2014 Men's LDR General Session Minutes
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Men’s LDR Committee Version 1.a USA TRACK & FIELD MEN’S LONG DISTANCE RUNNING COMMITTEE General Session Minutes Anaheim, California December 3, 2014 Attendees: The following individuals attended one or more of the sessions: Edwardo Torres (Chair),), Mark Winitz (Secretary), Philip Greenwald (Treasurer), Larry Alserda, McLin Anderson, Eric Barron, Gisela Benning, Tom Bernhard, Blake Bolden, David Bullock, Jon Carlson, Andy Carr, Lyle Claussen, Kelly Crawford, Alex Cuozzo, Jeff Darmon, Tom Derderian, Darren De Reuck, Lisa Doucett, John Elliott, Zach Emerson, Jim Estes (USATF Director of Events), Eric Finan, Kenneth Funnie, Jim Garcia, Michelle Gay, Paul Greer, Carl Grossbard, Jebreh Harris, Rich Harshbarger, Todd Hierlmaier, Mike Holt, Brian Hoove, Thom Hunt, Brian Jones, David Katz, Bernard Lagat, Christo Landry, Bob Larsen, Bob Latham, Will Leer, James Li, Jonathan Marcus, LeeAnn Meyer, Jon Molz, Adrian Myers, Gary Morgan, Ed Neighbour, Gene Newman, Howard Nippert, Ron Pate, Jim Peterson, Michael Pieroni, Robert Platt, George Regan, Mike Reneau, Bill Roe, Ben Rosario, Duane Russell, Joe Sarver, Tommy Schmitz, Tommy Sitton, Scott Slade, Allan Steinfeld, Bob Stephenson, Lloyd Stephenson, Phil Stewart, Tracy Sundlun, Ben Teixeira, David Torrence, Stephen Viegas, Ryan Warrenburg, Jack Wickens SESSION 1 - December 3, 2014 The meeting was called to order by Chair Edwardo Torres at 10:12 a.m. Committee Procedures/Quorum: The MLDR Secretary explained that only bona fide MLDR Committee members (per the Committee roster distributed by the National Office) are allowed to vote on committee matters. The Secretary determined that a quorum was present to do business. Minutes from 2013: A motion was made and seconded to accept the minutes of the MLDR Committee’s General Sessions from the 2013 USATF Annual Meeting. There was no discussion. The motion passed. USATF LDR’s Primary Mission and Goals: The Chair explained that the primary mission is to provide U.S. athletes with support and opportunities to compete at the world level. 2016 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials Update: The Chair reported that this week he and other representatives from USATF met with organizers of the City of Los Angeles Marathon (LOC for the Marathon Trials which will take place on February 16, 2016). He outlined the Trials’ course in the planning stage which consists of an initial 2-mile loop that contains several sharp turns to the UCLA campus and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, followed by 6-mile loop run four times. 1 Men’s LDR Committee Version 1.a USA International Teams – 2014 Review: The Chair reported that the U.S. men’s team placed 7th at the ’14 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships (March 19 in Denmark) with Josphat Boit the first U.S. men’s finisher. Christo Landry, who competed on the U.S. team at the ’14 International Chiba Ekiden (November 21 in Japan) reported on that event. Team USA placed 6th (mixed men’s/women’s teams). Bill Roe (USATF LDR Division Chair) provided a brief report regarding USA men’s teams performances in 2014 international cross country events. At the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country event (January 11) USA’s Chris Derrick won the men’s individual title while leading Team USA men to a second place finish. At the 2014 NACAC Cross Country Championships (February 22, 2014, Trinidad & Tobago), on an 88-degree day, Team USA’s Senior men’s team, led by individual Senior men’s titlist Joseph Gray, took home the gold medal. Team USA Opportunities and Selection Criteria in 2015: The Chair explained that the U.S. Senior and Junior men’s and women’s 6-person squads for the 2015 IAAF World Cross Country Championships (March 28, Guiyang, China) will be selected at the 2015 USATF Cross Country Championships (February 7,! Boulder, CO). Bill Roe mentioned that the Senior and Junior U.S. teams for the 2014 NACAC Cross Country Championships (February 21-22, Barranquilla, Colombia) will also be selected at the USATF Champs in Boulder. The Chair explained that the USA team selection procedure for the marathon at the 2015 Pan American Games (July, Toronto, Canada) is being determined via discussions between himself and Jim Estes (USATF Director of Events). Committee Reports: Law and Legislation Committee: Mark Winitz (MLDR’s Law and Legislation Committee Representative) reported on the Law and Legislation proposed amendments to USATF’s Bylaws and Operating Regulations. The bulk of the proposed amendments are the result of a USOC audit, performed this year, concerning USATF’s governance policies and operations. The amendments package, which was submitted by USATF’s Board, addresses the role of USATF’s Board, the role of USATF’s committees, and the responsibilities of USATF’s CEO, President and Board Chair. According to a USATF Governance Task Force appointed by the Board to address the USOC’s concerns, the purpose of the Board’s recommendations