Minutes

Board of Directors Meeting

Colorado Springs, CO

June 18-19, 2004

            Board Members Present June 18 (11): Sheri Pittman (SP), Jiing Wang (JW), Tong Lee (TL), Tim Boggan (TB), Barney D. Reed (BR), Robert Mayer (RM), Bob Fox (BF), Jimmy McClure (JM), Willy Leparulo (WL), Todd Sweeris (TS), Eric Owens (EO).

Board Members Absent June 18 (2): George Brathwaite, Tawny Banh.

Also Present June 18: USATT Executive Director Doru Gheorghe; USATT Programs and Marketing Coordinator Tommy Perkins; USATT Tournament and Equipment Coordinator Felisa Huggins; USATT Accounting Advisor Deborah Gray; USATT Accountant Carolyn Van Der Wege; USATT Administrative Coordinator Joyce Grooms; USA Table Tennis Editor, Webmaster, League and Club Programs Director Larry Hodges; USOC Sports Partnership Director Chris Vadala; USATT Auditor Ken Waugh; and Guest Richard McAfee. 

Sheri opened the Meeting with her President’s Report. She outlined her Official Representations since Nov., 2003; these included her various interactions at the North American Team Championships, U.S. National’s, Killerspin Extreme Challenge Tournament, Olympic Doubles Trials, and World Team Championships, as well as her Killerspin/USATT sponsorship talks in Chicago, and her involvement in the Community Olympic Development Program (CODP) in Palm Beach County, Florida where Phys. Ed. teachers, coaches, and aspiring young players work at schools and training centers  to promote the Sport. Sheri thus continually has had up-to-date discussions with USATT Board members, USATT Committee Chairs, Sponsors, USOC and ITTF officials, and rank and file Association members. We hear that China urges us to send promising young players there, that Killerspin wants to hold the 2008 World’s, and that there is a CODP involving several clubs in Palm Beach County.  

            Sheri also stressed our Association’s “21 Points of Progress”—having to do, for example, with USATT Finances, USATT Staff stability and improved Customer Services, success of the USATT magazine and communicative website improvements, Killerspin’s media blitz, the reliability of North American Table Tennis’s handling of Ratings and Tournaments, the USATT’s excellent relations with the USOC and ITTF, and the continued importance to the Association of Pro Bono Legal Counsel who has saved us many thousands of dollars and also afforded us with needed legal advice that we might otherwise have skimped on because it is so expensive. 

The Meeting continued with a very favorable assessment of USATT’s current financial situation as buttressed by Reports from Auditor Ken Waugh, Financial Advisor Deborah Gray, and Treasurer Tong Lee.

Auditor Waugh spoke at length to the Board about his firm’s audit of FY 2003 and along the way referred to various important figures in the IRS Form 990. He said that our Accounting Records “have come a long way, have improved immensely, thanks to Deborah.” He also noted that the Board had made “a great selection” in our new Accountant Carolyn who, thanks to Doru and Tong, had been allowed an extended time to be trained by Deborah. “Your Association has had two back-to-back very strong years,” he said. 

Next, Deborah briefly went through the 2003 Form 990 with the Board and explained some of the information that could be obtained from it. She confirmed that the USATT “has really turned a corner in terms of stability and efficiency,” and then provided the Board with additional details of FY 2003. Both the U.S. National’s and the U.S. Open (free from Pro Tour participation) gave us a combined profit of $53,000. Membership income was up, and there was more participation in tournaments. Early termination of the Oakbrook Training Center contract reduced expenses over $25,000, which could be used by the Elite Athletic Committee. The 2003 Budget projected a $20,000 surplus; hence, said Deborah, the actual $123,621 surplus “was very impressive.” “We now (as of 12/31/03) have net assets of $294,843 compared to $38,000 in 2001.”

