USA Table Tennis
Board Meeting Minutes
May 21-23, 1999

Friday, May 21, 1999:

The meeting commenced at 7:10 p.m. MST by USATT Secretary Bob Tretheway.

Present(proxy): George Brathwaite, Jim Butler (Bob Fox), Jeff Davis, Tong Lee, Jimmy McClure, Khoa Nguyen, Sheri Pittman, Barney Reed, Dennis Taylor, Bob Tretheway, Jiing Wang, Lily Yip, and Acting Executive Director Linda Gleeson.

Absent: Diana Gee

1. Bob Tretheway gave a welcoming speech, and all Board members introduced themselves.
2. The Board selected its President.

The candidate was:

Sheri Pittman, nominated by Barney Reed; seconded by Jiing Wang.

Sheri Pittman was elected by acclamation.

3. Sheri Pittman addressed the Board as its new President. (Addendum 1)
4. The Board selected its Executive Vice-President.

The candidates were:

Bob Tretheway, nominated by Jeff Davis; seconded by Jimmy McClure.

George Brathwaite, nominated by Lily Yip, seconded by Jimmy McClure.

Jiing Wang, nominated by Khoa Nguyen; seconded by Dennis Taylor.

The vote count was Tretheway-4, Brathwaite-2, Wang-6.

Brathwaite was eliminated as a candidate.

The vote count on the second ballot was Tretheway-6, Wang-6.

The vote count on the third ballot was Tretheway-6, Wang-6.

MOTION 1: Moved to postpone the remainder of the elections until Saturday morning.

Proposed by Jimmy McClure; seconded by Jeff Davis.

Ruled out of order because the standing rules state that the balloting process must continue until a winner emerges.

The vote count on the fourth ballot was Tretheway-5, Wang-7.

Jiing Wang was elected.

5. The Board selected its Treasurer.

The candidate was:

Tong Lee, nominated by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Khoa Nguyen.

Tong Lee was elected by acclamation.

6. The Board selected its Secretary.

The candidates were:

Bob Tretheway, nominated by Jimmy McClure; seconded by Lily Yip.

Dennis Taylor, nominated by Khoa Nguyen; seconded by Tong Lee.

The vote count on the first ballot was Tretheway-6, Taylor-6.

The vote count on the second ballot was Tretheway-5, Taylor-7.

Dennis Taylor was elected.

7. Bob Powell gave a presentation entitled "Systems Thinking for Organizational Learning."

Selected slides from the presentation were distributed. (Addendum 2)

The Board recessed at 10:57 p.m.

Saturday, May 22, 1999:

The meeting resumed at 9:06 a.m.

All were present from the night before, plus Diana Gee.

8. A request was made to include roll call votes in minutes.

MOTION 2: Moved to approve the minutes from the November 13-15, 1998 meeting and the February 17, 1999 and February 25, 1999 teleconferences as distributed.

Proposed by Jeff Davis; seconded by Jimmy McClure.

Passed: 13-0

9. Linda Gleeson presented a financial report and budget overview. (Addendum 3)

Highlights include:

There are no specific USOC mandated expenditures.

Oakbrook mandates are approximately $1300/month, plus utilities, coaching fees, and usage fees.

There was a $30,000 surplus in 1998.

USOC funding is up $25,000, but still near the bottom of NGBs.

USOC prefers administrative costs to be held to 22-26% of the budget; ours is well below.

It is unknown just how much was paid to Oakbrook last year or what will be paid this year.

We made 4/5 markers in 1998; one of those is being appealed.

The magazine is budgeting $15,000 in advertising revenue each issue; recent issues have brought in about $8,000.

Equipment approval fees are up substantially.

Board members have the right to see anything budget related.

10. Jimmy McClure spoke about the role of the USATT Foundation.

1. Make sure the association doesn’t go belly up.
2. Loan money to the association when the books are in the red.
3. Make quarterly grants totaling 90% of foundation earnings.
4. There is no USATT seat on the foundation board.

The meeting recessed at 10:32 a.m.

The meeting reconvened at 10:45 a.m.

1. The closing date for accepting applications for Executive Director was April 30. 57 applications have been received.

Sheri Pittman nominated Dennis Taylor to chair the search committee.

MOTION 3: Moved to approved the nomination of Dennis Taylor as chair of the Executive Director Search Committee.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by George Brathwaite.

Passed: 13-0.

MOTION 4: Moved to amend standing rules for the Search Committee to add "In the event of a tie vote by the Committee, the President shall be empowered to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Khoa Nguyen.

Passed: 13-0.

