:mad: THIS IS A WELL REASONED LETTER OF COMPLAINT WRITTEN TO THE PRESIDENT AND BOARD OF ATHLETICS AUSTRALIA BY AN OUTSTANDING AUSTRALIA-BASED FORMER RUSSIAN JUMPER AND NOW JUMPS COACH…kk
Sunday, April 13, 2008 9:33 AM
Subject: Information for President and Board Members
Dear Rob and Board Members
Some time has passed since our discussion and I purposefully didn’t send you my notes previously because the competition season had started and I wanted to see how the things I had implemented, or tried to implement, would work out.
Obviously, as a result of my pushing for change, my contract was terminated before time and without any explanation or warning.
Now the season is over and I want to give you my thoughts as it is time to contemplate our results and make judgements and analysis.
I have included the other board members in this email as I would like to give you information about the current state of athletics.
I have a feeling that the board members and yourself have a different picture from the words of Max Binnington and Danny Corcoran than people have at the ‘coal face’ in athletics.
There is a lot of unrest and dissatisfaction in the field.
It seems bureaucracy has overtaken results and if this situation does not change - you will have NO athletes and coaches within the system.
All will be operating outside of the system as the system does not support them at all.
It appears that the system exists for the system - not for those who are producing the results - athletes and coaches.
Everyone is saying that the ‘body of athletics’ is sick and once we recognise that we have a sickness, we need to find a treatment.
The major reason for this sickness from AA point of view is lack of money.
But from my point of view this lack of money is because of two reasons: 1) lack of result - sponsors and government don’t want to invest money in a sport that doesn’t produce a high level of results and 2) unwise spending - we should judge the effectiveness of money spent by the result produced.
It needs to be recognised that athletics is a professional business, not a hobby - if we accept this, we need to apply the economic rule or structure that applies to all businesses.
You as a successful business man know this very well – and I appeal to you not as a sportsperson but as a business person. If you don’t see value for money spent - you start asking ‘why?’ and what needs to change in order to create profit or result?
HP modern sport is not the same as it was 15-20 years ago - it has changed and the system MUST change with it. It is now a high technology, creative business with multi billion dollar budgets.
What was done 15 years ago will not produce high enough standards in world competitions today. A high level of sport requires a high level of professionalism.
So the next question is: What do we need to make our business successful/profitable? or What do we need to do in order to have results in our business??
The answer to this is four fold - to have results we need to have: 1) Talented athletes; 2) Experienced, creative coaches; 3) Good facilities; and 4) A good management structure.
Talented athletes: Australia has an abundance of talented young people - the climate, genetics, food and attitude of Australia and Australians are the best in the world for producing talented athletes.
You can see this clearly from statistics - Australian teams at Would Youth were ranked as 5th and 6th in the World during the period 2001-07.
In two years time when athletes became Junior, the Australian team ranks, not so consistently: 2006- 16th, 2004-6th, 2002-15th, 2000-8th.
When we get to senior ranking, the Australian team ranks: 2005-29th; 2003-21st, 2001-20th.
Why do athletes from other countries improve their results as they get older and Australian athletes not??? Why does this talent disappear and where does it go?
Athletics is not like swimming where an athlete can achieve maximum performance between 16-20 years of age.
Maximum performance in athletics is between 22 and 27, although now athletes can continue their sport until late 20’s and over 30. (This is because the skill level and experience of high competition requires maturity and physical condition can be held at the same level during this period).
What an advantage this can give us - a minimum 10-15 year career span of successful athletes?
But one reason why Australian athletes finish their sport’s career after junior level is because of a minimal amount of support.
Current HP sport requires professionalism and dedication so how does AA expect an athlete to exist after they leave school and parent’s home - what reward system is currently in place that can inspire an athlete to continue???
Pride to represent your country in a international competition - yes, great motivation but does it pay the bills?
As a result of this lack of support many of the best in Australia at junior level, leave Australia to go to the USA -where they can get sponsorship at universities - why can we not create a similar system in Australia? Whose responsibility is it to deal with this?
The Junior program is very dear to me as I was a major instigator of it 5 years ago and I see it as a solution to the future of athletics.
The junior program is created to select the potentially best junior and youth and help them to move into the senior sport arena (who potentially will be at the Olympic Games 2012).
For this program there is allocated an amount of money. In theory the idea is good. But in practise, support from this program to the athlete is restricted to an invitation 2 times in the year for a camp for 2-3 days - this is pleasurable for the athletes but is not the most effective way of achieving a result.
