Skip Gilbert, USA Swimming’s Assistant Executive Director for Business Development, has distributed a proposed athletes’ agreement to members of the US National Team. The athletes have been asked to respond by May 15.
The agreement–called the USA Swimming Marketing Partnership–was originally modeled on the USA Soccer athletes’ agreement, but has undergone several major revisions since it first was drafted several months ago. The revisions have all been aimed at increasing the partnership aspects of the proposal and the benefits to the athletes.
According to Gilbert, one reason for the agreement is “to raise the awareness of the National Team and our elite athletes throughout the country. It is our goal to bring swimming into the mainstream consciousness of today’s sports fan. The end result will be better media coverage, more spectators at our events, more kids entering and staying with our sport and more opportunities for our National Team athletes to benefit financially.” In essence, the agreement outlines the ways and conditions for National Team athletes to become involved with and benefit financially from USA Swimming’s marketing efforts.