USA Table Tennis
Board Meeting Minutes
San Diego, CA, November 17-19, 2000

Friday, November 17, 2000:

The meeting was called to order at 7:22 p.m. by President Sheri Pittman at the Red Lion Hotel in San Diego, California.  Present were Board Members Tong Lee, Hank McCoullom, Jimmy McClure, Sheri Pittman, Barney Reed, Dennis Taylor, Jiing Wang, and Lily Yip and Executive Director Ben Nisbet.  Guests in the room included Christian Lillieroos, Larry Hodges, and Clark Mitchell.

Dennis Taylor presented the Secretary’s Report.

·        The May and July Board Minutes were approved earlier this week by electronic vote and will be up on the web site next week.

·        The Minutes of electronic votes taken between the May and November meetings will be distributed as soon as the hotel can get the copies made.

Sheri Pittman presented the President’s Report.

·        Tong Lee and Sheri Pittman recently were the guests of ITTF President Adham Sharara.  Among issues discussed was the negotiation of a multi-year Pro Tour contract.

·        Sheri Pittman attended the Olympic competition in Sydney.  There were three sessions per day.  Ms. Pittman made many useful contacts with foreign associations.

·        The Palm Beach County (FL) Sports institute is designing a program in install six emerging sports, including table tennis, into the county school system.

·        The Enron Tour was discussed.  Dr. Wang distributed and translated an article about the trip published in Table Tennis World magazine.

·        Following-up on the Enron Tour:

·        CTTA wishes to coordinate several events in commemoration of the 30^th anniversary of Ping-Pong Diplomacy.  Ms. Pittman will chair an ad hoc committee consisting of Jiing Wang, Lily Yip, and Dennis Taylor to coordinate with the CTTA.

·        Dr. Wang volunteered to organize a Los Angeles local organizing committee.

·        Possible events under consideration include:

·        us sending a player to live in China and be trained by CTTA

·        sending coaches to China for training

·        the US National Team training in China in preparation for Osaka Worlds

·        a business summit centered on Ping-Pong Diplomacy

·        CTTA wants to host a world youth event

·        CTTA has many marketing opportunities for us, largely through CTTA’s ties with the Chinese government.

Jimmy McClure presented a report from the ITTF Advisory Council.

·        ITTF will be preparing a booklet to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of table tennis.  It should include lists of ITTF Presidents, Merit Award winners, and Hall of Fame members.  Suggestions as to other items for inclusion should be sent to Mr. McClure.

·        Time will tell if the booklet is ready for Osaka

Jimmy McClure presented a report from the USOC.

·        Norm Blake has resigned as CEO of USOC.

·        The NGBs have lost their former majority of votes on the USOC Board.  Collective steps are underway to restore that majority and the control it represents, starting with a request for the NGBs to control 51% of the Executive Committee.

Ben Nisbet presented the Executive Director’s Report.

·        Last Sunday, Mr. Nisbet attended an emergency meeting of the NGB Council.

·        The athletes will be voting as a block.

·        There is a lot of turmoil within USOC.

·        The purpose of the emergency meeting was to plan how to wrest at least 51% control of the USOC Executive Committee.

·        No one has seen the USOC budget; USOC will operate on an interim budget through March, 2001.

·        USATT will have to put its 2001 budget together without knowing how much money will be coming in from USOC.

·        Scott Blackmun gave a great presentation for the NGB Council; he might well be staying on as USOC CEO. [note: Sally Baldwin won the election in December, 2000]

·        The 2001-2004 USOC budget will be around $521 Million, $497 Million of which will be derived from sponsorships, TV, and the foundation.

·        Despite all the layoffs at USOC, money spent on salaries has gone up; Scott Blackmun has a real mess on his hands.

·        USOC intends to contribute $10 Million in coaching support to NGBs over the next quadrinium

·        USOC will be discontinuing direct athlete support, sending the money to NGB’s to distribute to athletes.

·        Norm Blake had really pushed “gold medals” as part of his strategy to attract more sponsorship dollars.

·        There has been considerable turnover of Board and staff members over the past ten years.  This has put a lot of stress on staff, especially Margaret.

·        Mr. Nisbet lists the following as his accomplishments over the past year:

·        Compilation of a notebook of new materials and accomplishments

·        USATT staged several successful events, especially the Trials in Rochester and the US Open/Pro Tour.

·        The coaching program has been ramped up.  Patches are now going out to participants.

·        The Chicago Ping-Pong festival was completed.  Concomitantly, USATT’s relationships with Sears and Escalade have been improved.  However, Mr. Nisbet spent more time there than ideal.

·        Some sports have one person working nearly full-time to coordinate with USOC.  However, due to our staff restrictions, Mr. Nisbet has been attending almost every meeting of small sports.

