MINUTES

Board of Directors Meeting

Colorado Springs, CO

November 2-3, 2001

Friday, November 2, 2001

The Meeting--held in the Gold Room of the USOC Athlete Center at Colorado Springs--was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Sheri Pittman (SP). Present were Board members Tim Boggan (TB), George Brathwaite (GB), Tong Lee (TL), Robert Mayer (RM), Jimmy McClure (JM), Hank McCoullum (HM), Barney Reed (BR), Dennis Taylor (DT), Jiing Wang (JW), and Executive Director Dwight Johnson. Absent were Board members Li Ai (LA), Tawny Banh, and Todd Sweeris. In addition to the Special Guests making presentations that will be noted in these Minutes, other attendees were USATT Editor Larry Hodges, and the USATT Headquarters Staff of Margaret Smith, Debbie Doney, Fran Boardman, Dawn Simon, and Wade Schuman. Because of the many evening speakers, Consultant/Contractor Sheila Walker, who’d been scheduled to address us last, by mutual consent agreed to return in the morning.

 After new Board members Tim Boggan and Robert Mayer were welcomed, the Board’s first two Motions were made:

MOTION 1: Moved that Jiing Wang be appointed Executive Vice President until a new Executive Vice President is elected by the Membership in the 2002 elections.

Proposed by Barney Reed; seconded by Hank McCoullum.

Passed: 10-0-0 (LA absent Friday, present Saturday).

MOTION 2: Moved that Tong Lee be appointed Treasurer until a new Treasurer is elected by the Membership in the 2002 elections.

Proposed by George Brathwaite; seconded by Tim Boggan.

Passed: 10-0-0 (LA absent).

Prior to the arrival of our USOC guests, President Pittman discussed her Integrated Marketing Proposal. In summary, her concept involves a traveling tour of cities by a U.S.-China delegation of business administrators and table tennis athletes. In an effort to find the USATT potential partners, local Convention and Visitor Bureaus (CVBs) would assist USATT. President Pittman and Executive Director Dwight Johnson had met extensively with both CVBs and community based organizations (CBOs) the weekend before this Board meeting at the USOC Board meeting. Certain CBOs expressed a great deal of interest in being included in this tour. During the tour, players would train and participate in exhibitions together. Administrators would assist with training of coaches and youth program administrators. A business seminar component would be included emphasizing a "table tennis trade" concept, namely that modern formal relations between China and the U.S. began with Ping Pong Diplomacy. The business component could also include a review of U.S.-China trade relations, issues related to China-U.S. business enterprises and China’s hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The finale of the tour could be a Friendship Match to be followed by a dinner (with a sponsors’ tradeshow and silent auction). USATT-sanctioned tournaments could also be held in those cities as a means of promoting the sport and further training local organizers. Emphasis will be on how U.S.-China relations prior to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing can develop with a view towards making progress in USATT’s 6 goals through a unified approach: 1) developing Olympic and world championship medalists, 2) increasing revenues, 3) introducing a nation-wide youth program, 4) professionalizing USATT’s tournament structure, 5) improving USATT’s international stature and 6) fostering USATT club and membership growth. USATT would seek to establish Community Olympic Development Programs in partnership with hosting communities as a means of having an ongoing relationship between those communities and USATT. Tours of China could be organized as a follow-up activity. Achieving Board acceptance is a first step. After receiving Board approval, President Pittman said she would continue to develop the concept and present the proposal to the Chinese Table Tennis Association in January when she will be in China for an Executive Board meeting of the ITTF. Her handout is attached.

President Pittman also made a brief presentation regarding Key Concepts and Areas of Responsibility that she intended to focus on during her tenure. She stated that a series of unresolved problems required immediate attention over the past couple of years. A "crises management approach" had therefore been the operational mode. With those problems handled, we needed to shift into a more proactive approach to getting USATT’s affairs in order and analyzing the big picture. The new focus will include developing standardized procedures and reporting mechanisms, creating a division of responsibilities and oversight areas for Board members, improving internal and external controls, more clearly defining goals by creation of timelines/flow charts and transitioning into a staff-driven organization. Her handout is attached.