MOTION 5: Moved that in addition to the chair, the Search Committee be composed of George Brathwaite, Jeff Davis, Tong Lee, Khoa Nguyen, Barney Reed, Lily Yip, Sheri Pittman (ex officio), and Linda Gleeson (ex officio).

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by George Brathwaite.

Passed: 13-0.

2. Larry Rose gave a progress report on the proposed new ratings system. The system is complete and a CD with all the files and a reader will be available next month. There appears to be a considerable increase in accuracy and productivity. However, the Ratings Committee has yet to make a formal recommendation to the Board.
3. Diana Gee presented a ratings recommendation mailed to her by Thomas Fox. It was referred to the Ratings Committee.
4. Larry Rose gave a progress report on the Information Management System update. Phase one of three is now complete, with validation studies in progress. The current IMS system is working smoothly with the new computers in the office.
5. The 1999 Open is estimated to have 650-700 entrants, stable from last year. The hotel block is also consistent. There will be no title sponsor this year; Kodak is being approached for next year. The projected loss for this year’s tournament is $15,000.
6. The Convention Center has been secured for the 1999 Nationals. The customary $22,500 grant from Las Vegas Events has been denied this year. The use of the Center will still be free this year, but that may change in future years. The projected loss for this year is $15,000.
7. The 2000 Open will be in Ft. Lauderdale. Ft. Lauderdale wants us back for the 2001 Open, but no USATT commitment has yet been made. The 2000 Olympic Trials will probably be in Rochester, NY.

The meeting recessed for lunch at 12:05 p.m.

The meeting reconvened at 1:30 p.m.

8. Kae Rader gave a presentation of USOC monetary relations with USATT and other sports. The new formula for the next quadrennium is expected to have a guaranteed base of $250,000/annum.
9. We have until June 2 to alter BGM appointments made in the February 17 teleconference. There was discussion as to whether to nominate one person for every committee or just a limited number of committees.

MOTION 6: Moved to accept revised nominations by Sheri Pittman. (Addendum 4)

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Khoa Nguyen.

Passed: 12-1

IN FAVOR: GB, JB, JD, DG, TL JM, KN, SP, BR, DT, JW, LY

OPPOSED: BT

MOTION 7: Moved to remove YC Lee’s nomination for the Officials Task Force.

Proposed by Bob Tretheway; seconded by Barney Reed.

Withdrawn.

10. Sheri Pittman presented her nominations for committee chairs. (Addendum 5)

MOTION 8: Moved to accept the committee chair nominations as amended.

Proposed by Sheri Pittman; seconded by Bob Fox.

Passed: 11-1-1

IN FAVOR: JB, JD, DG, TL, JM, KN, SP, BR, DT, JW, LY

OPPOSED: BT

ABSTAIN: GB

MOTION 9: Moved to approve Larry Kessler’s nominations for members of the Ethics and Disciplinary Committee. (Addendum 6)

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Jiing Wang.

Passed: 13-0

The meeting recessed at 3:21 p.m.

The meeting reconvened at 3:40 p.m.

11. Bob Fox presented a report from the National Teams Committee. We have an obligation to send a national team to both the individual World Championships in the Netherlands and the team World Championships in Malaysia. Keith Alban and Michelle Do have been added to the national teams for both competitions. The Youth Committee will cover approximately 75% of the expenses of sending them; Keith and Michelle will be responsible for the remainder.

Regarding the Olympic trials, it has been suggested that separate competitions be held for singles and doubles slots. If North America is allotted an odd number of doubles teams for the Worlds, the committee prefers to compete for the extra team rather than split a team with Canada.

The trials for the World’s team and the Pan Am’s team were held together at Oakbrook. They were originally scheduled for the University of Michigan – Flint, but the oral agreement fell through. The Training Center was then selected for lack of a better venue. After some discipline problems at the trials, it was recommended that the National Team Committee develop sanctions for improper behavior.

MOTION 10: Moved that all national team members must take and pass the club umpire test.

Proposed by Jimmy McClure.

Failed for lack of a second.

12. Lily Yip spoke of her dissatisfaction with the composition of the Women’s Pan Am Team. She was advised to file a grievance according to the procedure outlined in Chapter XX of USATT’s by-laws.

MOTION 11: Moved that USATT investigate fully the eligibility standards of all players participating in USOC as well as ITTF competition before submitting names to the appropriate organization.

Proposed by George Brathwaite; seconded by Bob Fox.

Withdrawn.

MOTION 12: Moved to create an Eligibility Status Committee.

Proposed by George Brathwaite; seconded by Bob Fox.