·        Enron was very pleased with the Enron Friendship Tour.

·        A new membership brochure has been designed.

·        Marketing goals have been furthered by two issues of the club newsletter and the tournament directors conference at the Nationals.

·        Many more press releases are going out; an Olympic sport is news.

·        There is more grass-roots activity than two years ago.  Items cited include more individual coaching centers, the school program in Palm Beach (FL), and the Gold Camp in Colorado Springs.  Parks and Recreation departments are calling HQ all the time.

·        This has been a good year for athletes, particularly Jun Gao Chang, who advanced from qualifying into the main draw at the Olympics.

·        Over 50 contracts have been negotiated.

·        More localities are wanting to host the US Open/Pro Tour.

·        Local Parks and Recreation programs are continually calling the office, attempting to get guidance on starting programs.

·        USATT needs to make sure that tournament directors feel appreciated.

·        TDs bring in most of our memberships.

·        TDs tend to not realize what local sports commissions can do for them.

·        TDs need to have an information sharing forum.

·        Coaches need to be more a part of our sales efforts.  Fencing provides a good model.

·        USATT needs to work the press angle better.

·        USATT needs to better leverage the Olympic angle.

·        Mr. Nisbet lists the following as his misgivings regarding the past year:

·        He regrets not establishing a better working relationship with the Board.

·        Some of this year’s new hires have not panned out well.

·        It has taken some time to understand his role as ED.

·        Early in his tenure, he stepped on the toes of some committee chairs, particularly Officials and Youth.

·        He needs to move slower when impacting the budget negatively.

·        The volume of work given to office staff is hurting morale.

·        The outsourced magazine has been a Godsend.

·        Outsourcing the web site has been a great help.

·        He needs to find a way to relieve Margaret of some of her duties at events.

·        Particularly, Margaret must be allowed to choose her own staff.

·        Wayne Johnson is doing a great job.

·        Where we are going in 2001:

·        The internet collaborative has reached the attorney stage.

·        Dave Williams is working hard on sponsorships.

·        Dave is working on a deal with a network to get some inexpensive late-night time.

·        Dave is also working with Global Production, Inc.; that firm works a lot with Enron and is trying to get into the NGB market.  More importantly, they are not demanding any up-front money.

·        Sponsorship proposals now can be turned around in less than a day.

·        USATT has three good proposals for National Team Trials.

·        USATT has a lunchbox-style coach training kit.

·        Boston is attempting to get four sports to have simultaneous Trials in 2004.

·        The budget from Mr. Nisbet’s perspective:

·        He is nervous about cash outflow.

·        “We missed” some budget items:

·        Pro Tour

·        legal review of contracts

·        over-estimated the membership increase

·        we chose not to accept a couple of internet proposals

·        magazine printing costs were higher than expected

·        extra programming expenses because 2000 was an Olympic year

·        USATT received $88,000 in sponsorship money.  This was above budget, but overhead costs were considerably over budget.

·        Mr. Nisbet’s requests of the Board at this meeting.

·        Approve a Strategic Plan for USOC

·        Approve a ball contract for USATT major events

·        Review tournament sanctioning procedures

·        Select a site for the Team Trials, even though bids are not yet due

·        Discuss the relationship with Paralympic table tennis

·        Discuss the relationship with North American Table Tennis [the contract was approved the week before the meeting]

·        Determine what to do about Oakbrook

·        Select a USOC representative

·        Better define Ben’s role.

Tong Lee presented the Treasurer’s Report.

·        An overview of the budget process was presented.

·        FY 2000 had a variance of -$176,000, consisting of a revenue shortfall of $55,000 and overspending of $121,000.

The meeting recessed at 11:32 p.m.

Saturday, November 18, 2000:

The meeting reconvened at 8:42 a.m.  The same members were present.  Larry Hodges was present as a guest.

Tong Lee presented the report of the Finance Committee.  This was followed by considerable discussion, focussing on Dr. Wang’s request that the proposed budget by amended by adding a $50,000 contribution to USATT’s now-depleted cash reserves, a contribution which would mean cutting $50,000 in spending from an already conservative budget.

The meeting recessed at 12:10 p.m., reconvening at 2:50 p.m.

In addition to those present in the morning session, Attila Malek was present as a guest.

Attila Malek made a presentation on junior training.

·        Mr. Malek believes that he operates the only professional junior training center in the country.

·        Mr. Malek wants to develop a scholarship program for juniors with 100 coaches putting up $1800 each for a scholarship tournament.

·        Mr. Malek has accomplished the first goal of his business plan, opening the first professional center which has revenues of $3500/month and can handle up to 80 juniors.  The three-year goal is to have ten centers, including Westminster and Los Angeles.  The ten-year goal is to have 200 centers and scholarship tournaments in three age groups.

·        Mr. Malek is asking for $20,000 for scholarship prize money, but he would be happy if the Board would create scholarship dollars for tournaments other than Mr. Malek’s, eg, offering scholarship dollars as prizes at the Open and Nationals.

·        Mr. Malek notes that all of his students are members of USATT.

The Board returned to discussion of the 2001 budget.

Motion 1: Moved that the Board accept the negotiated budget (attached).

Proposed by Tong Lee; seconded by Jimmy McClure.

Passed:  7-1-0

In favor: TL, HM, JM, SP, DT, JW, LY

Opposed:  BR

The Board discussed the Dillon Report of proposed election bylaw changes.  Technical changes were made by changing section 4(b) to read “Summer” Olympics and changing other references to Winter.

MOTION 2: Moved that § 17-g removed from the amendment proposal, to be replaced with “A Board member wishing to run for an officer position will not be required to resign his/her current position, unless successful in that election. Should a Board position become vacant, the President shall nominate someone to complete the vacant term, subject to confirmation by the Board.”

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Hank McCoullom.

Passed:  8-0-0

MOTION 3: Moved that the bylaw amendments and Election standing rules with technical corrections to 17-a,b,d be approved.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Barney Reed.

Passed:  8-0-0

Motion 4:  Moved to change the date in proposed Standing Rule 10 to August 1.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by  Barney Reed.

Passed:  8-0-0

NOTE:  The illegal part of Bylaw Proposal 16, involving proxies, was removed without motion in order to conform with Illinois law.

Motion 5: Moved to approve proposed change to bylaw 17-1.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Hank McCoullom.

Passed: 8-0-0

Motion 6:  Moved to approve proposed Bylaw 15-1 regarding the Foundation Representative.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Hank McCoullom.

Passed: 7-0-1

In Favor: TL, HM, SP, BR, DT, JW, LY

Abstain:   JM

MOTION 7: Moved to delete sentence about membership services committee in proposed Bylaw 9-4.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Hank McCoullom.

Passed:  8-0-0

Sheri Pittman nominated Jimmy McClure to be the USOC Representative for 2001-2004 term.

Motion 8: Moved to confirm the nomination of Jimmy McClure as USOC Representative.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Tong Lee.

Passed:  7-0-1

In Favor: TL, HM, SP, BR, DT, JW, LY

Abstain:   JM

Sheri Pittman nominated Bob Fox as Associate USOC Representative.  The nomination was withdrawn because it was in conflict with USOC procedures.

Larry Hodges gave a presentation of programs he will be pursuing in the capacity of Club Programs Director.

Tong Lee presented an analysis of bids for the USATT ball contract.

Motion 9: Moved to award the ball contract for USATT for the next two years to Paddle Palace/Nippon Takkyu Co., Ltd. (Nittaku).

Proposed by Tong Lee; seconded by Hank McCoullom.

Passed:   7-0-1

In Favor: TL, HM, SP, BR, DT, JW, LY

Abstain:   JM

Ben Nisbet led a discussion on regional training centers.  There was general enthusiasm about the concept, which was referred to the Elite Athlete and Athlete Development Committee for further development.

The Board went into executive session.

The Board returned to general session and recessed at 8:08 p.m.

Sunday, November 19, 2000:

The meeting reconvened at 8:20 a.m.  All previous members were present.  Larry Hodges and Christian Lillieroos were guests.

Christian Lillieroos gave a presentation on Paralympic table tennis.

·        The Paralympics are now half the size of the Olympics.

·        Before 1989, the Paralympics were limited to competitors with spinal cord injuries; now the Paralympics are open to competitors with many disabilities.

·        The ITTC is not affiliated with the ITTF.

·        Paralympic table tennis has more participants than Olympic table tennis.

·        USATT’s Mike Dempsey is a nine-time world champion in the wheelchair division.

·        2000 in Sydney was the first time the US didn’t win a gold medal, but US did win a bronze in standing teams.

·        There are 150 professional Paralympic table tennis players in the world.

·        Up until now, US parathletes and their coaches attended the Paralympics without expense; now, each participant is asked for $3000 to compete.

·        It is easier to raise funds for Paralympic athletes then for the able bodied.

·        The Amateur Sports Act requires equal treatment of able bodied and disabled athletes; the USOC is still attempted to interpret that directive.

·        The last three US Opens have included well run International Paralympic Events; this year the Open attracted 145 athletes, but it could handle as many as 250.

·        There are three sanctioning levels:

·        10 point tournament

·        The host must apply three months in advance.

·        A technical delegate is not necessary.

·        A classifier is not necessary.

