“What Just Happened?” — Afterthoughts from Art Stegen
Art Stegen reflects on the September 9 USBA Board meeting, the events leading up to it, and what he believes the biathlon community should take from the past several months.
Art is explicit that this is his analysis and opinion: he was not present for every important meeting and says some of his conclusions may involve speculation and assumptions. His piece traces the proposal from the early merger discussions through the September 9 executive session and USBA’s subsequent announcement that consideration of the Strategic Alliance was paused.
Art revisits how the proposal evolved from merger language to a strategic alliance and why secrecy, governance questions and repeated special meetings generated resistance within the biathlon community.
He recounts the announcement that there would be no vote, Leif Nordgren’s objection to another executive session, the closed session that followed, and the later notice that consideration of the agreement was paused.
Art’s conclusion turns toward rebuilding trust, allowing staff to get back to their work, and focusing the community on finding and developing talented athletes and supporting them with training, guidance and competition.