Treasurer's Report

By Tong Lee

There have been discussions, both public and private, by members and non-members concerning the USATT budget. Well-meaning persons have questioned why USATT has not spent more on the National Team, Paralympic athletes, juniors, various grassroots programs, staff salaries, marketing and promotions. Others have offered suggestions on what USATT should do to promote the sport, spend more to develop the National Team and junior players, how to run the U.S. Open and Nationals more professionally and provide more prize money for the latter, and do more for grassroots development. Few, if any, of these suggestions took into account their associated costs and the constraints imposed by the size of the budget or the net worth of USATT. At the same time, there are those who have complained about modest, long-overdue fee increases, overspending, a lack of membership services, and a lack of annual income. In a series of articles I will provide the membership with a better understanding of the USATT budget, including USOC funding and elite athlete spending. I also wish to point out some of the difficulties and constraints of the USATT budget that will beset any administration under the present circumstances. Lastly, I will discuss what USATT could do to run USATT more like a business and use the assets, properties and power associated with its status as a national governing body to generate more income. Without more revenue and income, the Association will not have the financial wherewithal needed to invest in growing and promoting the sport, and to fulfill its prime and ultimate mission and objective of getting an American on the Olympic podium.

Any meaningful discussion relating to the USATT budget must begin with a general knowledge and understanding of its size and the primary sources of revenue and expenses. Without this information, it’s like trying to drive a car on a country road on a moonless night without headlights – it’s not going to work. For the purpose of this discussion, let’s use a round figure of $1,000,000 for the size of the budget. Let’s assume that revenues exceed expenses, so that there is no overspending, and there is a surplus budget.

Based on the 2003 budget, the sources of revenue for USATT are from membership and ratings fees (23.9%), equipment approval and sanction fees (4.3%), U.S. Open/U.S. Nationals tournament revenue and sponsorships (25.3%), magazine and website advertisement revenue (7.5%), USTTA Foundation grants (5.6%), and last, but not least, USOC grants/VIK (33.4%). Note that the USOC does not mandate that all of its grants/VIK be used for elite athletes and their activities. Part of it are for expenses in the administration of elite athlete programs and activities, and for use by USATT at its discretion.

The major expenses of USATT are for headquarters (27.1%), magazine and website (13.8%), membership services, which include expenses such a liability insurance for clubs and sanctioned tournaments, printing and mailing membership packages and materials, and credit card fees (5.1%), U.S. Open/U.S. National tournaments (24.5%), elite athlete programs and coaching (20.8%). These expenses total 91.1%. With a surplus of 2.1%, the Board of Directors, committee, direct grassroots development, and all other expenses are very small components of the budget as the rest of the expenses total only 6.8%.

What is striking at first glance at the above is this: While membership and ratings revenue total 23.9% of the total budget, USATT spends 46% (27.1%+13.8%+5.1%) of the total budget to support an office, to staff it to run the affairs of the association, to generate the ratings, to provide liability insurance for clubs and tournaments, and to provide an on-time, well-received magazine and to maintain the website. Another interesting statistic is that USOC provides one-third of the revenues of USATT. In the next article, I will discuss these and other budget statistics in detail.