Thursday, March 20, 2008; Posted: 05:11 PM
Jim Millman, chief executive officer of Colorado Springs-based USA Boxing, wants the 11-person resident program that started last year to continue past the Summer Olympics in Beijing.
He will meet with U.S. Olympic Committee leaders after Beijing in hopes of securing funding through the 2012 London Games and expanding the program to as many as 20 boxers.
"We're going to evaluate it together," Millman said. "So much of what we learned, we can leverage for the next go-around. To do it in one period and then walk away, neither of us wants to do that."
The amount of funding for national governing bodies is determined by USOC chief of sport performance Steve Roush and USOC CEO Jim Scherr with input from an 11-person board of directors chaired by Peter Ueberroth.
USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said decisions are "based in part on the long-range high performance plan a national governing body has. We look at the plan a governing body has put together to train its athletes and to compete internationally."
Winners from the U.S. Olympic trials, including Fort Carson sergeant first class Christopher Downs, have lived at the OTC since September with free room and board and $2,000 monthly stipends.
Eight boxers -- Sadam Ali, Demetrius Andrade, Javier Molina, Gary Russell Jr., Rau'shee Warren, Deontay Wilder, Raynell Williams and Luis Yanez -- have qualified for Beijing. Three boxers -- Downs, Shawn Estrada and Michael Hunter -- can earn Olympic berths at the final Pan American qualifier April 23-30 in Guatemala City.
If the resident program grows, incumbent national team members would receive first dibs on available spots. National director of coaching Dan Campbell likely would have the most influence in selecting remaining participants.
The resident program is the first for boxers at the OTC in more than a decade. Resident programs exist in multiple Olympic and Paralympic sports, such as judo, modern pentathlon, volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling.
"A gym is a gym. It's all the surrounding support," Millman said. "There's a team-building mentality that you're not going to get individually back home. Our team is much better from the experience of staying here, and that's what's in it for them.
"We want a young athlete to be able to feel, 'I could invest four more years for another Olympic shot. At that point, I'll be in better position to turn pro.' We're going to be a very interesting option for these guys."
Millman also is considering an "East Coast hub" for USA Boxing in Connecticut.
The Connecticut legislature's Commerce Committee last week approved a bill by a 20-1 vote that would give USA Boxing a one-time grant of about $1.5 million from the Department of Economic and Community Development.
House Speaker James Amann told the Commerce Committee he supports the bill, which must pass through several committees by the time the legislature adjourns May 7. The most plausible destinations for a Connecticut training facility are Bridgeport, Hartford and Stamford, Millman said.
Connecticut is a finalist to host the 2009 U.S. Championships, along with Colorado Springs and cities in California, Florida and the Midwest, according to Millman. The nation's longest-running boxing tournament has been in Colorado Springs all but two years since 1988.
"There are advantages to moving it," Millman said. "When you look at a lot of the other major sports and their national championships, whether it's the Super Bowl, the Final Four or the U.S. Open, they generally move. ... We could stage it more efficiently here, but we may have better revenue opportunities elsewhere."
CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Check out our Olympics blog at gazetteolympics.blogspot.com
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