For the remainder of the evening, the Board was honored by the presence of the visiting USOC’s new CEO, Lloyd Ward, and several other USOC staff members. What these speakers had to say dovetailed nicely with the presentations that President Pittman had made. Lloyd, the first to speak, appeared before USATT on his second day of official employment. He said that he valued the athletic aims of the USOC--which meant (1) winning medals, (2) developing elite coaches, (3) increasing participation, and (4) NGBs sharing their expertise with other NGBs. But he also emphasized that he believed in the ideal of winning "the hearts and minds of society at large" through his Olympic values and his mission of being "a servant-leader." In response to Dennis Taylor’s concern that the USOC and USATT might sometimes be at odds, Lloyd said that perhaps some "trade-offs" needed to be made. He remained upbeat. "Think of me as a Head Coach," he said in his pep talk to us--"I’m here to serve you, your NGB."

Larry Buendorf, Director of USOC Security, urged NGBs "not to be complacent if warnings turned out to be false alarms, one of them might turn out to be true." We were to remain aware. "It used to be," he said, "that U.S. Teams didn’t want to be in close proximity to certain other teams; now it was other teams that were asking, ‘Where’s the U.S. Team staying, meeting, sitting?’ They didn’t want to be around them." He emphasized that individuals representing USATT abroad should adhere to new protocols being established by the USOC regarding international travel precautions.

Chris Vadala, Director of Sports Partnership, accompanied by Jim Scherr, explained the advantages of separating the many Olympic Sports into groups--9 to an assigned Director’s portfolio (table tennis joins swimming, bowling, etc.). Through this grouping, NGB goals, and strengths and weaknesses, can be compared and contrasted. "You’ve got this problem in Table Tennis? We’ll talk to Swimming, they had this same problem--you’ll see how they approached it." Chris would later show the Board an assessment grid of how Table Tennis had been doing. Plenty of room for development as far as our NGB "System" was concerned, and even more regarding "Talent."

Tammie Forster presented information about the USOC’s Community Olympic Development Program. The USOC will enter into CODP agreements with NGBs and local communities as a means of leveraging community interest in Olympic sports. "Think you have some promising kids interested in, say, Witchita, Kansas? Tell me--and I’ll help you with a pipeline transition that will bring young athletes up from a grass roots level to be National Team prospects."

Blair Tripodi, USOC NGB Marketing Director, disclosed the Team USA SportCard as a means of revenue that he had alluded to during his visit to our July 2001 Board meeting. If your recalcitrant would-be USATT member says, "I don’t get enough value for my $30," tell him (her) he might be willing to pay even more because his USATT membership SportCard is going to give him a discount at Home Depots, Marriott Hotels, and any number of other places. This can happen because the USOC is working on behalf of the collective NGBs to get sponsors.

Steve Brunner, the other USOC NGB Marketing Director, spoke of multi-sport U.S.-China Summit Games. He stressed the advantages of home and away exchanges that could involve reciprocal Youth Programs aligned with Cultural and Diplomatic exchanges. Since the meeting between Yu Bin, Vice President of the Chinese Table Tennis Association and Blair Tripodi at the U.S. Open last July, talks between the USOC and the Chinese Olympic Committee have taken place to formalize the proposal that had been discussed informally between Blair and Yu Bin. Recognizing the importance of table tennis to the Chinese Olympic Committee, Steve stated that the USOC would like for table tennis to be a "core" sport in these activities.

Susan Saksa, Director of the Colorado Springs Nonprofit Center, patiently waited her turn through the evening and briefed us on the functions and responsibilities of a successful Board of Directors--for example, "defining a desired future and the means to bring it about"; "financial development planning"; selection of [Headquarters] personnel"; and "market planning." Ms. Saksa emphasized that the Board needed to present "a unified image."

