March/April 2008 Executive Director's Report

By USATT Interim Executive Director, Michael D. Cavanaugh

Beginning this month, I will generate a monthly report to the general membership on a wide range of issues facing USATT. My intent is to provide a forum to demonstrate an increased level of attention toward transparency, as well as to communicate directly with the membership— for the purpose of re-establishing a level of faith and trust in USATT leadership. Each monthly report that is generated here will be the exact report given to the Nominating and Governance Committee.

2008 U.S. Olympic Trials – Philadelphia, Jan 9 – 13 at Drexel University
The belief that NGB events are too often swallowed when staged in a big city was certainly not the case here. Through an amazing confluence, USATT enjoyed the full support of the Philadelphia Sports Congress, the full support of a highly dedicated and professional support staff and student volunteers at Drexel University, the technical expertise of Trials Technical Director Richard Lee (along with his staff) to set up and run the event, as well as an experienced corps of referee and umpires led by Larry Kesler, all of which resulted in a wonderfully detailed and colorful event. The press and media coverage at the Trials was extensive and all positive. Our athletes were our best ambassadors— as is normally the case in my experience. I had former National Champion Dan Seemiller comment to me that he was somewhat jealous because in his entire career he was never able to play in front of a sold-out crowd; and indeed the crowd was very enthusiastic and appreciative of the athletes and their performances.
Drexel over-sold the event on the weekend because the decision was made to not turn anyone away. It was literally standing room only in the corners of the venue— and this was after repeated PA announcements (thank you Allan Williams for your solid announcing duties) requesting that the spectators squeeze together to accommodate the crowds.
To be brief, the competition was splendid; the President and AD of Drexel were thrilled with the event; the Philadelphia Sports Congress wants table tennis back soon; our athletes, referees, umpires and staff were treated very professionally; and it was simply a watershed event for USA Table Tennis. Veteran USATT folks told me such things as: “we have finally arrived, “ and “this is a quantum leap for us, “ and “I am so happy to have finally seen this level of exposure and service to our deserving sport.”
We are indebted to Guillermo Rojas of the USOC NGB Marketing Division for providing all the support, guidance and color from the USOC to make this event happen. It was a truly beautiful venue for table tennis. The Associate Athletic Director at Drexel, Dan Simmons, carried the main load and handled his tasks with a remarkable degree of efficiency and professionalism. The Philadelphia Sports Congress was represented by a remarkably gifted sport administrator in the person of Jessica Myers. Detailed in their advance planning, Jessica, Dan Simmons and the Senior Associate Athletic Director of Drexel, Nick Gannon, actually journeyed to Palo Alto to witness the operations of the Junior World Championships— just to prepare to be well organized for these Olympic Trials.
Was I surprised the last day of the Trials when Jessica Myers asked me to meet her folks who were attending the event. It turns out I was meeting her dad, Ron Jaworski, the famous NFL QB, the Polish Cannon from his great years with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Bob Fox was there as Trials Supervisor to make sure that the event was run according to selection procedure standards, and he kept the athletes informed and organized all along the way. I did my best to stay out of everyone’s way while managing to get athlete sizes according to the samples that our apparel sponsor, Li Ning, had shipped in for the upcoming World Championships. My wish was that every USATT member could have been there to witness this memorable Trials event.

2007 USATT – Coach of the Year Announcements
The USOC annually conducts a Coach of the Year (COY) selection within the NGB family. Each NGB submits their selection for COY in the Volunteer, Development, National and Doc Counsilman (use of science or technology) categories. I have to admit that with all that was going on in December and January, I was somewhat rushed in conducting the selection process. However, we posted the nomination documents online and the response was greater than I had anticipated (this translates into there being good folks within the USATT family who are doing good things at various levels of coaching and that others are recognizing their efforts). I asked Bob Fox and Ross Brown (Co-Chairs of the Elite Athlete Committee), John Allen (Chairman of the Coaching Committee) and Tawny Banh (COY Selection Committee Athlete Representative) to assist me with the Selection Process. None of the Selection Committee members knew how the others voted and it was my task to tabulate the votes and assess the winners.
I am pleased to announce the following as 2007 USATT COY selections:
Volunteer: JOCK OUBICHON Development: DENNIS DAVIS
National: TEODOR GHEORGHE Doc Counsilman: SEAN O’NEILL
Congratulations to our 2007 USATT Coaches of the Year and to all those who participated in the nomination and selection process!