“The cash flow’s very good,” said Tong. Indeed, said Tong, the fact that the USATT “could achieve a surplus in six figures in consecutive years is unprecedented.” He then proceeded to give a financial assessment of the first five months of FY 2004 ending May 31 by citing several financial items:

(1) As of May 31, our liquid assets (cash plus accounts receivable minus accounts payable) totaled $428,799, showing that the cash flow was still very good.

(2) Net income was over $195,000 vs. $50,000 for the whole year. However, Tong             cautioned that the net income was misleading as there will be significant expenses for the U.S. Open-Pro Tour. Nevertheless, the large surplus was still very encouraging as the events would cost us a lot less than $195,000.

(3) Membership fees collected were ahead by $89,630 on an annualized basis.

(4) Rating fees collected were ahead by nearly $25,000 on an annualized basis.

(5) Headquarters’ expenses are below budget because the position of Technical Director has not been filled. Bouquets should go to Executive Director Doru and the conscientious Headquarters Staff for picking up any slack necessitated by this vacancy.

            All the above were predictors of a good financial year. Tong’s only concern was the U.S. Open because there were some “unknowns” connected with expenses there. (Among other things, compared to Fort Lauderdale, Chicago is a more expensive place where we do not have any experience in holding a major tournament.) 

            Next to address us, briefly, was Jimmy McClure who, with the USOC’s new Board structure, will no longer be on it—this after a dutiful 21 years of service. Jimmy explained that the Board wants a more staff-driven organization, feels that with this move they can strengthen Olympic sports in the U.S. USOC Sports Partnership Director Chris Vadala comes in to thank Jimmy for serving so long and elaborates on how the USOC is confident about the credibility of the new leadership. Now there will be only four formal committees—Audit, Compensation Review, Nominating/Governance, and Ethics. The first three committees will be composed almost, if not, completely of Board members, of which there are 11. Any other tasks fall on the CEO to oversee and implement. Jim Scherr remains the interim CEO. The new model indicates that the Board sets policy, while the Staff is responsible for the day-to-day functions necessary to carry out the policy. All other logistical details are in a state of flux. The NGB Task Force is working on a “reinvention” of the Council of NGB representatives.

            Chris echoed Ken Waugh’s comments about having an excellent relationship with the Staff.  Doru is Chris’s main contact.  Regarding comments made at previous Board meetings about USATT’s managerial capabilities and other concerns, Chris said that he no longer has those concerns and that the USOC Membership and Credentials Committee is probably going to be disbanded as part of the new USOC structure.

            Chris says everything’s progressing very well for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Security absolutely gets the highest priority—Athens may well be the safest place in the world during the Olympics. There may be some housing problem; if so, ships will house players. (USOC Headquarters is on a ship.) The earliest USATT will be able to find out whether the USOC will be able to give us a second coaching credential for Men’s Coach Danny Seemiller (to get him on the playing floor) is 7/20. How many athletes qualify in other sports will determine the USOC’s total quota of credentials. Because of the failure of many NGBs to qualify their athletes, the USOC is sending the smallest contingent to the Olympics in years. The USOC must give their roster to the IOC on 7/21. 

            Doru presented at length the High Performance Plan for the next quadriennium. The Board discussed it, and decided to set an effective date for athlete bonuses, prompting…

MOTION 1: Move that the Board set the date of Jan. 1, 2005 for the implementation of bonuses for any Outstanding Performance by a U.S. athlete at the Olympic Games, World Championships, World Junior Championships, and World Junior Circuit tournaments—with the proviso that any 2004 Olympic medal winner also gets his/her stated bonus.

Proposed by: JM; seconded by BR.

Passed: 11-0-0. 

Regarding the USATT’s High Performance Plan, Jiing questions whether we have enough of a Budget to meet our goals. McAfee, free to speak, says the Plan is complicated, that we’ll have to “play” with it each year. Doru urges that we go with the Plan and continue modifications when needed as it is a living document. As all appears to be on schedule for the 6/23 meeting with USOC personnel reviewing the Plan for the next quad.  The Board next voted on the approval of the High Performance Plan for 2005-2008 which is consistent with the Strategic Plan, but provides more details.

