I'd bet he's just tired of the fight. Call me when the new pres is elected at GC.

Erin
yes, feel sorry for the poor Trib telemarketers that call me....I tell them that I won't buy their paper unless they fire Hersh. :twisted: