Thanks to SusanG for sending in this great shot from Sweden:

Short Track World Cup Venue Changed

WESTLAKE, Ohio -- U.S. Speedskating has announced a change of venue for the World Cup Short Track on November 26-28. Initially scheduled for Las Vegas, the event will now be held in Madison, Wisconsin, due to the lack of an international-size ice sheet in Las Vegas. The International Skating Union has approved the change of venue.

The venue in Madison will be the Alliant Energy Center.

Read more

Athlete Direct Funding Cuts

There is an interesting analysis on Shani Davis's web site about recent athlete funding cuts. The USS Performance-Based Incentive program pays the athletes a monthly stipend, which is tied to each skater's performance the previous season.

Last fall, USS announced that athletes would be paid anywhere from $150-550 per month, based on their performance. However, the athletes were notified in July that their payments would be cut by an average of 10.5%. Shani's web site says that no explanation for the funding cuts was given to the athletes.

USS staff apparently received a substantial pay raise at the same time that the athletes' funding was reduced by an average of 10.5% and the short track and long track programs were both cut by a hefty 27%.

It's pretty interesting in light of USS' requirement for athletes to pay their travel expenses to attend certain meets (I think American Cups and North Americans).

Details are available at shanidavis.org.

Here is a press release from Group Health about Apolo's commercials:

Apolo Ohno Plays Role in Improving Region's Health; Group Health Doctors Team up with Gold Medalist to Promote Exercise

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 2004--Gold medalist Apolo Ohno took a break from training last month to film two television commercials with doctors from Group Health Cooperative. Their message: regular exercise improves overall health and helps prevent disease.

One commercial features Ohno zooming down a Lake Washington trail on a bicycle; in the other, he strides flawlessly on in-line skates. He meets up with Group Health's P.Z. Pearce, MD, and Cara Beth Lee, MD, who also ride and skate regularly. The doctors remind viewers how important it is to get at least 30 minutes of consistent exercise, three to five days a week -- more if you want to catch up with Apolo Ohno.

"Apolo is a great match for promoting a fitness message," said Lee. "He rides, he runs, and of course he skates on land and ice. So much of getting in shape depends on a healthy attitude and an effort to work at something you enjoy."

The 22-year-old short-track specialist and former in-line skating champion has his sights set on the 2006 Winter Games in Turin, Italy. Following the Group Health shoot, Ohno returned to Colorado Springs where he trains six days a week in the rink and on the roads -- all at 6,400 feet of elevation.

To the 99.9 percent of population not training to win medals, Ohno advises, "Start now, start slow, and have fun."

Ohno rides his bicycle an average of 60 miles a day. "Cycling is one of the best ways to get in a good workout. It's low-impact and easy on the joints," he said.

Television viewers can catch the speed skater in action on KING-TV, KONG-TV, KREM-TV, and Northwest Cable News. The campaign will overlap with the Summer Games in Athens, which begin August 13.

Group Health continues to promote exercise and fitness by taking an active sponsorship role in bicycling events in and around Seattle and the Northwest, most visibly as title sponsor of the Group Health Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic (Group Health STP), the largest multi-day ride in the Pacific Northwest.

Video Clip: Group Health commercial- 2

Here it is -- the second Group Health commercial. Who could have guessed that in 2 1/2 years this would be our first glimpse of Apolo on inline skates?

Thanks once more to Janet, Maggie and Sonia for their collaboration in making these videos available to us!

Download Group Health 2

Screengrabs from Apolo's Group Health Commercial (inline skating)

Here they are!

Chicago Tribune | IOC tells Turin: Get your act together

ATHENS -- Will Turin's preparations for the 2006 Winter Olympics turn into the same high-wire act performed by Athens as it readied for the Summer Games that begin Friday?

International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge has begun hectoring the Italians to realize their big show is less than 18 months away.

The IOC worries the 2006 Winter Olympics so far are being seen in Italy only as a regional event featuring unpopular sports. [A Torino organizing committee spokesman] said that is Turin's biggest problem.

"The Italian people do not feel the Turin Games are Italy's Games," he said. "The involvement of the state and of state-owned companies is very weak."