MOTION 2: Move that the Board endorse their High Performance Plan.

Proposed by: BF; seconded by TS.

Passed: 10-0-1 (JW abstained). 

The Board then went into Executive Session after which …

            June 18^th Meeting adjourned. 

Board Members Present June 19 (12): Sheri Pittman (SP), Jiing Wang (JW), Tong Lee (TL), Tim Boggan (TB), George Brathwaite (GB), Barney D. Reed (BR), Robert Mayer (RM), Bob Fox (BF), Jimmy McClure (JM), Willy Leparulo (WL), Todd Sweeris (TS), Eric Owens (EO).

Board Members Absent June 19 (1): Tawny Banh.

Also Present June 19: Doru Gheorghe, Tommy Perkins, Carolyn Van Der Wege, Larry Hodges, and Richard McAfee.  

The Board goes into Executive Session….Once out of Executive Session, the Meeting continues with:

MOTION 3: Move that the USATT not agree to the June 7, 2004 Killerspin proposal to amend the sponsorship and licensing agreement regarding the 2004-2006 U.S. Open and associated events.

Proposed by: BF; seconded by TS.

Passed: 12-0-0. 

Doru briefed us with a number of up-to-date Reports—regarding the upcoming U.S. Open; U.S. Team’s Olympic schedule; USTTA Headquarters expansion problems; League membership; assessment of Tournaments (some results delayed by delinquent tournament directors) and Ratings (going good—Eric suggested maybe results should be weighted according to the star-value of the tournament; Barney thought maybe Doubles as well as Singles should be counted in the ratings). Notice was taken of the growing interest in Senior play. In many places, the Senior Olympics continues to be very popular. Jiing spoke of a possible Senior/Esquire/Veteran follow-up tournament to the Meiklejohn. This talk, including the fact that there were now 90-year-olds playing in tournaments, led to… 

MOTION 4: Move that the USATT establish a new Membership category—namely, a Life Membership for those 70 and Over (fee: $100).

Proposed by: BF; seconded by JW.

Passed: 11-0-1 (RM abstained). 

Barney Reed gave his Olympic Training Center Committee Report. He used video shots to again urge that the Association take advantage of this window-of-opportunity and, by adopting a pro-active posture, push for Table Tennis as one of the sports that would share the full-time ARCO Training Center at Chula Vista, CA (one of four such Olympic Centers now in use). Barney spoke of a USATT Hall of Fame there, of the need for drawings of the site, of the pitch that we could make to prospective supporters. At the moment, there’s a high demand for bed space at this Center and priorities favor potential medalists, but the USOC is working on bed space plans for the future. Doru will continue to work with Sport Partnerships, and progress is hoped for after the Olympics. 

Jiing Wang gave his Club Committee Report, but, basically, there was not even a Committee budget, and Boggan, for one, stressed that action was needed. Suggestions centered on more communication: for example, an interaction of club websites with the USATT website. Since only 20% of club members are USATT members, it’d be a good idea to have a database of that 80% that might be appealed to. Rebates (33 and 1/3%?)  back to clubs for new members might be tried. Also, there are perhaps 30,000 players out there who once were USATT members and who, with the proper approach, might want to be members again, especially with our older players’ increased competitive camaraderie. Players who don’t think they want to play in tournaments just might find they’d like to. Zero in on them. Anyway, such suggestions, and more, need to be put into practice, and a Club Committee action-meeting was to be held in Chicago at the U.S. Open. After which Jiing was to prepare a written Report with proposals and information about what the Club Committee is doing.  

George Brathwaite gave his NYC 2012 Report. New York City’s Olympic bid of course gets USATT support. Table Tennis would find its place at the 9,500-seat Jacob Javits Convention Center with training, warm-up, and competitive tables. The USATT’s Technical Delegate would be George; the International Delegate Sheri. 

A convenient jump in Sheri’s closely-followed Agenda brought forward a cluster of topics centering on Motions and Discussions/Proposed By-Law Changes/and Election Nominations. Thus…

MOTION 5: Move a change in the Chapter VIII, Section 13 Bylaw.