in the package is to “bring USATF in line with the best business practices of other NGBs.” A short discussion ensued clarifying a proposed USATF Bylaws amendment (which is independent of the amendments resulting from the USOC audit) concerning the selection procedures for USATF’s nominee for the 27-member IAAF Council. LDR Athlete Development and Support Opportunities: Jack Wickens (USATF Foundation Vice Chair) reported that 2014 was a “good year” for the Foundation, raising more money than ever for athletes who may not have sponsor support, and other athletes in need. He said that (relatively) not many distance runners are supported because, in general, jumpers and throwers 2 Men’s LDR Committee Version 1.a have a greater need. 51 athlete grants, in total, have been distributed in 2014. In 2013, grants averaged more than $4,000 each and have been gradually going up in size. LDR athletes who received grants in 2014 include Morgan Uceny (1500m), Jeff Eggleston (marathon), Bobby Curtis (distances), Chelsea Reilly (5,000m), Jamie Cheever (steeplechase), and Don Cowart (steeplechase). Mr. Wickens also said that a total of $40,000 in grants were awarded to five distance training groups/centers in 2014. A question and answer period followed. Wickens encouraged athletes or training groups seeking funding to contact him at [email protected] Applications for grants and more information can be found at http://usatffoundation.org/ Mr. Wickens also spoke about AthleteBiz, a new interactive web platform that he founded that connects track and field athletes with fans, raises their profiles, and, perhaps, helps support them financially via the connections they make . In addition, he is hoping to draw a higher percentage of public interest in track and field through personal athlete stories via videos, blogs, and web posts. Additionally, hopes are to position the athletes who have a presence on the site to be entrepreneurs, “marketing their skill sets to potential supporters.” Links to athletes’ social media presence on Twitter are also provided. Wickens said that athletes are “picking up gigs” via the site which is located at http://www.athletebiz.us/ Quite a bit of positive discussion followed. Committee Reports (continued): Associations Committee: Alex Cuozzo (President, USATF Ohio Association) reported that there “seems to be some discussion” regarding changing some of the required standards for USATF Association accreditation, including the requirement for minimum number of Association championships, and the requirement that at least 50% of an Association’s individual members must belong to clubs. He said that the current requirements are particularly difficult for Associations that have a large territory combined with a relatively small population. Mr. Cuozzo also said that there is some sentiment to remove the 50% club membership requirement and replace it with a requirement that the advantages of club membership are marketed to each member of an Association. IAAF/2016 Olympic Marathon Course Update: David Katz, the Surveyor for the ’16 Olympic Games marathon course in Rio de Janeiro, reported that tentative plans for the course are a start and finish area outside the Olympic stadium in the “carnival” area of the city. An initial 5K will proceed to a 10K loop (which athletes cover three times), followed by 7.2K back to the finish. The plan is to try and hit various landmarks in the city. Mr. Katz also mentioned that a new IAAF Road Running Manual, which replaces the 30-year-old IAAF Distance Running Manual, is now available on the IAAF website. The IAAF rules regarding road racing are now integrated in the new manual. He also described a process adopted by USATF’s Records Committee providing for timely announcements of new pending U.S. road records, and more timely ratification of records (making them official) and announcements of these new records. Until now, ratification of 3 Men’s LDR Committee Version 1.a records has been conducted once a year, at the USATF Annual Meeting. This new records ratification process is similar to the process used by the IAAF. Committee Reports (continued): Substance Abuse Education/Sports Science: Jim Peterson (Chair, Men’s LDR Substance Abuse Subcommittee) provided a detailed oral and extensive written report regarding the latest developments in substance abuse testing and sports science. Mr. Peterson’s written report is available on the USATF web site at: http://www.usatf.org/usatf/files/2a/2aba7d98-a5ad-4220-99ee-3d26fed7c77e.pdf Rules: Phil Greenwald (MLDR representative on the Rules Committee) presented the 2014 proposed rules amendments that are pertinent to LDR for the committee’s input. The following rules amendment items were discussed: • Item 9 (amending Rule 7.9(b) so ties between two or more teams in LDR and cross country championships shall be resolved in favor of the team whose last scoring member finishes nearer to first place). Following discussion, the committee voted to recommend approval of this amendment in regards to team ties in road racing.