Member News

January 23, 2006

USA Judo Board of Directors Approves Historic Athlete Support Budget

The USA Judo Board of Directors gathered for their first meeting of the year on Saturday at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In an unprecedented move, the Board approved a budget that includes the largest amount of direct athlete support in USA Judo history – estimated at nearly $750,000 for 2007 alone. 

This support includes cash as well as Elite Athlete Health Insurance and new programs that will provide athletes with multipurpose vitamins and access to free or low-cost chiropractic care. 

One of the most exciting features of this year’s budget is the direct athlete support for two of USA Judo’s top medal contenders – Ryan Reser (73kg) and Ronda Rousey (63kg) – who will be receiving direct cash support of $35,000 in 2007.  Reser and Rousey will have the potential to earn more than $60,000 this year when they meet their targeted goals.

“Ryan and Ronda both had tremendous levels of success in 2006 and we hope this funding will help them build on their results this year,” said Eddie Liddie, USA Judo Director of Athlete Performance.

Both Reser and Rousey are ranked in the top 10 in the world in their respective divisions.  Among his highlights in 2006, Reser won two A-Level silver medals at the Rotterdam and Boras World Cups.  Rousey holds a #4 World Ranking after becoming the first U.S. woman to win a senior A-Level event since 1997.  Rousey also became the first American to win the B-Level Belgium Ladies’ Open and took titles at the Swedish Open, U.S. Open and Rendez-Vous Canada as well as a silver medal at the Pan American Championships.

Reser and Rousey are two of five athletes selected to receive USA Judo Elite Athlete Funding in 2007, including Valerie Gotay (57kg), Carrie Chandler (52kg) and Jeanette Rodriguez (48kg).

Gotay, a 1992 Olympian, won three B-Level titles in 2006: the Finnish Open, U.S. Open and Rendez-Vous Canada.  She also placed fifth at the Belgium Ladies’ Open and the Swedish Open.

Chandler won bronze medals in both Belgium and Finland while 16-year-old Rodriguez had one of the biggest breakout performances of the year among the junior athletes.  After winning her first Senior National title in April, Rodriguez went on to win the U.S. Open and posted fifth-place results at the B-Level Tre-Torri International and the Junior World Championships.

Although these five athletes have been allotted specific funds, many opportunities for elite funding will be available for elite athletes throughout the year through which a successful athlete could receive more than $35,000 in direct support through the following programs:

• World Championship and A-Level placing incentives
• Monthly stipends for A or B-Level athletes with 27 or more international points
• B-Level grants for athletes with 14 or more international points
• Funding for members of the World, Pan Am Championships and Pan Am Games Teams
• Housing and flight assistance for the Lake Placid and U.S. Open Training Camps
• Elite Athlete Health Insurance
• Vitamin supplements
• Free or reduced cost chiropractic care

“Eddie Liddie, USA Judo’s Director of Athlete Performance presented a strong high performance plan that incorporated how we expected to do in 2008, but most importantly, addresses 2012 and beyond,” said Jose H. Rodriguez, USA Judo CEO. “We’re no longer an organization that plans for a quad, but now we’re projecting for two and three Olympics at a time to make sure that we have the grassroots that ultimately will feed the necessary elite athletes to win medals.”

The Board also approved $200,000 in funding from the U.S. Olympic Committee for the support of six USA Judo National Training Sites, including the Olympic Training Center, Harlingen and North Miami programs as well as the establishment of new training sites that will be named soon.

These funds are above and beyond the support received by the North Miami and Harlingen USA Judo National Training Sites by their local communities.

During the meeting, the Board was addressed by Jay Warwick, Director of USOC Sports Partnerships who took time out of his busy schedule to provide the board with more information regarding the USOC’s vision in the organization. 

“Obviously with two years to go to the Olympic Games, this year’s support for the athletes is as important or even more important than the funding they’ll receive during the Olympic year,” Rodriguez said. “Having come from the sport of track and field, I remember when track and field was an ‘amateur sport’ and I remember very well when the athletes received salaries of $20,000-$40,000 and I saw those amounts climb to six figures as Carl Lewis and others began to break through with more success.  This is something very innovative and new to the sport of judo and I’m sure that the athletes who are receiving this financial support will be able to concentrate more on training and getting ready to win medals than on how to pay their next month’s rent and bills.”

The meeting was the first one for USA Judo’s two new independent directors – Steve Poindexter and Kennis Bellmard II.

Poindexter, a third-degree black belt in judo, is the co-founder and managing partner for Crown jewels Marketing and Agribusiness in Fresno, Calif.  Bellmard is a former varsity wrestler at Oklahoma State University who is presently an attorney who has specialized in Native American Law in Oklahoma City.

“We had a long, but productive, meeting,” said USA Judo President Dr. Ron Tripp. “We spent a lot of time discussing new ideas and we’re excited about the contributions the new members of the board will be able to make to the sport.”

The meeting began with the revisiting of USA Judo’s Vision Statement: “The United States has completed one of its best finishes in the sport of judo at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games by capturing an unprecedented two medals and a seventh place finish. The USA Judo Team is well on its way to fielding a full, highly competitive Team at the 2012 London Olympic Games with the potential to provide the United States with a gold medal in those Olympic Games.”

“We began the meeting by reinforcing the vision statement of USA Judo. It will be our protocol that every meeting will begin with revisiting the vision and making sure we’re in tune with our vision so the mission ultimately will achieve what it’s supposed to achieve,” said Board Member Lance Nading.

Other items decided during the meeting included the following:

• In a reciprocal action with the United States Judo Federation, the Board of Directors revoked the membership privileges of Mr. Al Miyatake.
• The Referee Education Committee for 2007 was announced to be chaired by Mel Appelbaum and include the following members: Roy Englert, Dave Long, Frank Morales, Kei Narimatsu, Russell Scherer and Tom Seabasty.  Bill Graves will continue to serve as the Assistant to the Chairman.