In a letter dated July 30, 2007 and addressed to National Team players, club teams and referees, the USOC announced that resources dedicated to funding USA National Team programs was being redirected to other programs. This decision is a result of the US programs failing to qualify for the Pan American Games and the Olympics. Furthermore, the letter indicates that no funding will be applied to club programs in 2007 and possibly 2008 in order to ensure that the USOC’s upcoming National Governing Body (NGB) selection process is not perceived as biased.
The letter additionally states that the Dekalb International Training Center (DITC), near Atlanta has been recognized as a resident training center for the Men’s and possibly Women’s Team programs. It’s not clear, however, whether funding from the USOC will be provided to support a resident program as this would contradict the earlier portion of the letter which indicates that funding is being redirected
[b]Bid Process Status[/b]: A letter indicating that two organizations have submitted bids to become the new NGB for Team Handball is posted on the USOC’s Web site http://www.usolympicteam.com/Public_Notice0001.pdf . The two organizations are the American Team Handball Association (ATHA) and the Utah Team Handball Foundation. (UTHF). The ATHA includes representatives from several clubs, and Team Handball News’ co-editor Bogdan Pasat. The UTHF bid is led by Amir Hasic and also reportedly includes support from Dennis Berkholtz, who has close ties to the DITC. It is indicated in the USOC letter that the applications from both bids will be published at this USOC site http://www.usolympicteam.com/12699.htm , but as of this writing they are not yet posted. Finally, an open hearing is scheduled for 30 August in Colorado Springs for which it will be possible to phone in to and listen. Team Handball News will endeavor to tape the open hearing and provide a podcast for those who can’t make the call in.
Text of the USOC Letter
TO: Members of the Women’s National Team
Members of the Men’s National Team
Current Clubs and Teams
Referees
FROM: Jay Warwick and Michael D. Cavanaugh
DATE: July 30, 2007
SUBJECT: Status and Forecast
As most of you are aware, the USOC has posted notice of a Request for Proposals (RFP) from entities that opt to submit an application to be recognized as the next National Governing Body (NGB) for Team Handball in the USA. A timeline was established for that process and all clubs were sent a copy of both the notice and timeline. The application submission date was July 23 and the USOC received two applications from the American Team Handball Association and the Utah Team Handball Foundation. These applications, as well as a public notice for hearings set on August 30 and September 13, can be found on the USOC’s website at http://www.usolympicteam.com/12699.htm. If you have additional questions, you may contact Eric Parthen, Director of NGB Organizational Development at 719.866.3030 or eric.parthen@usoc.org.
Ever since the USOC decertified USA Team Handball as the recognized NGB (February, 2006) the USOC has continued to support the Women’s National Team (WNT) and the Men’s National Team (MNT) for domestic training and competition opportunities within a limited budget. During this time period the USOC also continued to support the vast majority of regional club tournaments and Open and College Nationals, also within a limited budget. The USOC accepted the position that the clubs were the backbone of Team Handball development in the USA, that club events were seen as pipeline events for athletes who aspire for the WNT & MNT and because most club tournaments were documented as selection events for the 2007 Pan American Games (PAG).
The MNT failed to qualify for the 2007 PAG in competitions with CAN and CHI. The WNT failed to qualify for the 2007 PAG in competition against CAN and MEX. With both National Teams out of competition for the PAG (and in turn the 2008 Olympic Games) the USOC will now redirect resources to those athletes and sports that are qualified for the 2007 PAG and the 2008 Olympic Games.
Status and Forecast – page two
As mentioned, the USOC is currently engaged in the RFP process that may lead to a new NGB. This process includes a submission of an application, public hearings and internal review/recommendation and ultimately this must pass a USOC Board approval.
In the meantime, this is notice that in order to not flavor or bias the RFP process, the USOC does not plan to fund club tournaments for the remainder of 2007 and possibly 2008. Clubs that desire to continue to host events must do so without the USOC support of administration, referee expenses and insurance coverage.
The desired outcome will be that clubs will somehow find a way to continue to host tournaments and that clubs will recognize the current situation that exists and that they will support one another’s efforts to remain active through mutual participation.
Recently the USOC signed an agreement with the DeKalb International Training Center,
(DITC) located in DeKalb County, GA. This agreement will support a full time resident training center designated for the Men’s National Team. Since the execution of this agreement, officials representing DITC have also expressed a willingness to support a Women’s National Team training center. We are making plans to implementing this program at the earliest opportunity. This relationship with the DITC creates an excellent opportunity to establish a foundation for the respective national team programs.
This agreement has been in negotiations since late 2004 and the USOC saw this as a short term opportunity to establish a building foundation for the respective national team programs with the potential for significant long term growth as well both at the elite level and on the developmental level.
Thinking optimistically, with the recognition of a new NGB, it is hoped that the sport of Team Handball can emerge into a well governed organization with a deeply shared focus on common goals for growth and achievement domestically and internationally.
As always, if you have questions for either of us, you can reach us directly at the contact information listed below.
Sincerely,
Jay Warwick Michael D. Cavanaugh
Director of Sport Partnerships Manager of High Performance – Team Handball
U.S. Olympic Committee U.S. Olympic Committee
719 866 4063 719 866 4565
jay.warwick@usoc.org mike.cavanaugh@usoc.org