Passed: 13-0

MOTION 13: Moved that the scope of the Eligibility Status Committee shall be to thoroughly investigate the eligibility status of all athletes participating in trials for USOC as well as ITTF competitions before the said trials begin.

Proposed by George Brathwaite; seconded by Bob Fox.

Ruled out of order because, upon further examination of the bylaws, a provision in the By-Laws already states that the National Team is responsible for resolving eligibility issues. It was also recommended that the passage of Motion 12 be nullified accordingly.

The meeting recessed at 5:16 p.m.

The meeting reconvened at 5:32 p.m.

MOTION 14: Moved to dissolve the Eligibility Status Committee created in Motion 12.

Proposed by Bob Tretheway; seconded by XXX.

Passed: 13-0

13. General Motors is planning to give two cars to their choice of qualifying potential Olympic athletes.

MOTION 15: Moved that the names of the top six male and female finishers from the recent Pan Am Team Trials that are Olympic eligible as of May 22, 1999 shall be sent to General Motors.

Proposed by Barney Reed; seconded by Bob Fox.

The primary supportive argument was simplicity of administration. The primary opposing argument was that it automatically excludes any athletes that will be eligible for the 2000 Olympics but weren’t eligible for the 1999 Pan Am team.

Passed: 11-2

IN FAVOR: GB, JB, JD, DG, TL, JM, SP, BR, BT, JW, LY

OPPOSED: KN, DT

14. The Youth Committee presented its report. The Athlete Development Pipeline lists were presented. (Addendum 7) Recommendations for two additional standing rules were presented. (Addendum 8)

MOTION 16: Move to adopt the two additional standing rules for the Youth Committee.

Proposed by Barney Reed; seconded by Bob Fox. (Addendum 9)

Passed: 13-0

The Youth Committee has sent a letter to Oakbrook requesting coordination for youth training programs in 1999. The letter has received a positive oral response.

Criteria for the ADP rankings will now be printed on the individual monthly reports.

15. The Coaching Committee has nominated Sean O’Neill to be hired as the paid Coaching Development Director.

MOTION 17: Moved to revert this issue jointly to the Coaching and Personnel Committees to assess the necessity of the position.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Khoa Nguyen.

Withdrawn.

MOTION 18: Moved to table the nomination until the Board has the opportunity to review the status report of the Coaching Committee.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Bob Tretheway.

Passed: 12-1

IN FAVOR: GB, JD, DG, TL, JM. KN, SP, BR, DT, BT, JW, LY

OPPOSED: JB

16. Jimmy McClure presented a report on equipment approval. Revenues are up. A list of equipment that will no longer be approved as of July 5, 1999, was distributed. (Addendum 10)
17. Jimmy McClure presented a report of USOC activities.

The amount claimed by a manufacturer as a value-in-kind donation must be the value received, not a suggested list price. Furthermore, the items must be useable items.

The Salt Lake City scandal may have an adverse impact upon moneys derived from USOC.

18. Linda Gleeson reviewed the 1999 USOC markers.

#1: Coaching Development Materials: criteria for meeting marker’s requirements was almost completed at the Coaching Symposium in January, 1999.

#2: Youth Progression: USATT is tracking progression of youth players’ ratings advancement; accomplishment of this marker will be subject to whether or not the youth players overall end-of-the-year pools (national level, international level and Olympic level) are better than at the beginning of the year.

#3: Revision of the Net/Edge software: Barry Dattel is assisting with the revisions.

#4: Membership: only requires that we document our research.

#5: Performance Marker: we must either win a medal at the pan Am Games or improve the men’s or women’s team performance at the World Championships.

USOC is requesting that the HPP and ADP meetings be combined. The suggested date is the August 27-28, 1999 weekend.

19. Linda reviewed the TV options for the 1999 Open. The Board had begun sponsoring television production as a way to attract sponsors for the tournament. This year there will be no sponsors.

MOTION 19: Moved that due to the lack of title sponsorship, we will forego TV coverage for this year’s US Open.

Proposed by Jimmy McClure; seconded by Bob Tretheway.

Passed: 11-2

IN FAVOR: GB, JB, DG, TL, JM, KN, SP, BR, BT, JW, LY

OPPOSED: JD, DT

Jiing Wang offered free broadcasts in five large markets if USATT provides the video footage of major tournaments.

