What USAT does for you

Triathlon Forum
1

over in the 3D racing thread someone posts the comment,

“If the only benefit I get from USAT is race insurance… then I can take it or leave it. There has got to be more than one way and one source to insure this type of event.”

the fact that USAT is the only worthwhile insurance game in town doesn’t mean that indurance is the only thing it provides. it just means that’s the most visible thing it provides.

and while we’re on the subject of insurance, i’ve heard a couple of people comment that they “already have insurance” and so why do they need insurance from the race? an intersection that ought to be manned goes unmanned, and you get T-boned by a car. you end up in a wheelchair and the driver is uninsured, or has low limits. do you have insurance for the several million in medical bills AND the loss of your job as a result? have you read the provisions of your long-term disability policy?

yes, the insurance is important. USA Cycling had insurance last year for its events. until (oops) they found out their insurance administrator was fraudulent, and it was this very same administrator providing insurance to a variety of non-sanctioned triathlons. in other words, these “insured” races really had no insurance. USAT is very proactive about insurance. that shouldn’t be minimized.

the rules under which you race, the officials that are available to RDs (should the RDs choose to spend a couple of hundred bucks to hire the officials), the training and supervising of these officials, the championships you enter that qualify you for worlds, the uniforms you must wear to compete in worlds, the rankings ou look at from time to time to see how you’re doing against those in your competitive set, the advocacy exercised on your behalf on the region’s and world’s poltical stage w/regard to triathlon, the congresses that train RDs, the commissions that provide advocacy for women triathletes, and regional athletes, are a FEW of the elements of USAT’s work on your behalf.

there are plenty of things USAT ought to be doing that it isn’t. there are services i’ve provided to RDs over the years that were really USAT’s business to provide, and they just haven’t done their job. i’ve had my run-ins with USAT.

but those are reasons to vote, not reasons to abandon USAT. come on guys, let’s stop reminiscing for the 80s. the ME decade is an outdated idea.

2

“the ME decade is an outdated idea.”

Are you suggesting it is selfish not to race USAT races? As a public servant, my salary is fairly modest and I therefore generally choose races that offer the best value. That means the duathlon or triathlon put on by the local bike shop or chamber of commerce. I’ve never thought myself to be greedy for doing this. The way I see it, USAT is a bureacracy and a monopoly that doesn’t represent my interests. I’m never going to be a pro, and I don’t much care if the sport is in the Olympics. Where I live the sport is growing exponentially. If anything, I would like to see the numbers die down a bit so I don’t have to register for the big races 3-12 months in advance.

And I do understand your point about the extra insurance coverage being a bonus. But I ride over 200 days per year and probably only race 10 of those. I’m much more worried about what is going to happen to me on my frequent urban commutes into work on busy streets than I am about about what will happen on my rare race days out in the country.

I just don’t see that USAT offers me much. If I want to donate money to a cause, it will be to my local animal shelter. Not to a bunch of middle manager-types who make a whole lot more money than I do. If that is greed, then call me Ebenezer.

3

“Are you suggesting it is selfish not to race USAT races?”

no, i’m not saying that.

i’m saying you’re shortsighted if you can’t see past your nose. if you think USAT only provides an insurance policy, and you therefore decide you don’t care whether there is or isn’t a USAT, then…

  1. you either don’t care, or
  2. are misinformed…

…about what the federation does for you, and your only interest is in your experience in your chosen race today. to hell with tomorrow, or anybody else’s race, or anybody else’s crash, or the aftermath of that crash, or whatever.

if, on the other hand, you have investigated what the federation does and you conclude that, on balance, things would be as good or better for you and for the sport in general if there were no federation, and you can give a reasoned argument for that stand, then i’m with you 100%. i might not agree, but i’d be impressed by your ability to present a reasoned argument.

4

I learned a big lesson about insurance this year. And I learned it at the Ph.d level in the school of hard knocks. A person sued me for $867,000.00 + costs. They spent tens of thousands of dollars preparing their case against me. The case took 2.5 years to come to trial, after our insurance carrier tried to settle out of court. The first week of August it went to trial- just like the O.J. trial. There were expert witnesses, video testimony, crying plaintiffs, gruesome photos, a jury, a big courtroom. Everything. Just like on TV. I was raked over the coals in public, on the stand, under oath for over an hour (three hours I think). They ask me about my personal life, my relationships, they humiliated me and tried to get a rise out me by provoking me. In front of the jury. In public. In a pre-trial arrangement (without the jury in the courtroom, during pre-trial, but with the judge present) the plaintiff’s attorney stipulated that my military record not be admisable because it “May cause the jury to be biased toward the defendant as a hero figure”. The judge agreed to it. For days I put on a suit and tie, drove to downtown Detroit and listened to my character, personality and integrity be impeached in public. There was no one in the courtroom to support me, no one to come to my defence. A former employee of mine was called as an adverse witness and took the stand against me. The only friend I had in that courtroom, for days during the trial, was an attorney named Russ Portiss who was appointed to me by my insurance company. Russ was a quiet, humble, patient man who was exacting and honest.

We won. The plaintiff didn’t get a cent from our insurance company. In conversation with the jury following the conclusion of the trial in the hallway the jury told me the case seemed largely erroneous and frivolous. The plaintiff made four times what I make in a year at their job and still tried to bilk my insurance company for a million dollars.

My insurance company came through for me. Russ Portiss came through for me. Justice came through for me.

You wonder how important insurance is? I know how important insurance is. Don’t discount the value of USAT insurance (or any other insurance- in this case it was my business insurance) unless you’ve had to use it.