·        20 point tournament (the level at the last two Opens)

·        The host must apply eight months in advance.

·        A technical delegate is required (Mr. Lillieroos cannot assume the task this year; therefore, a technical delegate would need to be brought in from Europe and provided with travel and hospitality).

·        A classifier is required (Sharon Brooks would be the logical choice for this position; she would also need to be provided with travel and hospitality).

·        A capitation tax of $20/participant would be charged; it could be added to the entry fee.

·        30 point tournament

·        The host must apply one year in advance.

·        The host must fund a site inspection eight months in advance.

·        A technical delegate is required.

·        Three classifiers are required.

·        The formula for umpires number of tables x 2.

·        Standing events must be played on the red flooring.

·        Mr. Lillieroos recommends that USATT apply to hold a 20 point tournament.  This would require a specific Referee, Tournament Director, and Classifier.  Umpires for disabled events would need to be designated (many umpires from around the world would pay their own expenses to participate, including two hundred from Japan)

·        Mr. Lillieroos is President of the ITTC.

·        The next five World Team Cups for the ITTC will be held in Oklahoma City.  Big sponsorships are expected.  Mr. Lillieroos believes that those sponsorships can carry over to USATT.

Sheri Pittman nominated chairs and individual positions for a revised committee structure.

Motion 10: Moved to confirm the nomination of the following committee chairs.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Dennis Taylor.

Passed: 8-0-0

Disable Athletes                                               Sharon Brooks

Elite Athletes & Athlete Development            Dennis Taylor

Finance—Audit                                        TBD

Finance—Budget                                     Tong Lee

Grassroots—Juniors                                      TBD

Grassroots—Collegiate                                Hank McCoullom

Grassroots-Adults                                      TBD

Grassroots-Seniors                                     David Sakai

Grievance/Ethics & Disciplinary                  TBD

Hall Of Fame                                                    Jimmy McClure

Hardbat                                                           Scott Gordon

Nominating & Elections                                   Wendell Dillon

Rules (Officials)                                             TBD

Tournaments                                                   Wayne Johnson

Women’s Development                           TBD

Motion 11:  Moved to confirm the following nominations.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Jimmy McClure.

Passed: 8-0-0

Junior Olympics Tournament Director            Richard Lee

By-Laws Advisor                                                Mal Anderson

Public Relations/Media Advisor                        Dave Williams

USATT Historian                                              Tim Boggan

International Relations Advisor                        Tim Boggan

Club Program Director                                   Larry Hodges

Sports Science Representative             Dr. Michael Scott

National Elite League Commissioner              George Brathwaite

Equipment Approval                                              Jimmy McClure

Officials Recruitment & Retention Advisor            Ross Brown

Officials Selection                                              Jimmy McClure

Officials Certification                                         Wendell Dillon

Coaching Certification Coordinator                Mark Nordby

Tournament Sanctioning                              Allen Barth

Tournament Software Director                       Steve Gibson

Jimmy McClure spoke on the topic of ITTF relations.

·        The ITTF has requested that USATT name its ten best umpires.

·        Mr. McClure can’t find out the purpose of the request.  He suspects that ITTF gathering evidence in support of implementation of an umpire age restriction, which would be illegal in the United States.

Motion 12:  Moved to wait until receiving more information from ITTF as to motivation for the request before naming our Top 10 Umpires.

Proposed by Jimmy McClure; seconded by Dennis Taylor.

Failed: 8-0-0

Ben Nisbet spoke on tournament sanctioning.  He has held meetings with Alan Barth where they discussed the creation of a number of super-sanction weekends that would give one tournament nationwide exclusivity.  Mr. Nisbet is recommending three such weekends per year.  These three have already been factored into the 2001 calendar.

Ben Nisbet spoke about our potential association with the National Congress of State Games. 

·        The NCSG President will be in DC on December 3, 2000. 

·        Mr. Nisbet would like to grant rights to any NCSG state affiliate not currently running state championships. 

·        The NCSG wants to hold grass-roots events without any requirement of USATT membership, ratings, ratings fees, etc. 

·        Note: US Figure Skating has a full-time staff person who works with the NCSG.

Ben Nisbet spoke about strategic planning and USOC relations.

·        There will no longer be markers.

·        There will no longer be centralized funding.

·        USOC wants to see four and eight year plans.

·        USOC is now interested in growth of the NGB organization as well as athlete development

·        Doru Gheorghe has written plans during his work in Romania that are similar to what USOC wants to see.

·        Doru is currently preparing bullet-point recommendations for the Board.  The final plan must include plans for producing competitive athletes as well as medalists.

The Board went into executive session.

The Board returned to general session and the meeting adjourned at 12:08 p.m.