International Coach Travel & Expense Policy

Coaching Fees

Coaches are paid $500 per coaching day for both IODA and non-IODA regattas, fifty percent of the coaching fee for travel days (i.e. $250), and a $25 per diem, in the local currency of the regatta, to cover incidentals, including meals, while traveling. If the coach travels and coaches on the same day, as often happens on arrival days, the coach will be paid the daily coaching rate and not the travel day rate for that day.

IODA Team Leaders who are paid coaches (hereafter referred to as coaches) will receive $400 per coaching day, fifty percent of their coaching fee for travel days (i.e. $200), and a $25 per diem, in the local currency of the regatta, to cover incidentals, including meals, while traveling. If the coach travels and coaches on the same day, as often happens on arrival days, the coach will be paid the daily coaching rate and not the travel day rate for that day.

Please note that the National Team has a different pay structure and the foregoing is not applicable to coaching for the National Team at an international regatta, like Bermuda Nationals.

Plane Tickets

Coaches are required to book their plane tickets through Elizabeth Kratzig at sailingteamtravel@gmail.com. The International Committee of the USODA or Parent Leader for a team will let the coaches and Elizabeth know when the travel dates are firm and plane tickets should be booked. The coaches should endeavor to book their tickets within a week of when they are asked to book their tickets. The USODA will cover the cost of a coach’s ticket from the airport closest to their home (as reasonable – for example, many cities have several airports that could make sense, like NYC) to the closest airport to the regatta venue (as reasonable, several venues have several airports that could make sense, like Belgium) and back on the dates of travel indicated for the team. The USODA will cover the cost of tickets booked in the Main Cabin. The tickets booked should be the best-priced ticket (as reasonable).

Please note that the regatta budgets posted on the USODA website are meant to represent a worst-case scenario to help USODA determine how much to charge families as a registration fee. It is the USODA’s goal to return money to families after the trip because the budgeted amount was too high, as opposed to require them to pay additional amounts after the trip due to the fact that budget amount was too low. It is not the USODA’s intent that the amount budgeted for coaches’ plane tickets be the amount spent.

If a coach would like to travel to the venue early, leave late, not fly from their home airport, add additional travel to their trip, fly in a premium class, etc. the USODA will cover the costs of the allowed ticket, per the guidelines above, and deduct the additional costs from the coaching fee, provided that the coach emails the International Committee, copying Elizabeth Kratzig, letting the International Committee know that this is what the coach would like to do, and the Chair of the International Committee confirms back in writing that the USODA will agree to do so.

Transportation, Lodging & Meals

The USODA will cover the cost of the coach’s transportation to and from the airport (or onsite airport parking, if less) that they depart and return to per the first paragraph under “Plane Tickets” above, within reason. Transportation should not exceed what is projected in the regatta budget.

For IODA events, in-country transportation, housing, and meals are provided for the coaches.

For non-IODA events, the coach should work together with the parent team leader, to the extent possible, to arrange for the coach to travel from the airport to the venue with one of the families on the team. The parent team leader will arrange for the coach’s housing. USODA provides a $25 per per diem for meals to; however, families will typically invite the coaches to join them for meals. 

Housing will be provided for the coach from the team’s arrival day to the night before the team’s departure day. Coaches and team leaders may have to share a room depending upon the budget, gender, and/or IODA room allocations.

Visa Costs

The USODA does not pay for the costs associated with obtaining visas.

The process of selecting coaches is a difficult one and one which is very carefully and thoughtfully undertaken by the International Committee of the USODA. The USODA makes a concerted effort to ensure that the International Committee is comprised of individuals with broad exposure to coaches, individuals with a depth of experience traveling to international regattas, individuals with children who are currently sailing optis and others who no longer have children sailing optis, but once did, and individuals representing the areas of the US where there are large pockets of opti sailors. While Committee composition and the number of Committee members changes from time to time, currently there are seven individuals on the Committee, including the President of the USODA, a past President of the USODA, and four USODA Board members.

Many factors are considered by the International Committee, including, but not limited to, the sailing competency of the sailors that will be attending the event, the number of sailors attending the event, whether the group of sailors attending the event are likely to have attended another international regatta, whether the coach has attended an international event on behalf of the USODA previously, whether the coach is known by the USODA, etc. While the USODA would like to give every coach the opportunity to coach the regattas they most desire to coach, the USODA’s first priority is to send the best coach possible for each particular group of sailors. As you all know, our sailors work very hard, and give up a lot, to achieve the goal of representing the US internationally. In addition, their parents spend a small fortune getting them there with the average cost of attending an international regatta exceeding $7,500 per sailor. For these reasons, the USODA has chosen to implement this method of selecting coaches, over rotating coaches, etc. While this is a different process than the process followed by the NT Committee, the group of sailors being sent to international regattas by the USODA is a much larger and far more diverse group than the NT and the regattas themselves are quite different from those that we send the NT to.

While the fees have been the same for the last five years, for the sake of clarity, coaches are paid $500 per coaching day for IODA and Non-IODA regattas, and the coach team leader $400 per coaching day for IODA regattas; fifty percent of their coaching fee for travel days, i.e. $250 for coaches and $200 for coach team leaders; and a $25 per diem, in the local currency of the regatta, to cover incidentals while traveling.

Please note that the National Team and ODP2 have different pay structures and the foregoing is not applicable to coaching for the National Team or ODP2 at an international regatta, like Bermuda Nationals.

The USODA does not pay for the costs associated with obtaining visas.

If you have not submitted a cleared background check to the USODA, or your last background check is more than two-years old, or if you have questions regarding USA vs. International background checks, then please email usoda.admin@gmail.com for further instructions.

No, but it is highly encouraged. The USODA offers a coach membership.

US National Team Performance Director

Joakim Karlsen

coach@jksailing.com

USODA Coaches Council

Arthur Blodgett, Chair

arthur.blodgett@lyc.org

Optimist Development Program (ODP2)

Scott Lindley, National Coordinator

snipe8156@gmail.com

MacKenzie McGuckin, ODP2 Horizons

m.k.mcguckin@gmail.com