5

FWIW, the 2 most expensive races for me this year were both non-sanctioned races. And both times I was unaware that they were not USAT races when I entered. My fault…I will be better informed from now on.

As to what USAT does for me, all the points made by Slowman are good ones.

As a small business owner, I know that legitimate insurance is critical. And while I understand that the rankings and such aren’t important to everyone, but I like to know where I stand. I also enjoy being part of my sport’s governing body. For $30 a year it’s a no brainer.

I’m not saying I won’t do a non-sanctioned race, but all other things being the same between 2 races, I will pick the USAT race.

G

6

Check me if I’m wrong, but USAT-provided insurance for races covers the race organization and named insureds, but not the individual athletes (should they be T-boned) except after all possible personal insurance is exhausted.

Not that this type of insurance is a bad thing, it allows us to have races, but 98% of athletes think that if they smack a bridge railing or a parked car, they’re covered, and to my understanding this is not true, nor is it advertised with any volume.

All said, race-giving insurance aside, the average triathlete is relatively unaffected by anything else the USAT may provide.

7

I think most of us are well aware of the additional benefits USAT offers. The newsletters and rankings mean nothing to me. The only benefit of substance is the insurance. If insurance wasn’t provided by USAT, how many races do you honestly believe would be sanctioned?

Is A governing body a good thing for the sport? Probably. Should we support this PARTICULAR governing body if we think it offers us little or nothing? That’s up to the individual person.

As a COMPETITOR and a CUSTOMER, I don’t feel it offers me anything worthwhile. Regardless of whether it is a non-profit, USAT is ultimately a business and not a charity. If it wants money from me, they are going to have to provide me with something worthwhile, or force me to pay it by making all races USAT-sanctioned. Currently they are forcing it out of me, not earning it. I will continue to pay my $9 2-3 times per year, and continue to race all the cheap, non-USAT races I can find.

8

“Check me if I’m wrong, but USAT-provided insurance for races covers the race organization and named insureds, but not the individual athletes (should they be T-boned)”

i believe they provide medical payments of $75,000. i’m not sure about that, but i think so.

beyond that, if you’re T-boned you’ve got a suit. jim mclaren got T-boned several years ago in the mission viejo triathlon, and ended up in a wheelchair. his petition netted him something like $3+ million as i remember. USAT’s insurance provided the coverage. is everyone SURE their favorite non-sanctioning RD’s coverage provides for that?

USAT has three jobs:

  1. make sure its races are more fair than non-sanctioned races
  2. make sure its races are more safe than non-sanctioned races
  3. if something bad happens anyway, make sure the money’s there

yeah, there’s other stuff, but those three things above are the meat of it. i’ve been chapping USAT’s hide for more than a decade because of its failure to adequately administer points #1 and #2 above. but i’m still hanging in there.

9

**From the USAT sanction app: Excess Medical Coverage: **The medical program provides up to $25,000 for medical expenses incurred by a participant or volunteer on race day as a result of an accident while participating in a sanctioned event (coverage does not include loss resulting from pre-existing conditions). … This is in excess of other valid and collectible insurance and is subject to $1,000 deductible. Anyhoo, slightly better than a kick in the head with an iron boot.

10

Amen to that! Lets set aside all the arguments over the value of USAT sanctioning. I rarely race non-sanctioned races. But even those that are not sanctioned are no cheaper. Actually, even figuring in my annual membership fee, they cost more!

If its all about the cheaper race - I’ll go with a USAT race, thank you.

11

Earlier this year I did a duathlon in Arizona (no it wasn’t a 3D race). I was having a good day and was passing a lot of people on the bike. But there was a group of guys ahead of me that I couldn’t catch. About 4 of them all riding very closely together, very obviously not in a legal position. Nothing I could do about it except hope that none of the “cheaters” were in my age group. Finally a draft marshall pulls by me on the back of a motorcycle and catches up with the group. My thought was “great, they are going to get what they deserve, all of them at least a time penalty.” The group broke up and one by one I picked each of those guys off when they didn’t have the benifit of the draft.

After the race I saw the official and went up to thank him for being there and catching those guys. I asked him if he gave each of them a time penalty and his response was “no, I told them to break it up, no penalties were needed.”

This was not a USAT sanctioned race. The officials were basically allowed to make up their rules and their own interpretations of the rules. Had this been a sanctioned race, I think the outcome of the above scene would have been different. This is not to say that all USAT sanctioned and officiated races are great. I have seen mistakes made at sanctioned races as well, but at least with a sanctioned race I know that if the race director has paid for officials, they are all using the same rule book.

12

The way I look at it is this. If you are going to do three sanctioned races in one year, the membership pays for itself. Any race beyond that and its a bonus.

Would be nice if there was another insurer other than usat. Competition could be a very good thing.

13

“This was not a USAT sanctioned race. The officials were basically allowed to make up their rules and their own interpretations of the rules. Had this been a sanctioned race, I think the outcome of the above scene would have been different.”

My experience has been that only the biggest USAT races (750+ people) have officials. Conversely, I did a non-USAT race last year with ~50 participants that did have draft marshalls. The presence of race officials seems to have more to do with race size than race sanctioning.

And entry fees must differ by region. Most non-sanctioned races around North Carolina are $20-30, whereas USAT races start at about $35. Most USAT races are in the $45 range, one day fees not included.

14

I’ve done 7 races (cost about $600) this year and USAT only has results up for one (Pacific Coast). If I’m lucky, Santa Barbara and Malibu will send in the results and I might, if I am lucky, get ranked this year. I think it’s ridiculous that half the other race directors feel thay can put on races without even being affiliated with the USAT and many more use USAT for the insurance, but still don’t post the results.