December 5, 1998 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

20th Annual Meeting Closes Today in Orlando
RESTRUCTURING PLAN APPROVED BY USATF DELEGATES

USA Track & Field's 20th Annual Meeting concluded today with the overwhelming approval of a restructuring plan to bring change to the organization. Delegates approved the proposal at this morning's final General Session meeting.

At the 1998 U.S. Indoor Championships, USATF president Patricia Rico named a nine-person Restructuring Task Force to make recommendations for changing the structure of the organization. The nine-member Task Force, chaired by USATF Law and Legislation Committee Chairman Ed Koch, proposed changes in five areas of the organization. The Task Force recommended that USATF take the following action:

  1. Revise the Bylaws to state more clearly the underlying purposes of the organization.
  2. A reduction of USATF's Board of Directors from 100, to no more than 30 members.
  3. The reduction of USATF committees from 25 to 20.
  4. Create a budgetary process to reflect U.S. Olympic Committee recommendations that will create a budget process more corporate in nature.
  5. Better define the respective roles of the USATF national staff and volunteers to help each group work better, and work better with each other.

"As I came into this convention this week, this (approval of the restructuring plan) was my first priority," said Rico. "I'm president of a federation that's undergoing change, and the dynamics of restructuring was paramount in my mind. I can do nothing but give applause and credit to the membership of USA Track & Field for passing this. It's a quantum leap forward."

Koch was grateful for the enthusiastic passage of the proposal by the delegates. "It's very gratifying. The delegates showed that they want change in the sport so we can move forward into the next century. I think we have a plan that will put us right on course," he said. "We'll have improvements and refinements during the transition period over the next two years, but we took a major step for the sport today."

Following passage of the proposal, USATF CEO Craig Masback expressed his appreciation of the Restructuring Task Force. "Pat Rico took the mandate for change at last year's Annual Meeting and appointed an outstanding Task Force that worked incredibly hard to communicate to the entire organization to make recommendations that might not please everybody, but would move the organization forward, and that's why it succeeded," he said.

Masback said these changes would streamline the organization. "This will give the organization a chance, to like the rest of corporate America, be more efficient, more nimble and quicker to react. It rationalizes programs so that people who work in similar areas, work together more effectively. It also provides to different communities, like the long distance running community, the confidence that their needs will be catered to and recognized. That's an important statement as well."

USA Track & Field - New England
usatfne@ix.netcom.com
P.O. Box 1905
Brookline, MA 02446-1905
United States

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