Adjournment. It was late, but after all the speakers (each of whom of course we’d applauded) and our loyal Headquarters Staff, having done their duty, had left the Gold Room, Hank McCoullum suggested we remain and assign specific time limits to those Board members scheduled to speak on agenda items. This we did, and it would prove very helpful, resulting in finishing the meeting on Saturday rather than Sunday. Around midnight we adjourned.

Saturday’s session--again held in the Gold Room--was called to order by President Pittman at 8:30 a.m. Present were Board members Li Ai, Tim Boggan, George Brathwaite, Tong Lee, Robert Mayer, Jimmy McClure, Hank McCoullum, Barney Reed, Dennis Taylor, Jiing Wang, and Executive Director Dwight Johnson. Absent were Board members Tawny Banh and Todd Sweeris. Tawny originally had been expected to arrive during the day. Due to the expected finish of business by day’s end, Tawny did not come. Sheila Walker gave her delayed presentation, then left; USATT Editor Larry Hodges remained in attendance throughout the day.

Sheila Walker had agreed Friday night to postpone her presentation until today. Presently she serves as a consultant. Previously she had worked at the USOC for 18 years, including running a World Championship Gymnastic Trials that was shown by Wide World of Sports, and directing 10 U.S. Olympic Festivals. She’d also had experience as a University Physical Education teacher, had been involved with mayors from all over the country in a Fitness For Kids Program. She’d built up a network of community associations waiting to be targeted wherever the USATT thought table tennis had the best chance to grow.

In her Consultant capacity with the USATT, approved by the Board later in the meeting, she would help us take advantage of the unique window of opportunity we had vis-a-vis the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Her specialty, she said, for which she had the contacts, was creating unique events, bringing people into dynamic situations. She was particularly enthusiastic about Sheri’s proposed Chinese-American Business/Athlete Tour. Organizations such as the U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-China Business Council would be helpful in finding key markets for sponsorship. She was, she said, a woman who knew where to go to get things done.

Jimmy McClure, in his USOC Board of Directors Report, stated that the USOC NGBs have 50.1% of the majority of votes on the Board. However, since at the present time the Executive Committee of the USOC has 18 members, but only 5 of them are NGB members (there are also 5 Athlete members), the NGBs, wanting more representation on the E.C., proposed the following: that the E. C. be composed of 35% NGB members and 25% Athlete members. Since the NGB's have 50.1% of the majority of votes on the Board, this proposal is assured of being accepted.  Jimmy noted that, given the forthcoming Salt Lake City Olympics, sponsorship money is difficult to come by. The USOC Foundation lost 1/3 of 1% of its money last year; this year it lost 10%. Our USATT Foundation meanwhile has made 6% on our money. As Jimmy put it, "We started out with a million, and we’ve still got it." Jimmy is turning control of this Foundation money over to Treasurer Y.C. Lee.

Dwight Johnson covered a wide range of subjects in his Executive Director’s Report. Some he touched lightly on--including the upcoming National’s; a $5 Junior (one year only) Fee Proposal for children new to the USATT who are participating in a community table tennis program; the 2003 North American Championships, and a U.S. Open Sanctioning Proposal that would result in a better membership package for the Disabled. Other subjects that drew the Board’s attention were:

Corporate Sponsorship: Dwight said he’d sent out 71 letters--had received 17 rejections, 54 were still out there. It was tougher than ever now to get corporate sponsorship, but there appeared to be possible connections for us, particularly with Campbell’s Soups.

Training Center at Pompano Beach, FL: The #1 South Florida developer has reportedly given a verbal commitment to build a community at Pompano Beach (within a few minutes of Fort Lauderdale) packaged around Olympic sports. People would buy, say, $400,000 condos that would annex an Olympic-ring, large multi-sport Training Center, thus allowing the buyers to mix with the athletes. Among the Sports offered would be Water Polo, Fencing, Team Handball, Badminton, Table Tennis. The USATT could receive a gift of $1,000,000 cash if the deal comes to fruition.