CHICAGO – 2016 Applicant City for the Olympic Games – Plan Presentation
On behalf of USA Table Tennis, I attended a two-day conference in Chicago January 15–17, sponsored by Chicago 2016, the bid committee seeking the privilege to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The purpose of the meeting was for the bid to present its plan for the Games to NGB leaders and to get their input. We went on a tour of the venues, which was incredibly informative. I came away from the conference very energized toward supporting Chicago’s 2016 bid. I can tell you that the Chicago plan is wonderful, spectacular, well planned, green, athlete oriented, culturally inclusive, legacy-minded, and fiscally sound. The Games would be located in the heart of the city, close to the lakefront, parks, cultural institutions and the other attractions that make Chicago so distinctive. Ninety-one percent of the athletes would be able to literally walk to their venues from a truly beautiful Olympic Village situated along the lakefront. Table tennis athletes would be within 15 minutes of their venue, McCormick Place – West Building. McCormick Place would be the venue for 11 of the Summer Olympic Games Program sports. The Village and many venues would be set within beautiful stretches of lakeshore parks and would have Chicago’s skyline as a backdrop. What’s more, 60 million people would be within a six-hour drive of the Olympic Games, resulting in a high level of interest and enthusiasm on the part of spectators. The thousands of hotel rooms in the downtown area would ensure that the heart of the city functions as an Olympic celebration center.
Teodor Gheorghe and Sheri Pittman were also guests of the USOC/Chicago 2016 for this presentation. Between the three of us we have enough experience in Olympic Games’ planning, sport specific technical knowledge, and international contacts to make our trip worthwhile for all involved. In June 2008 the IOC will trim the current pool of seven applicant cities down to three to five cities that will proceed to the candidate phase of the process. All candidate cities must submit their bid books to the IOC on February 12, 2009, and the IOC will choose a host city on October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen. I was very impressed with Chicago’s plan for the Games and look forward to providing you with more details in the future. I’ll also let you know ways you can support Chicago’s bid and help us bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games back to the United States.

2008 U.S. Open and National Championships
At the Town Hall Meeting in Las Vegas last December, I was questioned regarding the status of the 2008 U.S. Open and Nationals site selections. At that time, I indicated that I felt it was my duty to exercise some diligence in selecting these two important event sites; my plan was to announce the sites on or about February 1, 2008.
As background, the CEO of the L.A. Sports Commission (David Simon) took a one day trip to Palo Alto to see our operations at the World Junior Championships. Again, I worked with David in ’83 and ’84 with the LAOOC and I wanted to get him interested in a future USATT event. David and I agreed that we would better served if we put this event on his 2009 calendar to allow him ample presentation time for his Board and Commission to properly plan for the event. The Chicago 2016 Applicant City COO, Doug Arnot, was also provided an opportunity to consider hosting one of our 2008 events. Mr. Arnot declined due to an already very busy calendar schedule but he left the possibility open for consideration of a 2009 event. I will maintain close contact with both the LA and Chicago folks for 2009.
Many have expressed to me the need to move the events around to other locations, to try new markets, to extend our reach. There are salient arguments in support of those concepts. One significant factor surrounding our repeat appearances in Las Vegas, however, is the fact that we have a sweetheart deal for use of the LV Convention Center and the supporting expenses are well within reason for our needs.
With all of the above in consideration, I am pleased to announce that we are in final negotiations to return to Las Vegas for our U.S. Open, July 2-5 and for our U.S. Nationals, also in Las Vegas, December 17 – 20, 2008. I am presently seeking additional bids for our headquarters hotel needs and I hope to have an announcement soon in that regard. Thanks to everyone for their patience. I’m not new to the venue securing process but I am new to the internal need to generate entry procedures well in advance of the event and in cycle with our normal publication means.

Governance Reform Process
The Nominating and Governance Committee (NGC), Chaired by Chris Vadala and including members, Clint Kofford, Jill Chalmers, Jasna Reed, and Bob Fox have teleconferenced on several occasions and in at least one of those calls Ashu Jain and myself have been included. Nominations and support documents, and inquiries to the process have all been received and handled in a normal fashion. Soon this process will take on a more demanding function in terms of seeing to the election process itself. We are on course for a March 31 seating of a new USA Table Tennis Board of Directors!