Replace “Reasonable expenses for all members of the Board in order to attend meetings shall be borne by USATT with the exception of the Community Based Organizations’ Representative” with: “Reasonable expenses for all members of the Board in order to attend meetings shall be borne by USATT.”

Proposed by: TL; seconded by TB.

Passed: 10-0-0 (BF and TS momentarily absent).

Tong’s stated purpose for change was that the Bylaw was discriminatory, and was tailored to the first Community Based Organization’s Representative who lived in Colorado Springs..

MOTION 6: Move changes in the Chapter VIII, Section 16 (B and D) Bylaw.

Replace 16B’s “No one may serve as President more than two consecutive terms. Anyone who has been President for 6 consecutive years or longer shall not be eligible for election to that office until at least 3 years after the end of the previous service as President” with: “No one may serve as President more than two consecutive full terms.”

Replace 16 D’s “The initial election under these changes to the Bylaws will be held in October 2001 to elect the President, Secretary, and two Vice-Presidents. These officers would serve a three-year term beginning December 2001 and serve until the 2004 election” with: “The initial election under these changes to the Bylaws will be held in October 2001 to elect the President, Secretary, and two Vice-Presidents. These officers would serve a three-year term beginning December 2001 and serve until the 2004 election; thereafter the elected holders of these offices will serve a four-year term.”

Proposed by: TL; seconded by GB.

Passed: 8-0-1 (WL abstained; BF and TS were momentarily absent; SP had left the room).

Tong’s stated purpose for change was that after we had transitioned from returning the membership’s right to vote for officers and from a 3-to-a-4-year term to coincide with an Olympic quadrennium, there’s no need to confuse the issue with numbers such as “3” or “6.” Also, to avoid confusion, we should specify that “term” means “full term.” 

MOTION 7: Move a change in the Chapter XV, Section 5 Bylaw.

Replace “No member of a committee may be related to another member of the same committee, nor may any member of a committee be an employee or employer of another member of the same committee” with: “No member of a committee may be an employee or employer of another member of the same committee. If two or more members of a committee are from an immediate family, they shall collectively have only one vote on the committee.”

Proposed by: TL; seconded by BR.

Passed: 12-0-0.

It had been called to the Board’s attention that Olga and Stan Kahan are married and co-chair the Grassroots/Seniors Committee. This change would allow Olga and Stan, and other persons related to one another, to serve on the same committee, for that is in the best interest of the Association. At the same time, it also would preserve the original intent to avoid a potential conflict of interest when those who are married or otherwise related serve on the same committee. 

There was an intent to draft a Standing Rule to ban an athlete from domestic USATT sanctioned tournaments the moment he/she is banned from international competition. Meantime…

MOTION 8: Move the following package of Bylaw proposals regarding athlete representation on committees.

Clarification regarding Chapter II-1-K:

K. “Designated Committee” means Nominating/Elections Committee, Budget Committee, Elite Athlete Committee, Training Center Committee, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee, Grievance Panel, and any other committees which prepare, approve or implement programs in the following areas:

1.      expenditures of funds allocated to USATT by USOC; and

2.      selection of international, Olympic and Pan American Games Team members including athletes, coaches, administrators and sports staff.

Redesignate subsequent subsections accordingly. 

Change in Chapter II-1-A:

Lines to be replaced: “A. ‘Active athlete’ means any individual who is actively participating in international amateur athletic competition in the sport of table tennis or who has represented the United States in international amateur athletic competition held under ITTF, IOC, or USOC jurisdiction in the sport of table tennis within the preceding ten (10) years as measured from the first USOC AAC meeting of the USOC Quadrennium;”

Replace with: “A. ‘Active athlete’ means:

1)      any individual who is actively participating in international amateur athletic competition in the sport of table tennis or who has represented the United States in international amateur athletic competition held under ITTF, IOC, or USOC jurisdiction in the sport of table tennis within the preceding ten (10) years as measured from the first USOC AAC meeting of the USOC Quadrennium;

