White House visit runs big tab for U.S. athletes

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- It takes serious cash and some shrewd politics to make it to the White House -- and not just for the people who want to be president.

Every member of the U.S. Olympic team will get the opportunity to make the traditional trip to Washington this month, but only after a good amount of wrangling over finances and the size of the invitation list.

The approximately 800 members of the Olympic and Paralympic teams who competed in Athens will have the chance to meet President Bush on Oct. 18, courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee, which has footed the bill for White House visits since they began in 1976.

USOC spokesman Darryl Seibel said it costs an average of around $800 to send each athlete for what is essentially a photo op and a chance to shake hands with the president.

The trips almost didn't happen because the USOC, facing about a $17 million shortfall for the current four-year period, was looking for ways to cut the budget. One solution USOC secretary general Jim Scherr and others agreed on was to trim spending for the White House visit.

To enact the change, last month the USOC notified the organizing boards of each sport that they could only send two athletes per sport, and they were given less than a week to decide who those athletes would be. There was such an outcry, however, among athletes, coaches and board executives that the USOC changed course again and reverted to the original plan of inviting the entire U.S. delegation.

"I'm very happy that the USOC found a solution that includes all the athletes," USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi said.

The men's and women's gymnastics teams won a total of nine medals, including silver for each in the team competition and golds for Paul Hamm and Carly Patterson in the all-arounds. Had the two-athlete plan stayed, Colarossi was going to leave it to a vote of the gymnasts to decide who would represent the team at the White House.

Now, those tough decisions won't have to be made. Still, not everyone is happy about the all-inclusive plan, which would cost the USOC around $640,000 if all 800 people chose to go and no outside financing was arranged.

USA Swimming executive director Chuck Wielgus, whose team won 28 medals in Athens, sent a letter to the committee criticizing the idea. He thinks the money could be better spent and the USOC gave into political pressure from within the Olympic team.

"It seemed excessive and unnecessary given we're all in the business of never having enough money to do all the things we need to provide services for our athletes," Wielgus said in an interview with The Associated Press. "To me, it made sense to send a representative group, not everybody."

Seibel said the governing boards of the sports won't pay anything for the trips, and the outcry over the two-athlete plan was too loud to ignore.

"When we received the official invite from the White House to visit, we received a lot of sentiment from athletes expressing a strong desire to participate because it is a tradition and a tremendous honor," Seibel said.

He said the USOC is working with several sponsors, including a major airline and hotel chain, to help lower the cost of the trip. He also said it is important for the USOC to recognize the government's contribution to the athletes, especially the security it provided for their trip to Athens.

"We'll never see that bill for security," Seibel said. "And if you ask the administration, it's as much an honor for them to have the Olympic team visit the White House as it is for the USOC to send the team to the White House."

The visit comes at a key time for many of the Olympic sports, whose executives are presenting their strategic plans to the USOC. The committee must determine how much money to give to each governing board for the next four years.

"The expense seems excessive when we're all out there crying for more money," Wielgus said. "My sense is, there's been some political pressure. Knowing the nature of this organization, it probably came from folks who thought they had a right to go, thought this was something they'd earned."