July/August 2007 President's Report

By USATT President, Sheri Soderberg Pittman

Throughout my presidency, I have dedicated this space to providing members with not only the latest news affecting you, but also to explaining the background information so that you can understand the context of the news. That is why I have also dubbed these reports as the “association primer series.”

I’d also like to say up-front that it has been my honor and pleasure to serve as USATT president for just over 8 years now. It seems that various factors will bring an end to my presidency prior to the designated conclusion of my term in the fall of 2008. Until that time arrives, I will continue to represent you to the best of my ability. When the transition takes place, I will do my best to cooperate in that process, to introduce the new leadership to key individuals, and to continue to support USATT throughout the years to come.

Congratulations to Athletes and Coaches
Congratulations to Wang Chen for her outstanding performance in Croatia. She finished in the top 8 in Women’s Singles, losing to the eventual world champion Gao Yue. As a result, her world ranking soared from 47 to 25. The jump in her world ranking qualified her to receive three incremental bonuses under USATT’s High Performance Plan.

Congratulations also to Gao Jun who will receive the designated financial incentive for reaching the top 16 at the World Championships in Women’s Doubles event with Wang Chen. At the recent Canadian International Junior Championships, seven of our juniors qualified to receive training stipends for their outstanding results. Those juniors are: Olena Sowers, Judy Hugh, Ariel Hsing, Lily Zhang, Justen Yao, Peter Li, and Marcus Jackson. Coaches of the above-listed athletes, Doru Gheorghe, Lily Yip, and Keith Evans also will be awarded bonuses as specified in USATT’s High Performance Plan.
ITTF News

Every year the ITTF holds a meeting with delegates from each country. It’s called the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Bob Fox and Tim Boggan served as USATT’s delegates. I attended as a member of the ITTF Board and Rufford Harrison attended as a member of the ITTF’s President’s Advisory Council.
An interesting proposal that passed was that in the future the ITTF president will appoint the Deputy President from among the ITTF’s elected Executive Vice Presidents. Until the passage of the proposition, the post of Deputy President was elected by the voting members of the AGM. The rationale offered for the proposition was that in the case of a Deputy President being elected who does not support the president’s views and initiatives, it would cause turmoil within the ITTF. Although I had no vote as a member of the ITTF Board, I supported the passage of the proposition. For an organization to survive and to thrive, there has to be compatibility among the leaders, mutual respect and a pledge to keep the best interests of the organization as the top priority.

A related proposition that did not pass was for the Executive Committee to select the equivalent of the treasurer’s position from among the elected Executive Vice Presidents. Currently there is a separate election for the post and that will continue to be the way the post is filled since the proposition did not pass. I believe that defeat of that proposition was also the best outcome considering the importance of the financial well-being of the ITTF. This position requires specialized knowledge and a greater workload; it’s best to have candidates who are capable and willing to take on the specific responsibilities of that post.

Appointments to ITTF committees were also announced at the AGM. Tim Boggan and Azmy Ibrahim were appointed respectively to the Media Committee and Rules Committee. Linda Hsing, was appointed as a corresponding member of the Technical Committee. Olga Kahan, who has served as a member of the Veteran’s Commission, became a member of the Veteran’s Committee when the ITTF decided to elevate the commission into a committee. So USATT has the maximum of four ITTF committee members allowed per country.

I attended several other meetings in Croatia that I will briefly discuss here as well.
Although I am not officially a member of the ITTF’s Women’s Working Group (WWG), I have been invited to attend meetings and to participate in the e-mail discussions. A primary aim of the WWG is to provide support and guidance for women in order to increase the number of females actively involved at all levels of the ITTF. Members of the WWG support multiple initiatives in order to achieve quantifiable milestones. One initiative is to create a new look for our female athletes. A fashion contest will take place this fall in conjunction with the Women’s World Cup in China. We believe that a new look in attire will attract more fans and will be more comfortable for female competitors.