International Children’s Games: These Games--for 12-15-year-olds from cities--will, like the 2003 North American Championships, be held in Cleveland, but in 2004. One of the 10 sports is Table Tennis.

2002 U.S. Open: Question was, Were we committed to hold a Pro Tour event at next year’s Open? On the ITTF calendar we’re tentatively set to precede the following week’s Brazilian Open. This subject will be discussed later in the meeting in conjunction with Budget matters.

Pan-American Junior Championships: These Championships--still in the exploratory stage--would be an annual event, held in Fort Lauderdale the week before the U.S. Open. No problem securing the venue, and the tables would be free. Perhaps there’d also be opportunities for Pan-Am training.

2002 Pro Tour Final: This ITTF showcase tournament we might hold in Las Vegas the week preceding, or simultaneously with, our U.S. Closed (avoiding of course any conflict with the Pro Rodeo Tour that plays Vegas around this time). If we did host this 2002 Pro Tour Final we would have the option not to host a Pro Tour event at our 2002 U.S. Open.

Dwight also wanted to brief us on two other subjects, but he left these up to Joe Krzys (pronounced "Krish") in upstate New York, who addressed the Board via an amplified phone call.

Krzys initiated the AmericasTeams Internet Collaborative which linked 32 sports, 32 NGBs, and which would soon bring USA Table Tennis between $100,000-$125,000. The AmericasTeams partnership will enable USATT to expand its web presence.

Krzys also addressed progress being made on USATT’s Schools Program within the Warren Company. He said the program was going very well not only in upstate N.Y., but throughout the state. For example, the New York State Recreation and Park Society has endorsed an after-school program for different sports--Table Tennis, Badminton, Team Handball, Roller Sports, Fencing, Cycling--that involves 32 school districts or at the moment 55,000 kids with the potential of many more. Physical education teachers--perhaps 250 in New York City--must show they’re capable of teaching the sport, and must pass a Rules test.

In Texas, school sports programs--thanks to The American Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) teachers -- are expected to help promote the program. Sportstime, the largest seller of physical education equipment to schools, is going to help by publishing a catalogue of products, including table tennis products. In Texas, too, instructors have to meet standards, have to keep up with the kids as they improve their skills...which may be a problem. However, since the sports program is endorsed by NASPE (National Association of Sport and Physical Education), instructors will be able to get academic credit for their training, which hopefully will give them an incentive to become involved in offering table tennis to their students.

George Brathwaite reported that his Northeast Region League is set to start with an inaugural (New Jersey vs. New York) event, Saturday, Nov. 10, 2001 at Jerry Wartski’s New York City Manhattan Club (2628 Broadway, between 99th and 100th Streets) beginning at 3:00 p.m.

Editor Larry Hodges gave a short report on the USATT magazine. He stressed how difficult it was to expand the advertising--that is, get non-table tennis advertising--because the Membership was just too small. Out of the $30 USATT membership fee only $7 goes to the magazine.

Larry also spoke about his USATT Club-League Program, which has to do not with club vs. club play as Brathwaite’s League does, but with players inside any particular club being accommodated. Larry wants those on first coming into a club to be immediately active, and by getting them onto courts with their peers in calibrated league play, and by providing them with instant up-to-date Club (as opposed to USATT) ratings, he feels sure he’ll keep them continually interested. This, as Barney Reed calls it, is a "Philosophy of Operation." One hopefully that will promote USATT Membership growth.