2)      any individual who is actively participating in international amateur athletic competition in the sport of table tennis or who has represented the United States in international amateur athletic competition held under ITTF, IOC, or USOC jurisdiction in the sport of table tennis within the preceding ten (10) years as measured from the first USOC AAC meeting of the USOC Quadrennium; or any individual who within the previous twenty-four (24) months has competed in a USATT-sanctioned tournament and achieved a USATT rating in excess of 2000; 

Change in Chapter XV-3:

Lines to be replaced: “The President shall recommend for Board approval all committee chairs. Each chair shall recommend to the Board for approval persons with special expertise who they wish to have serve on that committee. Each committee shall include at least 20% active athletes and shall designate one seat for women’s programs and one seat for men’s programs where appropriate.

Replace with: “The President shall recommend for Board approval all committee chairs. Each chair shall recommend to the Board for approval persons with special expertise who they wish to have serve on that committee.

Section 4. Each Designated Committee shall include at least 20% active athletes as defined by Section II-1-A-1 of these Bylaws, and shall designate one seat for women’s programs and one seat for men’s programs where appropriate. Each committee other than Designated Committees shall include at least 20% active athletes as defined by Section II-1-A-2 of these Bylaws, and shall designate one seat for women’s programs and one seat for men’s programs where appropriate. All athlete representatives appointed to committees must be approved by the USATT AAC.”

Redesignate subsequent sections accordingly.

Proposed by: TB; seconded by BF.

Passed: 12-0-0.  

            Nominating Chair Ross Brown’s suggestions for (free) Campaign Statements in the USA Table Tennis magazine met with objections. How many candidates would be taking up such space in the magazine when the ballots themselves or paid-for circulars could include the Candidates’ Statements? What exactly is “invective”? What’s the point of saying, “I endorse Candidate X,” without saying why? And surely one’s credentials or qualifications are meaningful to voters? 

MOTION 9: Move the following addition to Nominating/Elections Committee in our Standing Rules:

“All candidates appearing on the ballot as of the publication deadline for the September/October edition of the National Publication shall be permitted to submit a campaign statement of no more than 300 words. The National publication shall publish the submitted statement free of charge, providing the statement, in the opinion of the Nominating/Elections Committee, conforms to the following guidelines:

1)      no personal invective;

2)      While the statement may contain endorsements of candidates for other positions, the statement shall in no way contain language beyond a simple statement of endorsement for each other candidate endorsed. In other words, one candidate’s statement may not mention credentials or qualifications, extol virtues, or in any other way seek to advance the candidacy of another candidate beyond making the simple statement, ‘I endorse Candidate X for Position Y.’

Proposed by: TB; seconded by RM.

Not Passed: 2-10-0.

Opposed: SP, JW, TB, BR, GB, BF, JM, WL, TS, EO.     

In Favor: TL, RM. 

            MOTION 10: Regarding Section 5 in Chapter VIII—Board of Directors: Move that the two National Athletes’ Representatives be elected not to two-year terms but four-year terms.

            Proposed by: RM; seconded by TB.

            Not Passed: 0-12-0.

            Todd said that just finding athletes willing to serve for two years is not easy. Asking an athlete to commit to a four-year term would be too much of an imposition. 

            Wendell Dillon’s Rules/Officials Committee reports that the USATT umpire list has been purged by 385 who apparently didn’t want to remain active. The Association now has “184 active umpires of all ranks,” including Tom Miller who’s been designated a Blue Badge International Umpire. Wendell requested approval of a re-certification program for all USATT umpires (“required each 3 years”), and for approval of the new Certified Referee standards. However, his request to “rescind the use of ‘hard bat’ rackets not conforming to the equipment rules and regulations in other than hard bat competition,” was taken under advisement. No problem, though, in everyone agreeing on…

            MOTION 11: Move: “That the Rules/Officials Committee establish procedures for re-certifying umpires periodically.”