Money is spent for this education camp but athletes have to pay their own money to get to the national championship and compete for national title. This is just one area of unwise spending.
To give you an example of lack of result - two year ago, 72 potential athletes were selected (selected by a results /ranking from computer)for this squad.
I immediately spoke to Sarah Mulkearns to give her my professional opinion about the exclusion of some athletes who, while not in the top ranking, had huge potential and the inclusion of others that had top ranking but really no potential.
She told me that there was nothing she could do and nothing was done.
From these 72 selected only 15 remain - at this ratio, these athletes may have continued without the program.
Is this a good result and effective use of money?
In some events at the National Championships U 23 only 2-3 athletes compete - from this pool we need to select those athletes who will compete for Australia in international events - we need 10-15 to select from, not 2-3. How can we change this trend?
A good material base - facilities:
Australian facilities are some of the best in the world in general. This certainly is not the problem.
In Melbourne, e.g. there are 15 (probably more) stadiums with synthetic surfaces. To compare with St Petersburg, e.g. there are only 4 outdoor facilities and 2 indoor facilities.
Coaches, who can help an athlete realise their maximum potential:
There are many coaches who have not sufficient training or expertise to take an athlete from junior to senior level.
In Australia the coaching system is very basic and there are not many coaches who in their whole career have produced 3 or more athletes for the national team.
In the current state, coaching in Australia is a hobby and there are only a few full time coaches in the AA system.
All others are working outside of the system in their own time and after paid employment.
One point: What will motivate a coach to work more successfully - just enthusiasm and for how long?
AA paid $10,000 to coaches of athletes who achieved top 10 in the world. To produce this product (athlete) the coach needs to spend 7-10 years hard work.
Has a study been done about how much a coach spends of their own money in this time? Would you as a business man - work for this reward?
Coaches who prepare national champion or top 20 in the world have no financial reward at all.
The next point is that to produce an athlete who achieves top 10 in the world, a coach needs a high level of knowledge and experience - where can they get this from in AA system?
Coaches can’t get knowledge just from a book - they need to get it from older, more experienced coaches - and if the system doesn’t support and keep experienced coaches the knowledge will eventually disappear with them as they are forced to leave the system or the country.
(Who has replaced the following coaches? to name only a few: Phil King (Jana Pitman’s coach), Issa Peltola (Patrick Johnson’s coach), Michael Khmel (Matt Shirvington’s coach)and where are they now?
Even if there are coaches in the system, how do younger coaches, who want to increase their knowledge, access this practically in the current AA system?
How do coaches communicate and share both practical and creative ideas in the current system?
Usually a company fights to get and keep their best workers - AA is kicking the best workers (coaches) out -and this is causing a brain drain!!!
To prepare a good athlete you need 6-8 years, to prepare a good coach takes 15-20 years.
AA has to find and support coaches who consistently produce results.
But instead of this, they suppress and obstruct them. The result is that they quit or leave the country.
Management - who must help coaches and athletes solve their problems and also direct the development of athletics:
Point 1: One area that causes the most problems within the system is that there is no one who will take responsibility (is this lack of confidence or knowledge?) and who can make decisions (I can provide numerous examples of this).
Point 2: AA always says that there is not enough money and in 2004 cut all coaching positions (other than 4 or 5) and athletes support (other than massage and treatment etc).
Yet there was enough money to keep all the coordinators (who should coordinate what???) and even new positions were created.
Everyone is saying there is no money. Every question that the athlete and coach asks hits the wall with the comment ‘there is no money’.
Is the minister or government satisfied by the results in athletics or do they realise that the problems are caused by lack of money?
The Institute of Sport system was created 15 years ago to support the best coaches and athletes - now there are no coaches in any Institute of Sport, other than 2 in AIS and 2 in WAIS- only administrators -administrators of what - why are coordinators and administrators more important than the workers?
Often administrators have no understanding of HP or athletics at all.
Why not proportion some of this money directly to the athletes or coaches?
We should compare how much is spent on administration and how much on athletes to get an idea of unwise spending.
AA pays athletes travel money but they need support in order to prepare for the competition season.
How do other countries provide support, yet Australia with all its resources only manages to give minimal support??
In other countries, all athletes in a national team receive a monthly stipend (based on result) that is revised at the end of each season.
Could this be implemented within Australia?
Point 3: In sport every day situation’s occur in which coach and athlete need the help and a solution to practical problems from management.
To give you an example of a simple problem: Commonwealth Bronze medallist and national champion couldn’t get access to any facilities to do strength training and recovery sessions.