Tong Lee began his Treasurer's Report by explaining why it's difficult to give anyone and everyone programs they want: there really isn't much money to go around. Tong explained that a $1 million budget doesn't mean that the USATT has anything close to this amount of money to spend on programs. The Open and the National's account for $350,000, headquarters overhead takes away $300,000, the magazine costs $120,000 (at $20,000 per issue), and Board activities cost $30,000. These four budget items alone account for $800,000. USATT has approximately $200,000 for Elite Athletes and Programs.

As for the roughly $291,000 USOC money expected next year, $213,000 of that is to be spent on Elite Athletes and Developing Athletes. This doesn't mean, however, that 30 or 40 players divvy it up. 20%, or $43,000, is allocated for administrative costs associated with elite development. The unused Flint Training Center, vacant since August of 2000, together with its full-time coach – eats up the first $60,000 per year through 2004 because of an inescapable contract signed in 1994. Team Trials, including the expenses of the necessary officials, may be another 10K. Elite Athlete money also is used to pay the Men's National coach when he is on duty in international competition. Which leaves about 100K for the Elite (and how many Elite players are there, and where can they go to improve?). Cutting costs is difficult. Consequently, says Tong, "There must be Fundraising! Fundraising! Fundraising!"

Responses were forthcoming. Tim Boggan, father of two former national champions Scott and Eric, repeatedly stressed that unless Elite Athletes, particularly youthful ones, lived abroad and constantly played competitively, there could be no U.S. Olympic medalists. This would take parent/child sacrifices and money.

Jiing Wang commented that he thought it was taking more than 20% to cover administrative costs for the Elite Athletes. Disbursements are often "hidden," not with any intent to deceive, but through the nature of costs related to development. Wanted surpluses are hard to come by. Jiing said he wasn't against a Pro Tour Open, but he and others felt that the Open and Closed ought to be self-sufficient and that there was a need to outsource them. Staff resources have to be focused on fundraising as a top priority.

Tong and others agreed that the Pro Tour Open was costly, but Tong stated that there were benefits too. The Open, after all, provided a membership service--how many members had the opportunity to see world champions in the flesh, in action? It may be that without the world-class players as many as 50 entrants wouldn't come who otherwise would have. Our elite players also participated in a Pro Tour event at a reduced cost--as it would cost us more to send them to a foreign Pro Tour tournament. Also, since the ITTF gives us $15,000 to film the climactic Saturday matches, videos are made of these matches that help market the sport in the United States as well as world-wide.

USATT also derives royalties from the videos sold by a third party. Our table contract obligates the contractor to purchase 30-sec spots with a cap of $9,000 and that is sufficient to pay for a broadcast in prime time in a metropolitan area such as Chicago. The Pro Tour also provides us with a better product to sell sponsorships to multinational companies that do a lot of overseas business--the attraction being the promotional opportunities and publicity obtained through broadcasts of the Pro Tour to over 150 million viewers in more than 60 countries. Finally, the Pro Tour makes our equipment contracts more valuable as it provides an incentive to future contractors to make higher bids because of the enhanced promotion of their equipment in overseas broadcasts. Thus a loss in the Pro Tour based on actual revenues and expenses only is not a good criterion for not having a Pro Tour. The goal is to work toward a break even on the event in the short-term and to turn the event into a profit in the future.

Tim stressed the importance of IMAGE. He felt showcase tournaments were important to woo sponsors, to allow what promising players we had to feel they were a part of something important, otherwise what was the point of continuing on in the sport?

Everyone agreed that title sponsors for our majors is important.

Hank McCoullum said that, "The ITTF gains, but we lose holding the Pro Tour Open." "Why," he asked, "should the USATT bear this financial burden? Every country makes a profit with its Open, but not us." Why shouldn’t we make a profit? President Pittman said that she had heard that other associations were also experiencing financial difficulties in hosting Pro Tour events. She said she’d ask ITTF President Adham Sharara to share the ITTF’s financials as pertained to the U.S. Open Pro Tour.

