January/February 2008 Executive Director's Report

By USATT Interim Executive Director, Michael D. Cavanaugh

USA Table Tennis is in the midst of significant governance changes. Ashu Jain has played a key role in this process and he has taken steps to keep USATT’s members informed along the way. As this is being written a process is being implemented that will lead to the installment of a new Board of Directors for USA Table Tennis. The new USATT Board will be significantly reduced in numbers and this streamlined structure will also include the concept of independent directors. Independent Directors have proven to be highly effective within the Board structure of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

It has been my honor to serve as the Interim Executive Director of USATT during this time of reform. The confluence of being new to the dynamics and technical aspects of the sport were a challenge. Add to that the fact that as an organization we have been deeply involved with the planning and staging of the World Junior Table Tennis Championships in Palo Alto, California, the U.S. National Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada and the U.S. Olympic Trials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. All three of these events occurred within five week time period!

I had the opportunity to support the efforts of Anne Cribbs, CEO of the Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC), and Dennis Davis, President of the Palo Alto Table Tennis Club, who served as the Director of the WJTTC. Both Anne and Dennis did a remarkable job dealing with the needs of the delegations and staging a truly memorable event. Anne and Dennis paid special attention to accommodate and enhance the experience of the participating athletes. USATT can be very proud of the dedication and professionalism displayed by both Anne Cribbs and Dennis Davis and the wonderful sponsors and volunteers involved in the staging and execution of this event.

We have been able to secure sponsorship agreements for balls, tables, and apparel for 2008 – 2011. For balls we have accepted the bid from Nippon Takkyu Co, Ltd and Paddle Palace Table Tennis Company. In the apparel category, we have accepted the bid from Li Ning Sports Goods Co. Ltd – U.S Division: Li Ning Sports USA, Inc. For tables we have accepted the bid from Martin Kilpatrick / Butterfly. USATT is very familiar with two of our sponsors and the fine quality of their products. Li Ning is new to the USATT market but they are a well established corporation within China and they are also the official sponsor of both the Chinese Table Tennis Federation and the Chinese Table Tennis National Teams. We welcome Li Ning to the USA Table Tennis family!

We have the World Championships on the horizon for February and March in China as well as the North American Trials in April in Canada. All eyes will soon be focused on the Olympic Games in Beijing where Table Tennis is the hottest ticket. I look forward to what I believe to be a very promising future for the sport of Table Tennis and for USATT. USATT is positioned through governance reform to be a more responsive and effective organization. We need to collectively look forward to a future that includes a more in depth partnership with the U.S. Olympic Committee, the International Table Tennis Federation, our clubs, sponsors, athletes and membership in general. As an outsider filling a role within USATT, my perception is that the sport is very healthy in many, many aspects but needs to focus on best practices for the future and we need to restore simple faith and trust in the abilities of our collective leadership.

Michael D. Cavanaugh
Interim Executive Director – USA Table Tennis