AA couldn’t solve this problem and just ignored requests for help - the coach is alone with his problems;
Coaches and administration should be working on the same team and be like minded - instead they are spending their energy fighting!!!
How can a business be successful if there is no support for athlete or coach - who are the people producing the result?
If people are doing this for pleasure it is one direction, but if you wish to see Australian athletes in the top of the world, the system needs to change to make it more comparable.
In swimming national selection trial, 2008, e.g. athletes produced 8 world records - is this luck or the result of a system that works??
Point 4: To give you an example of some of the issues that coaches and athletes need to deal with on a regular basis - During the national selection trial for World Junior, on the day of competition there were pole volt mats at the end of the TJ run up - this made the run up short by 2-4 steps.
Athletes and coach spent 1 hour in the lead up to competition trying to find someone who could solve this problem - which should have been solved in 5 minutes.
Finally David Ginter - competition manager was asked (he is in a full time paid job with AA with a paid assistant) to move the mats- he said ‘no’ without any explanation or reason.
In this instance, again, coaches and parents flew to Gold Coast using their own money to support the athlete who has trained for 3-5 years to quailify for World Junior.
These situations and attitudes on the part of AA employees are becoming the ‘norm’ and people just don’t want to help.
This causes frustration and anger towards the athletics body as a whole.
Do situations like this promote the image of athletics?
Does it stimulate parents and junior athletes to continue athletics?
Is it professional? A high level of sport requires a high level of professionalism.
To put it bluntly the main problem with athletics in Australia is a total lack of support -morally and financially, for both the athlete and the coach.
Until this problem is resolved AA will continue getting low results at a World Championships level.
The problem is a vicious circle - until money is spent on athletes, coaches, and coaches education there is no chance of changing the cycle - no matter what management says.
If you keep on doing what you have always done, you will keep on getting the same result.
In business we call this stupidity and the business goes bankrupt.
I, on a personal level, have spoken (more than 20 times) to all levels of management on both a State and National level about these issues and have also given ideas of how to solve some of them.
I have now been forced out of the system and I have been surprised how many coaches have contacted me with similar feelings of total dissatisfaction with the direction of AA and also the lack of support within the system.
It would be in the board’s best interest to do something. High level of sport requires a high level of professionalism.
This email is the tip of the iceberg - I haven’t mentioned state problems, the clubs situation, relationship with little athletics, coaching education courses, schedule and quality of competitions - all these are what HP is based on.
In each of these areas are people in full time employment so why should so many problems exist?
I could go on and on citing one example after another of ways that money is spent unwisely and that personal relationships (between participants in the system) seem to be more important than results.
I don’t want to overload this email with copious facts and figures but I certainly have enough evidence to support each of my words.
Other coaches have also very similar stories and evidence and we certainly can come up with a very long list - if you are interested!!!
I have raised many questions throughout this email and would be happy to discuss solutions with you - because they DO EXIST.
As there is no one on the board of AA who represents coaches, I would be interested in talking to the board about these and other issues from a coach’s perspective.
Then you can clearly make some decisions about the future direction of Athletics in Australia.
But while there are no coaches represented, you are only hearing one side of the problem.
To substantiate my opinions and statements in this email and also to maintain my professionalism, I would like to give you some of my statistics:
[b]As an athlete, I was USSR record holder in TJ (17.55) and competed for 11 years in the national youth, junior and senior USSR teams.
For 6 years I was in the top 10 in the world (in 1983, ranked #1)and twice silver medallist of European Championship.
As a coach, my athletes have competed in 3 Olympic Games, (silver, 5th and 9th place); 5 World Championships, 2 World Cups and several European Championships.
In the past 7.5 years in Australia, I have had 4 athletes in the national team-all national champions; a Silver Olympic Medallist, a 5th place in Olympics, a Bronze Commonwealth Medallist and have created (in last 5 years) 2 junior squads in both SA and Vic (14-23 years old) who have won 51 medals from national championships.
To this end I have the experience as both an athlete and coach to ensure that my opinions are of value and not just the rantings of a disgruntled coach.
High level of sport requires a high level of professionalism.
[/b]I still believe Australia has huge human potential, good facilities and conditions and a great historical tradition in athletics.
I believe that this difficult time for athletics will pass if we will have the courage to change, accept and truly work together to find best solutions for our sport.
Regards
Vasily
Vasily Grishchenkov
Vagri Consulting
Telephone: 0422394968
Email: vagri55@hotmail.com
(kidding)