"The Open’s a circus," said Jimmy McClure--meaning derogatorily that, with all the offered events, too much was chaotically going on. "But why does that detract from the Pro Tour matches?" asked Robert Mayer, as if he liked centering himself at three-ring circuses, multi-court play.

Adjournment of Saturday Morning Session came a little after noon. Then a casual lunch at the Athlete Center cafeteria, followed immediately by a resumption of the Meeting.

Later in the afternoon Matchpoint Software representatives Richard Lee and Alan Williams would address the Board.

Barney Reed gave us an update on the ARCO (Atlantic-Richfield Oil Company) Training Center at Chula Vista, CA (south of San Diego, not far from the Mexican border). Recently, under USATT direction, the Center held a Training Camp for El Salvador players, and Barney tells us that, if we could find a sponsor, we could have our own permanent table tennis facilities there. "It fits all our needs," he said--"it would be perfect for the upcoming generation of players." Also, in the area is both the present San Diego Balboa Park Club that boasts 24 tables (even players from Mexico come up to play in the leagues there), and the presumed soon-to-be Joan Krok Complex, an $87,000,000 gated community featuring performing arts and indoor sports. Great possibilities for table tennis here in this veritable pocket of San Diego promise and pleasure.

Dennis Taylor, Chair of the Elite Athletes & Athlete Development Committee, who keeps us posted with avuncular regularity about his players’ concerns and/or problems, lamented that his budget for elite athlete training had been drastically cut (when a big chunk of it had to be applied to administrative costs and regional training centers). He said there would be five U.S. Teams at the Baltimore NA Team Championships this year (though no Women’s Team), and that our national coaches would concern themselves there with Junior and Cadet players. The U.S. Team Trials will be held in Las Vegas on Dec. 18-19, but any 2002 trip abroad for these National Team players is quite iffy because more resources will be directed toward junior and cadet athletes.  Additionally, Performance Bonuses that were originally in the Committee's 2002 budget are not likely to be retained. Canada was willing to stage a Junior North American tournament for the next five years--and this would be a great event, for each year it could draw maybe 140 players.  Dennis solicited Board input on the question of whether the event should be awarded to Canada or alternated between the two countries.

After those presentations, designed to give the Board more information about various USATT interests, Tong Lee, taking into consideration the current 10 months of 2001 activity, presented his estimated 2002 Budget. 

One item of $2,300 revenue interest was how Tournament Passes were doing. An uninitiate could enter a USATT-sanctioned tournament (one time in a lifetime) without buying a $30 Membership; instead he’d pass into this new world by paying $7. Looking for cuts, we considered Committees--since we run yearly tournaments for the Disabled, we didn’t think they had to have $3,000. Mostly we focused on the U.S. Pro Tour Open. Should we even have it? But even those in the majority who favored hosting the event necessarily had questions. Jiing Wang wanted to know the comparative costs of the U.S. Open and Nationals. Couldn’t we cut the prize money in the Pro Tour Open? Nope. It was fixed. The ITTF required us to offer $81,000. However, they gave us $21,000 of it. However, they gave us all but $25,000 of it.  "Want to cut the U.S. Open Party, save $5,000?" asked Tong. Apparently not. Jiing thought that perhaps Pro Tour Open entry fees could be increased. But the entry fees of ITTF players cannot be more than $100 (U.S. team members are allowed to play in the Pro Tour event free).

After some more discussion--(for example, "Why can’t we get Program ads for the U.S. Open?"..."That’ll be corrected in the Budget--we did."), we had to move on, make decisions:

MOTION 3: Moved that the 2002 Budget be approved.

Proposed by Tim Boggan; seconded by Jiing Wang.

Passed: 9-2-0.

In favor: LA, TB, GB, TL, RM, JM, HM, SP, JW.

Opposed: BR, DT.

We’d liked what we’d heard about possibilities for Table Tennis development in the San Diego pocket, therefore...