            Proposed by: BF; seconded by TB.

            Passed: 12-0-0. 

            MOTION 12: Move: “That the referee qualifications established by the Rules/Officials Committee be approved and that all tournaments must have a qualified referee not later than January 2005.”

            Proposed by: RM; seconded by TB.

            Passed: 12-0-0. 

             MOTION 13: Move (and Eric Owens particularly felt strongly about this): “That the Rules/Officials Committee establish procedures for foreign international umpires to transfer to USATT as IUs. Such procedures must ensure that the umpire is proficient in the English language.”

            Proposed by: EO; seconded by BF.

            Passed: 12-0-0. 

            The Atlanta organization wants consideration from the Board, since, in running the Olympic Doubles Trials, they suffered considerable losses. This request for some financial reimbursement was taken under advisement. 

            MOTION 14: Move that the members of the Elite Athlete Committee are: Bob Fox (Co-Chair), Todd Sweeris (Co-Chair and National Athlete Rep), Emilia Gheorghe, David Zhuang, Tawny Banh, National Athlete Rep), Eric Owens (Olympic Athlete Rep), and Whitney Ping.

            Proposed by: BF; seconded by EO.

            Passed: 12-0-0. 

Sheri’s eligibility to run again for Presidential office was questioned by both

Jiing Wang and Barney Reed. Discussion centered around Sheri’s two earlier one-year terms, followed by her 3-year term expiring in 2004. The suggestion that she’d already served 3 consecutive terms had been countered by Tong Lee in a 6-page analysis of the question he’d earlier made to the Board, and by Nominations Chair Ross Brown in his Report to the Board. Ross concurred with Lee, USATT Executive Director Doru Gheorghe, and USATT Pro Bono lawyer Dennis Taylor by pointing to USATT Bylaws, Chapter VIII, Section 16, Item D:

“The initial election under these changes to the Bylaws will be held in October 2001 to elect the president, Secretary, and two Vice-Presidents. These officers would serve a three-year term beginning December 2001 and serve until the 2004 election.”

            Ross said, “The pertinent language clearly states that the term limit takes effect beginning with the term immediately previous to this election. By inescapable logical extension, for purposes of this provision, it is impossible for Ms. Pittman to have served two terms under this new language.”

            Furthermore, the former Nominating and Elections Committee chaired by Wendell Dillon also supported the majority position by not only allowing Sheri to run for President in 2001, but also nominated her to be placed on the ballot. If the Dillon Committee had agreed with the position advocated by Jiing and Barney, it surely would have ruled that Sheri was ineligible to run in 2001.

            Before this discussion and for the vote on Motion 15, Sheri left the room, consistent with her belief that she should not participate in the discussion. 

To clarify (if clarification is needed):

            MOTION 15: Move that President Sheri Pittman has already served two full terms and is not eligible to run again. (Sheri Pittman was still out of the room.)

            Proposed by: JW; seconded by BR.

            Not Passed: 2-7-2.

                        Opposed: TL, TB, GB, BF, RM, WL, TS.

                        In Favor: JW, BR.

                        Abstained: JM, EO. 

            MOTION 16. Move that each 2004 Election candidate endorsed by the Nominating/Elections Committee be approved by at least one member of the Board—that these be taken up one at a time and voted on.

            Proposed by: TB; seconded by TS.

            Passed (in the case of each candidate without dissent): 12-0-0.

            The vote is subject to change if the USOC rule requires every candidate to be a U.S. citizen and any candidate is not. 

            MOTION 17: That Jiing Wang be approved by the Board to run in 2004 for the office of President.

            Proposed by: TB; seconded by BR.

            Passed: 10-0-2 (TS, EO abstained). 

            MOTION 18: That Lily Yip be approved by the Board to run in 2004 for the office of Vice-President.

            Proposed by: GB; seconded by TB.

            Passed: 12-0-0. 

