USA Gymnastics Online: Women's Program: Women's Program Committee, Conference Call, March 27, 2000

Women's Program

Women's Program Committee
Conference Call
March 27, 2000
The call commenced at 9:00 p.m.
I. Roll Call
Vice Chairman, Joan Gnat
Voting Members:
AB Chairman, Jan Greenhawk
EP Chairman, Roe Kreutzer
WT Chairman, Cheryl Hamilton
JO Chairman, Tom Koll
Athlete Rep, Larrissa Fontaine
Non Voting Members:
FIG Technical, Jackie Fie
WPD, Kathy Kelly
President USAG, Bob Colarossi
II. Bylaws Committee Proposal
Gnat explained the purpose of the call was to provide an opportunity for the committee to ask questions concerning the Bylaws committee's proposal to the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors.
Gnat felt the committee should be well informed on the issue so that they could respond to any questions from the community. The entire proposal is published in Technique and will be on USA Gymnastics web site.
Mr. Colarossi stated this was also an opportunity for the WPC to review its structure. The WPC would like to maintain its present committee structure that fully represents the total women's program (Administrative Board, Elite, JO and Technical). Consequently, our current WPC structure should be maintained.
Greenhawk expressed concern regarding comments that she has received about the proposal and expressed that the entire WPC wanted to ensure that the volunteer committee structure of the women's program remain intact and under the jurisdiction of the program itself. Mr. Colarossi expressed that any changes that might be adopted would in no way diminish our volunteer staff and, in fact, could give it even more jurisdiction by using a broad based statement and not only mentioning some of the duties. Kelly mentioned that all the duties for the committees would be reflected in the Operating Code and requested that the committee chairs include that item on the agenda for their next meeting.
The committee also reviewed the proposed language changes to the By-laws which had been agreed upon by the Vice-Chairs and the Program Chairs of all disciplines.
Explanations:

Women's Program Members - All professional members of the women's program
Women's Program Committee - The members of this committee are listed above and it is the Special Committee that is currently listed in the Bylaws.
Directors - Voting Members of the USAG Board of Directors
Ms. Fie gave a historic perspective of the terminology used in the Bylaws, which by her interpretation was that the "Women's Program Committee" comprised all registered women's professional members. Mr. Colarossi explained that by this definition it would be impossible to have a quorum of the 5,000+ members to conduct a meeting. He went on to say that each Special Committee creates its own structure pending approval of the Executive Committee. This structure is clearly outlined in the Women's Rules and Policies and the Women's Operating Code. Therefore, business is conducted through the Women's Program Committee (the elected representatives of the entire membership) and on behalf of that membership.
The committee discussed concerns with the Bylaw Committee's proposal regarding the checks and balances terms of office, and voting privileges.
Mr. Colarossi reminded the committee of the process that lead to the proposed structure.

At the May 1999 Board of Directors Meeting both the Board and the Executive Committee unanimously endorsed the principles for good organizational governance as suggested by Professor Greyser of the Harvard Business School, and asked the Bylaws Committee to review our current Bylaws and come back to the Board with its findings in November.
At the November 1999 Board Meeting, the Bylaws Committee presented its facts, findings and recommendations on the USA Gymnastics governance structure. Again, both the Board of Directors and Executive Committee unanimously endorsed the recommendations and charged the Bylaws Committee to propose a new structure that would accomplish the recommendations.
This structure has now been proposed.
Mr. Colarossi explained that in corporate America it is quite typical that both the Chairman and the President (CEO) hold a vote on the Board. The USOC recently adopted this very structure. Across the country, many not-for-profit organizations have moved toward a more traditional business model which allows both the Chair and the CEO to vote as a way to attract and maintain highly qualified personnel.
Concerns were expressed over the "one year term" for elite coach representation.
Mr. Colarossi explained that this annual election was consistent with the past annual appointment process. Furthermore, the Bylaws Committee felt strongly that the "elite coach" representatives should be directly elected by the elite coaches at their annual championships (per discipline) and that the coaches could re-elect the same person annually with no term limitation. Any elite coach representative may also serve on the EPC & IPC.
Mr. Colarossi reminded the committee that the USA Gymnastics Board of Directors has authority over all committees and should be an efficient body of individuals who have a vested interest in the business of USA Gymnastics. Mr. Colarossi expressed his opinion that the club owners and USA Gymnastics professionals should have voting rights on the Board and they, in fact, represent our "shareholders." He believes that the Bylaw Committee's proposal reflects a current picture of our sport and hopes to have the support of the program committee.
The committee discussed the Industry Member and General Gymnastics votes in the proposal.
Mr. Colarossi also explained that the Executive Committee, although they make the financial decisions for USA Gymnastics, did not currently vote on the Board but would receive a vote under the new structure.
The committee will communicate with their committees on the proposal from the Bylaws Committee.
Mr. Colarossi took the opportunity to bring up the selection/approval of the Olympic Judges to Ms. Fie since she is presently in Lugano at the FIG Executive Committee. He again expressed the program viewpoint on our selection and strongly urged Ms. Fie to work on behalf of the USA on this important issue. He was optimistic that her influence could change the current FIG/WTC policy which cannot be equally applied to all countries.
Recommendation: Regarding the proposed changes to the current language in the Bylaws, a motion was put forward to recommend acceptance of the language changes as listed below:

The Women's Program Committee shall be charged with making recommendations for the development of a well-organized and well-designed program for women's gymnastics in the United States, consistent with the goals and objectives of the corporation.
The Women's Program Committee shall recommend procedures to the Executive Committee for selecting coaches, judges and athletes for domestic and international events including the Pan American Games, World Championships and Olympic Games.
The Women's Program Committee shall appoint sub-committees from time to time to implement and fulfill its duties and responsibilities.
All specific language on the responsibilities that was deleted from the Bylaws will be included in the Women's Operating Code.
Motion - T. Koll
Second - J. Greenhawk
PASSED
Gnat thanked the committee for their diligence and time.
Call adjourned at 11:20 p.m.

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