MOTION 4: Moved that if the City of San Diego Parks & Recreation Department agrees to a proposed Matching Fund Project, we agree to commit $10,000 to it. (This is a conditional line item.)

Proposed by Jiing Wang; seconded by Hank McCoullum.

Passed: 11-0-0.

The Internet Collaborative money was something of a windfall. As Robert Mayer had said earlier, "What to do with it?" USATT Foundation Representative Jimmy McClure had one answer:

MOTION 5: Moved that of the $100,000 to $125,000 the USATT anticipates receiving from the AmericasTeams Internet Collaborative, in the first year we put 60% of it toward our Reserve Fund.

Proposed by Jimmy McClure; seconded by Hank McCoullum.

Passed: 10-1-0.

In Favor: LA, TB, GB, TL, RM, JM. HM. SP, BR, JW.

Opposed: DT.

We liked Larry Hodges’ USATT Club League suggestion, so...

MOTION 6: Moved that Headquarters Staff provide support services during the implementation phase of the USATT Club-League Program.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Barney Reed.

Passed: 11-0-0.

Dick Miles, through Tim Boggan, had presented a letter to Board members asking if they’d be willing to consider authorizing Dick--who, with his ABC Wide World of Sports connections, had promoted our 1975 U.S. Open--"to solicit some large corporations to become sustaining sponsors of the U.S. Open and other ‘to-be-created’ high prestige US table tennis events." This letter, which really had to do with Dick selling the sport, eventually produced the following motion:

MOTION 7: Moved that any USATT authorized fundraiser shall be entitled to a "finder’s fee" of up to 20%.

Proposed by Jiing Wang; seconded by Jimmy McClure.

Passed: 10-1-0.

In Favor: LA, TB, GB, TL, RM, JM, HM, SP, BR, JW.

Opposed: DT.

Dennis Taylor, Elite Athlete and Athlete Development Committee Chair, wanted to quickly tie-up the remaining anticipated Internet Collaborative money, hence...

MOTION 8: Moved that, after we’ve set aside 60% of the anticipated $100,000-$125,000 from the AmericasTeams Internet Collaborative toward a reserve fund, we allot the remaining 40% to the Elite Athlete Committee.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Hank McCoullum (in order for a Motion to be discussed it has to be seconded; the one who seconds it doesn’t have to be in favor of the Motion).

Failed: 1-10-0.

In Favor: DT.

Opposed: LA, TB, GB, TL, RM, JM, HM, SP, BR, JW.

Guests Richard Lee and Alan Williams, representing Matchpoint Software, arrived to present the Board with two Proposals.

The first proposal had to do with installing at USATT Headquarters a new software Rating System which Matchpoint valued at $130,000. USATT’s responsibility over a four-year period would be to pay Matchpoint $1 per tournament entry for the first year, then for the subsequent three years $.95, $.85, $.80 respectively. Richard estimated it would take only four days to install the System and to train the Ratings computer person at Headquarters to operate it. One advantage of this System, as Alan explained, was that it allowed a misreported match to be fixed. Suppose: Alan lost to Richard a couple of months ago--No! that was wrong, Alan beat Richard because he’s been playing in tournaments almost every weekend. The simple switch in rating points could easily be made, but the Matchpoint System, unlike others, would be able to reprocess all the tournaments that the "virus" had gone through since Alan’s match with Richard, and so would give both players their current correct ratings.

Li Ai asked, "What happens if the system fails?" Richard thought that was impossible. Li wanted to make sure certain protections were included in the agreement. If necessary, headquarters could go back to the old system? Yes. There followed questions and commentary by Hank, Robert, Dennis, Tong, Jimmy, and Larry--referring, for example, to the testing of this software and a time line for closure. All this resulting in...

MOTION 9: Moved that, pending the resolution of all issues, we endorse Matchpoint Software’s concept for USATT.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by George Brathwaite.

Passed: 11-0-0.

