USST:Order vs. Organization

So, it seems a little disappointing. USSA gave some extra moola, but
they probably were anyway. We had one exciting performace, maybe two,
but they were not in the long-distance events. The team did so great
in the months leading up, that's why it was a disappointment for me.
On the other forums, i've never seen such depressing b.s. "The sport
has lost it's soul",
or conspiracies about doping, etc.
It seems like people are very concerned about what time they are going
to get at the birkie, or what wax to use this weekend.
Let's have a serious discussion about what do.
My personal opinion is that USST imposes order on a sport that needs to
organize itself.
Look, I love those guys and i know they put their hearts and souls into
these athletes.
But caution and conservatism are not going to get us medals.

It seems to me that the US XC program has been VERY bold and
pro-active. Very nervy. Heck, they were going for GOLD, baby! And it
seems like they set up their training and development to give a CHANCE
to get it. They took a shot, aimed high. They took big risks in
training and technique innovation. I really like how they've done so
much public outreach, with the top dogs giving outreach to the public
via their websites. I'd personally like to read a report about "what
happened." An analysis. It seems like the USST has been pretty up front
the past few years about where they are, where they want to go, what
they think they need to get there. I'd like to see the next steps, or
the same steps just keep continuing on like they have been: what
happened this time, what went right, what went wrong, how to
fix...ideas. It seems like they've been pretty darn open about this
stuff, to me. --JP