Mike and I would like to use this edition’s letter to update the membership on the progress we are making implementing the USATT Strategic Plan that was developed six months ago at a meeting in Colorado Springs . As a reminder, our Strategic Planning Meeting was a gathering of the Board, key program Committee Chairs or their representatives, athlete representatives, staff, and those with a Paralympic interest. We also included representatives of our sponsors, manufactures and equipment distributors in the group so that they could have input and buy in to our efforts to create a consensus within the meeting.

Specifically, the three areas of focus for the organization out of the Strategic Plan were: Communications, Grow Membership Through Added Value and Juniors. Our Board Meeting Agendas include a focus on these to be sure that we drive our efforts to these three areas. We annually submit a High Performance Plan to the US Olympic Committee and this was developed with a heavy focus on juniors and cadets in their domestic and international programs. We are now the Paralympic National Governing Body for our athletes with disabilities – that means from grass roots to Paralympic Games’ programs. You will notice that there is a distinct overlap in the areas of focus: Communication, Grow Membership Through Added Value and Juniors.

1. We now have a new website http://tabletennis.teamusa.org/. We still maintain the USATT website with all of the features that drive members there to include ratings. We have also almost completed a migration to the new USOC website which adds a video and photo library component. The net for our primary sponsors is that they get dual exposure. Traffic that comes to us from the USOC website is significantly from new hits. Soon we will switch to the new website as the primary home page for USATT.

2. We just launched a monthly E-Newsletter. We will expand on the delivery of that communication vehicle to the extent possible in harvesting e-mails from our membership. Early reports on the first issue were very positive. We plan to produce a quality issue every month.

3. We are providing live action video streaming of our Open and Nationals events. We were able to stream the 2009 Open online after the matches and stream the 2009 Nationals live. We have live streaming promised for the 2010 Open and we will do all that we can to secure it for the 2010 Nationals.

4. We have revamped our club affiliation form so that we can obtain more information about our clubs as a way to better serve them in the future. We hosted a first ever Club Teams Championships in the 2009 Nationals and are committed to host a Juniors Club Team event in the 2010 Open and Nationals as a permanent feature. Club League Championships is a desired objective and currently recreational league concepts are at the Advisory Committee level for consideration

5. A Fund Raising Task Force was appointed. They produced a position description that describes a job for an Annual Giving / Sponsorship Director that has been funded by the 2010 budget. The person ideally will be in place by June of this year and he or she will set up an Annual Fund (Giving Campaign) and secure new sponsorships. The funds obtained by this position will go to fund cadet and junior programs and will also be used to fund a scholastic program. The scholastic program will probably start out as a pilot program with the idea to create a model that can be easily replicated throughout the nation.

6. We have a Technology Review Task Force in place and they are currently conducting due diligence with service providers who specialize in automated membership services, event registration, fee collection and processing, sanctioning, rating, event organization, draws and eventually accounting to our national office, events, tournaments and clubs. We have thoroughly reviewed one service provider and are scheduling webinars with four other firms.

7. The Junior Task Force has initially put together plans for a Scholastic Program based upon an increase in funding if we are successful with our fund raising efforts. Along the way we have more fully embraced the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association by creating an avenue where a member can contribute directly to the NCTTA, we have now sanctioned the NCTTA National Championships and are providing insurance for the event.

8. We are examining a logo redesign. The U.S. Olympic Committee is launching a redesign of their logos and there may be an avenue to incorporate some of their design and research in our own.

9. We are developing a family membership promotion targeted at the recreational market. We are working with a leading equipment manufacturer to distribute an offer to their customers. We are still working out the details of this exciting program. We think that options like this might exist with other distributors and suppliers as well.

10. USATT was recently referred to as the Flagship NGB for our response to the Haiti Relief Appeal put out by the USOC. Newgy, Cary Table Tennis Association, Killerspin, Martin Kilpatrick, Paddle Palace and NATT have all been very generous. This has put USATT in a positive spotlight with the USOC and the ITTF.

11. Developing National Training Centers was a part of our High Performance Plan submitted to the USOC. We are actively discussing how to implement a National Training Center or Centers of Excellence. These might be a set of criteria that a club would have to meet for the designation that would include certain junior programs, coaching programs, umpire development programs, international camp hosting programs and so on. Or it might also include a specialized training center such as one functioning at Texas Wesleyan University or a resident training center at a place like the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista , CA .

12. Planning for the 2010 U.S Open ( Grand Rapids , MI ) goes on as does the planning for the 2010 Nationals ( Las Vegas , NV ). We are about to announce that we will host a 2011 Open with an International Paralympic Open component. We have one athlete qualified for the first ever Youth Olympic Games in Ariel Hsing. Our teams are set to compete in the 2010 World Championships in Moscow in May and we have an exciting mix of youth and veterans on our squad. We have two standing and two wheelchair athletes qualified for the Para World Championships in October in Korea .

We also would like to provide you an update on the issue surrounding the athlete boycott at Nationals, their suspension and subsequent vacating of the suspension. Needless to say this has been a distraction and a disappointment. The Board felt that the athlete’s behavior was wrong. We used a process of seeking input from our High Performance Committee, our Athlete’s Committee and referred the matter to the Ethics and Grievance Committee for a hearing in line with our Bylaws. Two athletes filled an appeal with the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

The net effect is that weaknesses were identified in the USATT Bylaws and internal processes. The Board has already considered changes to the bylaws. We will incorporate the AAA findings into that review and expect to make revisions soon. USATT will modify entry forms that will specify behavior and actions taken by athletes at events that can lead to disciplinary options. We are also developing a Participant Code of Conduct. Throughout this incident, some questioned the openness of USATT regarding policies and finances. While we have open books online for members to see and posted regular updates online throughout the incident, we may need to do more. Our Board Meeting minutes, financial statements and audit are posted online. Our Board Meetings are open to members. We hold the Annual Assembly at Nationals each year and that is open to members. We will continue to publish updates such as this column and will redouble our efforts to keep the members informed and actively seek your input.

Sincerely,

Peter Scudner                                                             Michael D. Cavanaugh
Chairman of the Board                                                 CEO