I also attended an informational meeting regarding the ITTF’s Junior Programs. I am the North American representative on the ITTF’s Junior Commission. Chair Tony Yue asked me to serve as the Deputy Chair in light of the fact that USATT is hosting the World Junior Championships this year. Tony and I expect to visit with Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) representatives at Stanford over the summer to ensure excellent communications leading up to the event. Please keep checking www.usatt.org for up-to-date information on tickets and related events. I thank Dennis Davis and the BASOC staff for your hard work in helping to secure this event and in all of the subsequent logistical work. I know that there is a call for various volunteers and I hope that you, our members, will generously contribute your time to making this a successful and memorable event.

At the ITTF Board meeting, which I attended as an ITTF Board member, the ITTF adopted a very strong stance regarding speed glue. As is reported elsewhere in the issue, the ITTF has begun the transition away from speed glue effective with the first step of immediate withdrawal of all equipment approval of speed glue. The second step will come on January 1, 2008 when speed glue will be prohibited at junior events. Finally, on September 1, 2008, speed glue will be banned entirely. I would like to acknowledge Dr. Daniel Amen for his accessibility and informational support in helping to achieve progress on this issue. Dr. Amen has been promoting table tennis as one of the best sports for the brain in his book, Making a Great Brain Better, and in public appearances.
I presented a proposal on behalf of USATT to ensure that age discrimination will not be tolerated when selecting umpires and referees for ITTF events. My explanation was well received and the proposal passed easily.

During the AGM, Russia was chosen to host the 2010 World Championships. Russia had a big contingent showing support for their bid. They met with me and proposed that our two national associations organize a USATT delegation trip to Yekaterinburg within the next year; the ITTF indicated that, pending approval from USATT’s Board, its marketing arm TMS would be pleased to assist us in finding sponsors for the trip.

Meanwhile, the next world championships will return to oft-host China. They will be held in Guangzhou and the event promises to be a spectacular prelude to the Beijing Olympics. At the ITTF Board meeting, a resolution passed that would create two tiers for accreditation. On the first pass, organizers will process only members who are officially part of the delegation (players, coaches, team support, officials). National associations will also create a list of other attendees and that list will be processed after all priority accreditations. Please keep this in mind if you plan to attend.

I also recommend that you check frequently at www.usatt.org if you would like up-to-date information on purchasing tickets/packages for the 2008 Olympics. China gave a presentation during the AGM previewing information related to the event. They are constructing a new building for the table tennis venue and the rooftop features the look of a spinning table tennis ball. Our sport will receive unprecedented media attention there.

In the USATT, our current attention is on this year’s US Open in Las Vegas. We have broken our record for the number of entries received without a simultaneous ITTF Pro Tour. Please thank the tournament workers for their time since most are volunteers.

The Hall of Fame has organized a fundraising event in which the proceeds will be split 50-50 between the Hall of Fame and USATT. Thanks to Dave and Donna Sakai and Steve Isaacson for putting together the event.

Recent Hall of Famer inductee Si Wasserman has also decided to create a designated fund to help our elite athlete development. Final details are still being worked out as the magazine goes to press, but I’d like to acknowledge Si for this incredibly generous pledge. I hope for us to be able to announce during the US Open the particulars of his proposal.

At the conclusion of the US Open, the Board will meet. By that time we should have received the official report of the USOC auditor who recently met with USATT staff. The trend in recent years has been for the USOC to look at more than just each association’s books when doing the audit. The USOC also inquires about Board activity, Board-staff interaction, and staff activity. Those activities are informally monitored by the USOC throughout the year by various USOC personnel. As USATT president, I can tell you that from my perspective, there are a number of issues that concern me. The primary problem is that our Board is not working as a cohesive unit. And that problem is getting worse, not better. The USOC will be making their funding decisions around August 1, and I sincerely hope that members of our Board will be willing to take significant action to address this problem at the July meeting.

As I alluded to above, I fully recognize that in order to achieve a functional Board, my tenure as president may also be shortened. Whatever the case may be, I will always do my best to promote table tennis and to be available to USATT’s Board and staff.

And, whatever happens, may table tennis continue to grow in the US! We have some interesting presentations planned for the Board meeting. And there are always a number of events scheduled for your enjoyment. Seniors, please take note that USATT will host the first international veteran’s championships in conjunction with the US Nationals in December.

A special thanks to USATT’s great volunteers and staff.