CEO Search
Many members I have encountered since late September have inquired about how we will go about the process of securing the services of a fulltime CEO. The driving force here is to allow the new Board to exercise their authority to make this critical hire. My plan has always been to work with Dennis Davis to formulate and distribute a position description within the next few weeks. We want to have applicants paper screened and ready for interviews as soon as the new Board is in place. It is my personal opinion that the sport of table tennis deserves the best person that is available to assume the challenging responsibilities of leading this great organization. Since September I have tried to provide professional services and experience to the interim role I was asked to accept. If the new Board reaches a point in the paper screening process where I am asked to consider becoming a candidate for the position, I will certainly consider doing just that. Again, this position deserves the best that is available and from day one here I have only wanted to be of service in a time of need. Table tennis is much larger than any ONE person or individual and with a new Board it is imperative that we retain someone with vision and energy and management skills.

USOC GAME PLAN REVIEW
It was my distinct honor to be one of three NGB persons invited to participate in an intensive two day review of the overall USOC Game Plan (you may read that as a strategic plan review) on January 28 and 29 in Colorado Springs. The USOC has five driving principles in their GAME PLAN and these include a focus on leadership, relevance, international relations, revenue and NGB / sport performance. Within those focus areas there are imperatives that sub-divide into the following areas:
1. Improve IOC and International Relations
2. Support the Chicago 2016 Applicant/Candidate and Bid City Effort
3. Develop an Olympic Network— T.V. Cable, Streaming, Archive, On-Demand
4. Take a leading role in the Antidoping movement, both domestically and internationally
5. Re-energize revenue production within a changing environment
6. Assist the Paralympics to attain their highest level of recognition and function
7. Maximize Sport Performance through NGBs, OTCs, and supporting mechanisms
8. Nurture leadership skills and professional growth within the USOC and NGBs
9. Enhance and explore government relations and support
10. Make operating ‘green’ a way of life within the USOC and all operations

Measurable goals and objectives spill out from the imperatives above and I can tell you NGBs and their importance to the USOC received tremendous support and consideration across these imperatives. It is my opinion that the USOC vision and leadership is as strong and healthy as I have ever witnessed. This starts from the top down and I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the USOC CEO, Jim Scherr, is an Olympian and comes from an NGB. The COO of the USOC, Norm Bellingham, is an Olympic Gold Medalist and by definition, comes from an NGB. Both Jim and Norm have received advance degrees in business from two of the top business schools in the nation. They have surrounded themselves with very talented directors in all divisions and as an outsider who has spent the past 30 years from within an NGB, I view them with a sense of awe and admiration for what they have done and for they plan to do. Like table tennis, the USOC faces many organizational challenges in the years ahead. My challenge to USA Table Tennis, is to ask you to become one of the top functioning NGBs within the next ten years. I think we have the pieces of the puzzle in place and that we are poised to do just that.

2008 World Championships: Guangzhou, China – Feb 22 to March 3
We remain busy preparing our delegation members for participation in this important event. There will also be an ITTF Annual General Meeting held in conjunction with the WC event and by the bylaws, I will be the one to carry the vote for USATT. I see this as a major responsibility and I can assure that I intend to represent the interests of USATT to the best of my abilities.

Budgeting and Program Planning
We managed to successfully support three major events domestically within a five week period: the mid-December WJTTC in Palo Alto, the late December U.S. Nationals in Las Vegas, and the Olympic Trials in Philadelphia January 9-13. Looking back personally, these events allowed me to meet so many of the wonderful, passionate people within the sport. To see them in a games- mode setting was a delight. In early February we will focus our staff attention to formulating a budget through March 31, and we will provide a program and budget forecast through the rest of 2008 for the new Board to consider, adopt, or adjust as they feel is best for the organization. I look forward to being able to plan as opposed to simply reacting to events and program demands. I owe a great deal of thanks to the entire staff for making me feel welcomed as well as to so many members of USATT who come from a variety of regions and backgrounds. I have learned so much from so many. Thanks for your patience with my learning curve.

Michael D. Cavanaugh
Interim Executive Director – USA Table Tennis