20. Linda Gleeson had requested Bob Allshouse to provide a report on the Oakbrook training center for the Board to review and discuss at this meeting. Mr. Allshouse did not attend the meeting nor did he send a report.
21. Tournament sanctioning for Thanksgiving weekend tournaments was discussed. Richard Lee requests a long-term sanction following his highly successful production of the 1998 North American Teams tournament and in anticipation of a repeat performance with the already granted 1999 sanction. However, their request is complicated by the fact that a previous contract with Oakbrook also contains a provision concerning the sanctioning of the event. (The automatic sanction of the event by Oakbrook had been revoked in 1998 after Oakbrook did not hold the US Open Team Championship in 1998.) No action was taken on Richard Lee’s request.
22. Mimi Bosika has filed a Chapter XIX grievance. It was referred to the Ethics and Disciplinary Committee.

The meeting recessed at 7:39 p.m.

Sunday, May 23, 1999:

The meeting reconvened at 9:11 a.m.

All members were present.

David Huggins was scheduled to give a presentation about the magazine. However, he wasn’t present.

23. In lieu of David Huggins, Linda Gleeson reported on the magazine and website. Regarding our website, she presented information she gained through attending an American Society of Association Executives membership development seminar. We need to greatly enhance our presence on the website in terms of advertising, marketing, publicity, and merchandise and membership sales. David Huggins arrived at 9:25 and was told that the Board would attempt to move briskly through the remaining agenda items in order to allot him 30 minutes for his report.

24) George Brathwaite distributed two organizational proposals. (Addendum 11) One would create additional positions for non-officer Board members. The other would require the Board to hold formal meetings a minimum of four times per annum.

25) It was proposed that the Board should meet again at the Open, holding a "town hall" type meeting.

MOTION 20: Moved to transfer $20,000 from the TV budget to the Board budget.

Proposed by George Brathwaite; seconded by Tong Lee.

The primary supportive argument was to provide funds to cover anticipated expenses arising out of any "town hall" Board meetings, a strategic planning meeting, and the Executive Director search.

Passed: 13-0

MOTION 21: Moved that the Board will hold an informational meeting, defined as a meeting at which no votes are taken and attendance is not mandatory, during the Open, with attending Board members receiving one night hotel plus per diem for attendance.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Barney Reed.

Passed: 13-0

26) Jeff Davis, on behalf of ACUI, presented a plaque and photo to USATT in gratitude for continued support for the ACUI tournament. Participation is up; the finals now accommodate 60 men and 60 women.

Newgy Industries is working on a web site that will host college club web sites. The Board notes extreme pleasure at Newgy’s enthusiasm and support of collegiate programs.

MOTION 22: Moved that the Board declare its support of the collegiate programs being undertaken by Richard McAfee.

Proposed by Dennis Taylor; seconded by Bob Tretheway.

Passed: 13-0

MOTION 23: Moved to confirm the appointment of Sean O’Neill as US-Canada Liaison for the 2000 Olympic Trials.

Proposed by Bob Fox; seconded by Bob Tretheway.

Passed: 13-0

27. The Board will suspend action on the Ratings Committee proposal for changes in the rating fee until the revision of the Net/Edge software is complete. At that time it will be determined whether or not to increase the ratings fee and, at the same time, offer a discounted rating fee (which would be the same fee as is being currently charged) for tournaments that submit tournament results through the Net/Edge program.

26. A request by the Hardbat Committee to make the Hardbat event at the Open a 3/5 event instead of a 2/3 event was discussed. Issues included scheduling, use of the show courts, and the fact that the entry form has already been mailed.

MOTION 24: Moved that the Hardbat event at the 1999 US Open have 3/5 matches from the quarter-finals through the finals, and that an errata sheet shall be included in player packets of those entered in the Hardbat event.

Proposed by Bob Fox; seconded by Jiing Wang.

Passed: 12-0-1

IN FAVOR: GB, JB, JD, DG, TL, KN, SP, BR, DT, BT, JW, LY

ABSTAIN: JM

27. Dennis Taylor was requested to send a letter to Larry Hodges explaining why the previous Board chose not to entertain the Chapter XX grievance he filed on behalf of Cheng Yinghua, et al. (The original complaint had been sent to USATT Headquarters instead of to the abode of Bob Tretheway, then Secretary. This was considered a serious error that was not curable.)
28. Jiing Wang began a discussion about sponsorship development and the potential of giving a commission to one who develops sponsorships. There was discussion about conflict of interest problems and the need to coordinate with headquarters to avoid conflicts with the "Protected Categories of Olympic Sponsors." The Board was generally supportive of the commission concept.
29. David Huggins gave a presentation on his work editing the magazine. Most of the presentation dealt with costs for different paper stock. David also discussed his selection of a new printing company and a page designer. Advertising revenue is up; however, with the current format, he does not expect the magazine to break even.

The meeting adjourned at 11:18 a.m.

Submitted by Dennis Taylor, Secretary