Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 23, 1995 TAG: 9507240097
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DENVER LENGTH: Medium
Seattle, Dallas, Phoenix and Richmond, Va., had been in the running for the 1997 and 1999 festivals.
USOC president LeRoy Walker said the executive committee took the action based in part on the lack of time the host city would have to prepare for the '97 festival.
He said a task force that is studying the festival will soon make a recommendation on how best to spend the $4.2 million that the USOC puts toward the festival.
``We are studying at great length the menu of domestic and international competitions available to our athletes and trying to reach a consensus on the direction and the format and the priority that we wish to follow in order to make that particular expenditure in the best interest of our athletes,'' Walker said.
``While we're still deliberating these issues, we really feel that it would not be fair to postpone our decisions on staging the 1997 Olympic Festival.''
Mary Lou Retton opposes the decision.
``It's an extremely important competition for amateur athletes. It's really a mimi-Olympics,'' the former gymnast said. ``There's so much media exposure. The little events don't have as much media attention.''
Last year, the USOC had decided to hold only two festivals in each quadrennium instead of three.
When the festival began in 1978, there were fewer opportunities for U.S. athletes to compete outside the Olympics. Now they can pick from several events, and many of the biggest names choose to skip the festival because of scheduling conflicts.
``It's hard for the athletes to train for so many competitions,'' Retton said. ``I can see that side of it, but there's nothing like this competition.''
Retton competed in the 1981 festival and went on to win the all-around gold medal in the 1984 Olympics.
Also Saturday, the executive committee approved spending about $4 million to be used for ``Hometeam '96,'' a program intended to ensure a strong showing for the U.S. team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
And, it approved spending $29 million to upgrade the facilities at the Olympic training center in Colorado Springs.
John Krimsky Jr., interim executive director for the USOC, said the money from Hometeam '96 will go to athletes and coaches to help them best prepare for the Games.
``This is really the culmination of everything the USOC can do to help our 700-plus athletes win more medals in Atlanta than any other country,'' he said. ``That's the whole purpose of this program - to win the medal count.''
He said the executive committee approved the use of near-term cash, additional resources and the use of some facilities in the Atlanta area. Decisions on who will get the money will be made with input from coaches and the national governing bodies.
Krimsky said the intent is to allow athletes to get acclimated to the warm climate, see the venues before the competition ``and basically having the home-team advantage.''
``We're going to win the medal count in Atlanta, but we want to surprise people with a really strong performance of the United States team.''
The upgrading of the training center will include tearing down old structures and replacing them with first-rate dormitories, dining halls, sports medicine facilities, etc.
Construction will begin in December and work will be completed at the end of January 1997, Krimsky said.
by CNB