USATT Direction - Which way is USA Table Tennis going?

USATT Direction - Hijacked by USOC

Which way will USA Table Tennis go?

2007 US Open Table Tennis Tournament

July 4-7, 2007 - Las Vegas, NV

Hilton Las Vegas Convention Center

Following Directions

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ab-tabletennis&tid=26413

Mike Cavanaugh was impressive, listing his observations of our sport as an outsider. Public comment section started with a strongly voiced emotional accusation that our association 'member-based since 1933' had been hijacked by USOC, no matter how you sliced it'.

My personal question was answered, Las Vegas, Chicago and Los Angeles are under consideration for the US Open and a decision will be made by Feb. 1. USATT was on the verge of making a US Open selection back in August when Doru was told he had 'No Authority' to sign any contract. I haven't seen Ed or Robert anywhere here, and Killerspin is noticably absent as a vendor.

Alan

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=26413.19&nav=messages&webtag=ab-tabletennis#a20

Ashu called the change 'coerced' by USOC in his initial remarks. Faced with decertification by USOC if we didnt comply, is that in dispute? I think not. That's what the first commentor at the meeting responded to and he was eloquent and emotional. No fists flew, everyone said their peace, and now its time to do some positive real things to grow the sport and the association.

http://www.usatt.org/magazine/07nov-dec/pres_report.shtml

President, Sheri Pittman writes:

This will be my final President’s report. In fact, this will be USATT’s final President’s report. After many months of contemplating governance reform, as proposed by the United States Olympic Committee, USATT has adopted new bylaws. One of the new provisions specifies that there will be only one officer: a Chairman of the Board. The title USATT President will no longer exist. I am confident that the next Chair (a function that I also have as USATT President) will continue to provide you with updates, much as I have done in what I have dubbed “the association primer series.”

As I reported in the last issue of the magazine, Board communication had reached an impasse. Therefore, there was only one major agenda item for the Board’s meeting at the U.S. Open: governance reform. Accordingly, last July the Board set a time line for Board dissolution and simultaneously set a time line for election/appointment of a new Board. ....

....

At the recommendation of the USOC, USATT’s Nominating Committee will take on the vetting process and in many cases, will either be directly appointing Board members, or, in the case of At-Large Board members, will be selecting the nominees to appear on the ballot. There will be no more “petitioning” a candidate onto the ballot. In other words, potential candidates must go through the Nominating Committee’s screening process. Because this is so important, I want to reiterate: all individuals who are interested in serving should check for details and updates posted at www.usatt.org

USATT follows the USOC's directions

http://www.usatt.org/news1/nominating_governance_committee_selections.shtml

As per the new bylaws that were recently adopted, the USATT has formed a new Nominating and Governance Committee. The Committee shall immediately outline the process for selection and election of the 7 Board of Directors, along with the Athlete Advisory Council Members.

The current three Elite Athletes on the USATT Board selected Jasna Reed to be one of the members on the NGC, and the US Olympic Committee selected the other Four Committee members.

The Nominating and Governance Committee members are as follows:

Jill Chalmers, Partner, Holme Roberts & Owen. Chalmers practice emphasizes the representation of sports organizations, as well as other nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Her sports practice involves advising clients about corporate governance, management issues, sponsorship, licensing and resolving membership disputes, eligibility issues, team selection and compliance rules. From 1996-2000 Chalmers competed full-time as an elite triathlete for the U.S. National Triathlon Team.

Clint Kofford, Manager, Learning & Leadership Development, United States Olympic Committee. Kofford is responsible for overseeing and developing training and development programs, organizational talent management, and employee engagement. Prior to joining the USOC, Kofford was an HR Business Consultant for a wireless services company where he provided strategic support through performance management, employee relations and coaching to various divisions. Currently, Kofford sits on the Advisory Board for the Leadership Forum at Silver Bay, a non-profit leadership community focused on addressing complex leadership issues through organizational and social change.

Bob Fox, Professor, Metropolitan State University. Fox teaches in the First College: Individualized and Interdisciplinary Learning, and has taught Constitutional Law, History of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Chemical Dependency and the Law, and First Amendment to name a few. Fox has served as the Table Tennis Team Leader for three Olympic Games, four Pan American Games and eight World Table Tennis Championships.

Chris Vadala (Chair), Senior Director, Sport Partnerships, United States Olympic Committee. Vadala has been with the USOC for over 17 years and in his current position oversees and coordinates the Sport Partnerships operations, which includes all aspects of the USOC Resource Allocation Process.

Jasna Reed,with over 20 years of international and professional table tennis exposure, Jasna brings experience and insight of elite athletes. She’s competed and excelled at every level of the sport, from winning the Bronze Medal in the 1988 Olympics to currently serving as the Head Coach in US's most prominent University promoting table tennis (Texas Wesleyan University), including being a United States Women’s National Team member since 2000. Through her competitions, training, and residency at several of the World’s most dominant Countries in the sport of table tennis, she has observed and interacted with many of those country’s organizations. She should serve a fine role in the selection of our future Directors.

Discover a new Board this December at the 2007 US Nationals.