After it was agreed that Jiing Wang, Dennis Taylor, and Robert Mayer would look closely at this endorsed concept, we went on to Matchpoint’s second proposal. This had to do with Tournament Operations. They proposed an outsourcing format that would allow them to manage what went on inside the ...and the USATT to manage what went on outside the Hall. Specifically, they weren’t interested in being responsible for acquiring sponsorship money, or securing one venue-city as opposed to another, or one "official tournament hotel" as opposed to another, not interested in hotel-venue shuttle service, or who gets what equipment booth location in the venue, or meetings or banquets, or deciding on Referees or Umpires. What they were interested in were setting event fees in entry blanks that emphasized the importance of more current ratings; the distribution of prize money; staffing at tournaments (there were now too many volunteers), and the selling of table tennis souvenirs. They were not interested in involving themselves in Pro Tour play. Dennis, Barney, Jiing, and George asked questions or made comments relevant to our outsourcing tournaments. It was agreed that, in further considering this proposal and the negotiation of cash payments back to the association, we would have Treasurer Tong Lee confer with Richard and Alan.

Hank McCoullum, Interim Group B Vice President, reported that the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) tournament, held March 30, 2001 at Johns Hopkins University, presented Hank and the organizers with unexpected and certainly unwanted problems. However, Hank was pleased to report that the male and female winners received, courtesy of Newgy, Inc., "Robo-Pong 2040" equipment.

President Pittman statted that she was in the process of reassessing current appointees and would be making several changes in the near future. At this Board meeting, however, she had only one change to propose:

MOTION 10: Moved that Allen Watson replace Wayne Johnson as Tournament Director for the 2001 USA Table Tennis National Championships.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Tim Boggan.

Passed: 10-0-1.

Under New Business there was a Disability Proposal--that when a disabled player plays an able player, wheelchair rules must prevail (player can’t angle the serve). Tong Lee’s Motion to this effect was withdrawn, and the subject deferred to the purview of Executive Director Dwight Johnson.

Last year the USOC and the USATT were at odds with regard to how much money each of the top finishers at the National Team Trials would receive, and as a result the USATT Elite Athletes Committee’s suggestion was not accepted (perhaps even resented?). Olympic Athlete Representative Li Ai inquired of Elite Athletes Chair Dennis Taylor if some redress was possible, and the answer was....

MOTION 11: Moved that, pending a reconciliation of the Athletes Budget, the 4th and 5th-place finishers in both the Men’s and Women’s National Team Trials in San Diego be given $1500 each.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Hank McCoullum.

Passed: 11-0.

Since the USOC prefers to work directly with NGB staff rather than NGB Committees, Jiing Wang proposed a motion that would forbid any USATT Committee from having any direct correspondence with the USOC without the President’s approval. He withdrew his motion in view of a consensus to develop guidelines for communications between our committees to the USOC through proper channels.

The only thing left on the Agenda was to approve Minutes from past Board Meetings. Regarding the November, 2000 Minutes, however, Hank McCoullum objected to some wording that he thought did a disservice to former Executive Director Ben Nisbet. After Hank specified his objection, there being no others, and no corrections, the question was called...

MOTION 12: Moved that the Minutes of the November 18-20, 2000 Meeting be approved.

Proposed by Tim Boggan; seconded by Hank McCoullum.

Passed: 10-1.

In Favor: LA, TB, GB, TL, RM, JM, SP, BR, DT, JW.

Opposed: HM.

The Board had been provided with a list of specific Fax/E-Mail Votes for Motions proposed from July 10, 2001-November 2, 2001. So far the Minutes had not yet been put to the Board for approval.

At Adjournment around 7:00 p.m., George Brathwaite, having recently returned from China, presented a decorative Lotus Flower gift from the Chinese Government in Shanghai to President Sheri Pittman. The Board then left together for dinner...at a Chinese restaurant.

Respectfully Submitted (Nov. 10, 2001)

USATT Secretary,

Tim Boggan