Letter From USAPM Board Chairman

Dear Members of the Pentathlon community
I sincerely hope that this letter finds you well. It has been a tumultuous year for Pentathlon culminating with the decision to move forward with the new discipline of Obstacle to replace riding in the Olympics and Paralympics post Paris ’24.
I think collectively we understand the differing viewpoints regarding the decision, and how difficult it is to evolve the sport, which includes eliminating riding post ’24, which has been such an integral part of the sport’s history. It is my sincere hope and that of our USAPM Board, that we can improve our opportunities to both coach and train our athletes all 5 disciplines leading up to Paris ’24 so that we put ourselves in the most advantageous position to optimize performances leading up to and including the Olympic Games.
To that end, we need to do a better job communicating. This means leadership, staff, athletes and coaches, in productive and positive dialogue. At the end of the day, we are one team with the mission and goal of improving our sport and providing opportunities to help our athletes be the best that they want to, and can be.
Leadership too, needs to improve. USAPM has recently received a detailed communication from the USOPC outlining a number of items that they have had brought to their attention. Who they came from does not matter; we as an organization appreciate any and all constructive input in the interest in improving our governance practices.
You have the Board’s commitment to do just that in a transparent and timely way. While we do many things well, and are in good standing regarding our overall compliance audit, we know that we can improve a number of our practices and working with the USOPC, and we will. We will be a better organization for it.
You should expect to see notices of upcoming community meetings shortly. We will schedule them to avoid conflict with the upcoming holiday season but there will be meetings before the end of the year to discuss critical issues as we go into the 2023 season.
We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with you on all things Pentathlon.
Best, Tom Shepard
Chairman, USAPM