Brennan article: (USFSA) Chief says figure skating does not have culture of sexual abuse

[MacMadame]

Where would they get the money?

Sponsorships. An organization like USFS should be getting most of its money from outside sources, not memberships.

As for who gets the money and where it goes, that's too complicated for me to even think about right now.

Sorry correct me if I am wrong but are you suggesting USFSA should be building rinks and subsidize ice time?

I was noodling. Not making serious suggestions.

Basically what I am saying is: don't dismiss that idea out of hand. Why couldn't USFS have a national training center with a several-surface ice rink somewhere? Why couldn't they subsidize ice time for elite athletes who need so much more of it than recreational athletes?

 

[overedge]

Sponsorships. An organization like USFS should be getting most of its money from outside sources, not memberships.

They should, but sponsors also prefer a high-profile sport that gets lots of attention, to get the most bang for their bucks. Most of USFS' sponsors are targeting older consumers, who, sadly, are not an attractive demographic for most companies.

Sponsors | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

(FWIW since Noom is a weight-loss plan, I don't think USFS should be taking money from them, given the problems with eating disorders in the sport.)

 

[MacMadame]

(FWIW since Noom is a weight-loss plan, I don't think USFS should be taking money from them, given the problems with eating disorders in the sport.)

Agreed

And Ironman shouldn't have Aleve as a sponsor either.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Most of USFS' sponsors are targeting older consumers, who, sadly, are not an attractive demographic for most companies.

That sounds more like an questionable and not very creative strategy that comes from the high-viewership, high-revenue TV days.

There are plenty of products that are targeted towards and older demographic and niche and targeted advertising. I can see that whenever I visit my old housemate in Canada, where he has 88 re-run channels, where I think their target advertising audience is about 75, on average.

 

[overedge]

That sounds more like an questionable and not very creative strategy that comes from the high-viewership, high-revenue TV days.

There are plenty of products that are targeted towards and older demographic and niche and targeted advertising. I can see that whenever I visit my old housemate in Canada, where he has 88 re-run channels, where I think their target advertising audience is about 75, on average.

I agree that a lot of companies are missing out on potential audiences among older consumers. But compared to the Nikes of the world, USFS' current sponsors don't have that kind of money. They're big companies but not that big. So I doubt that USFS is bringing in the amount of sponsor $$$ that it would need to do things like run its own training facility.

With the mix of sponsors right now, there's probably also an issue of attracting sponsors targeting other demographic groups. Let's say, for example, that USFS approaches Red Bull, which sponsors X Games ice racing events. Red Bull is probably going to see that USFS' current sponsors include Consumer Cellular (cell phones for older folks) and Werthers (candies that older folks give to younger folks) and say, sorry, not our audience. So USFS' current strategy may be doing well in attracting sponsors for a certain demographic, but the strategy also may be pretty limiting.

FWIW I don't understand how sponsors targeting an older demographic are supposed to align with USFS' other strategy of "Get Up" and portraying skaters as tough athletes. Not to say that adults and adult skaters aren't tough, but I thought the idea of "Get Up" and associated messaging was to draw young people into the sport.

 

[MacMadame]

I have always thought USFS's marketing was kind of sucky. I think they are actually doing better these days as they have more sponsors than in the immediate past. Most of them don't appeal to me personally. (Well, I actually love butterscotch so maybe Werthers.) But they aren't off-base for the current demographic.

ISU, OTOH, seems to have all sorts of sponsors including ones that cater to a younger crowd. So it can be done.

I just happened to be thinking about this because I was reading about how UnderArmour stole Steph Curry from Nike. There was a lot of information about how sponsorship works in basketball as well. That got me thinking about how figure skating could get themselves into a similar position.

 

[kwanfan1818]

I agree that a lot of companies are missing out on potential audiences among older consumers. But compared to the Nikes of the world, USFS' current sponsors don't have that kind of money. They're big companies but not that big. So I doubt that USFS is bringing in the amount of sponsor $$$ that it would need to do things like run its own training facility.

I think that's because they're trying for bigger ticket sponsors and are missing opportunities like smaller coalitions of sponsors and naming rights to a small number elite training centers that, on the high end, would tie the sponsor directly to higher visibility results, and even without stating it, the Olympics. They don't have to own the entire thing outright. That's at the elite end.

There are grants to be had in the US for education-related projects and community outreach projects, and they're not all arts-based. That's where I would look if I were trying to capture funds for programs at the entry end, to cast a wider net. If they don't have an education branch set up as a charitable organization eligible for grants, they could create one. And they should be able to fund and host the programs at existing facilities. They also might be able to tie these programs to organizations that slap their name on arenas and stadiums, but want to seem community-oriented.

 

[Aussie Willy]

Just a question of interest. How many people on the USFSA are paid a salary/wages and how many are volunteers?

 

[overedge]

Just a question of interest. How many people on the USFSA are paid a salary/wages and how many are volunteers?

I count 52 head office staff listed here, who I assume are all in paid positions:

Leadership and Staff | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

I would guess that USFS also hires contract employees for specific projects or events. But if it's anything like Skate Canada, most of the rest of the work would be done by volunteers.

ETA: compensation information for staff is listed starting on p. 33 of this document, and amounts paid to independent contractors are on p. 40.

https://www.usfigureskating.org/sites/default/files/media-files/2018%20USFS%20990.pdf

 

[MacMadame]

I'm pretty sure all headquarters staff gets paid. And they have a CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and he has staff.