            Community Based Programs’ Representative Willy Leparulo gave his Report. Both the ACUI, where Table Tennis is recreationally but not so competitively popular, and the NCTTA have a continued interest in holding a joint College Championships, for which hopefully there are a number of possible sponsors. At the 2004 Championships, the Collegiate Grassroots Committee, of which Willy is the Chair, passed out information aimed to also encourage high schoolers, the kids-and-their-parents audience that will hopefully embrace the Sport come college time.  The 2005 Championships will be at Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth. Now it’s Willy and his Committee’s goal to be able to send a USA Team to the biennial World University Championships.

That’s certainly a reasonable aim, for McAfee, again free to speak, said it’s amazing how many schools have tables, that there were 70 NCAA college clubs. Problem is, said Willy, the NCAA had their own very strict guidelines, and so implementing guidelines from the USATT Board, were they available, might be difficult. Nevertheless, Willy was seeking such guidelines—especially with regard to preserving a college player’s amateur status regarding prize money, sponsorship, club salary, and equipment acceptance. Doru promised to see what distinctions could be made. 

            Larry Hodges gave his Magazine, Website, League, and Club Programs Report.

The ad revenue increase in the magazine over the years is very impressive. Innovatively, since the magazine is now “polybagged,” Larry is thinking of selling inserts in these plastic bags to advertisers. The hits on the USATT web page have also increased dramatically: Roy SeGuine’s new home page design, Carl Danner’s Tips, Boggan’s History/Profiles, Larry’s “USATT Pages of the Week” have all helped. However, the Forum badly needs USATT participation and Larry would appreciate Board Members taking weekly turns acting as Host. As of June 1, 2004, there have been 2388 active League members; since Sept. 1, 2003, 23,355 League matches have been played. New software, however, to process League membership is urgently needed. Most importantly, as Larry prepares to work ceaselessly, sleepless in Chicago, with Killerspin and the ITTF on the U.S. Open, he pleads for an Associate Advertising Editor for the magazine to solicit non-table tennis advertising who’d be paid strictly on commission. Therefore…

            MOTION 19: Move to allow the Executive Director in consultation with the Treasurer to set the commission rate for fund-raisers and contractors. (This motion would rescind the earlier limit of 20% on commissions.)

            Proposed by: BF; seconded by TS.

            Passed: 12-0-0. 

            The Board reviewed a number of Committee Reports (some of these may be found on the USATT website). Sheri notes, for example:

            The NCAA College Committee is working on a detailed plan of action to begin the process of getting NCAA recognition for women’s table tennis under the NCAA’s “Emerging Sport for Women” program.

            The Ethical/Grievance and Disciplinary Committee concluded its inquiry concerning Barney Reed, Sr.; and successfully mediated a matter pertaining to a complaint against a Referee at the CA Stiga Open.

The Coaching Committee has reinstated the previous certification system. It

began a review of the recently published ITTF Level 1 Coaching Manual to evaluate ways to integrate coaching certification material and criteria. It is reviewing the USOC’s 2004 Coach Development Program as a resource of support for USATT coaching activity. Recently the Coaching Committee certified 15 new club coaches; and, to keep them or anyone else up-to-date, a coaching seminar will be held during the U.S. Open. The Committee itself continues to seek to learn, to adopt new standards.

            MOTION 20: Move that various USATT Committees be approved by the Board. (Each was taken up in turn.)

Passed: All such committees were approved by all in the room, unanimously in every case, except that TS registered a dissent in the case of the Tournament Committee. (Note. The Training Center Committee was not up for consideration.) 

The San Francisco Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee (BASOC) presented the USATT Board with a letter of intent to present a bid for the 2007 ITTF World Junior Championships. The proposed date was one week before our National’s? If so, we’d better have enough umpires for both.

Richard Lee, while continuing his North American Team Championships over Thanksgiving, is interested in the USATT and the NATT working together to hold a U.S. Open Teams Championships on a spring date in 2005 on the West Coast.  Naturally, the Board was receptive to working with Richard on this event.

Meeting adjourned.

Secretary Tim Boggan

July 17, 2004