Member News
June 15, 2006
USA Judo Board Begins A New Era…
The USA Judo Board of Directors held its first meeting since the restructuring of the board on June 10 in Dallas on
the campus of the Parker College of Chiropractors.
In April, the previous Board of Directors met in Houston, Texas and adopted a new governance structure through approved revisions to the USA Judo Bylaws. Among the revisions to the bylaws included a significant reduction in the size of the Board from more than 100 members to 10. This monumental move by the visionary leaders of judo in the United States was fully supported by the United States Olympic Committee.
This first meeting of the new Board of Directors meeting marks a beginning of a new era for USA Judo as it moves into the final strait to Beijing 2008.
"The meeting in Dallas was extremely productive,” said Board member Lance Nading. “The recently approved governance restructuring has had an immediate positive impact in streamlining all USA Judo operations through our professional staff. This move has allowed the Board to prioritize and discuss longer term goals and objectives that will clearly move the organization ahead faster. There was lots of enthusiasm, passion and compromise during the meeting and I feel fortunate to have taken part."
The new Board consists of many previous members of the USA Judo Executive Committee as well as the USOC Athletes Advisory Council Representative, 2004 Olympian Rhadi Ferguson, and two independent Directors to be elected at the Oct. 19 Board Meeting in Miami, Florida.
Attendees at the June 10 meeting included USA Judo President Dr. Ron Tripp, CEO Jose H. Rodriguez and Directors Nading, Gail Stolzenburg, Reno Reser, John Serbin, Fletcher Thornton and Leo White.
The meeting was an all-day marathon session that began at 7:30 a.m. and concluded at 6:00 p.m. Complete minutes will be available at www.usjudo.org within the next 30 days.
“The meeting was very positive. We outlined where the organization will be going during the next two years and if people participate in our vision, it will be beneficial not just to USA Judo, but to judo in the United States as a whole,” Reser said.
Among the items discussed in the meeting, the Board appointed chairs for each of the standing committees as follows:
The Judicial Committee, which will be in place until Dec. 31, will be led by Interim Chair David Smith with committee members to include Tom Masterson, Roy Englert, Bob Harvey, Jeff LeForce, Richard Muller and Karen Mackey.
The Ethics Committee will be led by Kei Narimatsu who will make recommendations for committee members by the next meeting of the Board of Directors. Those interested in serving as Ethics Committee members should contact Narimatsu at knarimatsu@microlamps.com.
The Coach Certification Committee was formally renamed as the Coaches Education Committee and will be led by Pat Burris who will make recommendations for committee members at the next Board meeting. Those interested in serving as Coach Education Committee members should contact Burris at burris7276@sbcglobal.net. This committee is looking to reorganize and put into action a new coaches education program as well as certification program.
In an unprecedented move, the Board of Directors voted to name Ed Liddie, USA Judo Director of Athlete Performance, to be the Chair of the Athlete Performance Committee. Liddie, an Olympic bronze medalist, was asked to select the members of his committee. The Athlete Performance Committee has under its responsibilities the grassroots, junior programs, high performance program and events. Those interested in serving as Athlete Performance Committee members should contact Liddie at eddie.liddie@usajudo.us.
“Excellent move,” stated USA Judo CEO Jose H. Rodriguez, after the meeting, “This is exactly what the USOC is looking for from the National Governing Bodies. The fact that the paid staff is given full authority to act allows for the holding all of us fully responsible for success and failures of the programs.”
While praising the choice of the Board, Rodriguez also announced that Liddie’s job title will now be the Director of Athlete Performance. “I think the new title really says what the job calls for – results on the mat!” exclaimed Rodriguez.
The Referee Certification Committee was renamed as the Referee Education Committee which will be chaired by Noboru Saito, former chair of the Referee Commission. Saito, who will chair the committee until Dec. 31, is joined by committee members Englert, Mel Appelbaum, Dave Long, Frank Morales and Russ Scherer.
The Audit Committee will be chaired by Nading and will include Stolzenburg and Reser. A fourth committee member will be added after the two independent directors are elected to the Board in October.
The Nominating Committee will be chaired by Jim Colgan and will include Mackey, Harvey, Ryan Reser and Nick Goodly who will hold the position on an interim basis until he is replaced by one of the independent directors in October. This committee will be responsible for putting forth nominations to the Board for the independent directors that will be elected at the October meeting.
In addition to the committees above, the Rank Certification Committee was added to the bylaws. This committee will be chaired by Colgan and will include Burris, Appelbaum, Hayward Nishioka, Rusty Kanokogi, Jim Webb and Gerry Navarro.
A Board of Trustees also was created that will be responsible for overseeing the USA Judo Membership Fund and USA Judo Life Membership Fund. These funds are currently invested in the U.S. Olympic Foundation, but will become two separate endowments. All members of the sitting Board of Directors will function as the Board of Trustees.
The Board also approved Oct. 19 as the date of the next Board meeting, to be held at the Marriott Miami Dadeland the day before the U.S. Open. USA Judo CEO, Rodriguez presented to the Board the concept of a USA Judo National Assembly to be held also Oct. 19 also at the Marriott Miami Dadeland. This Judo National Assembly will be a forum that will allow all USA Judo members to learn and to share knowledge that will move the Olympic sport of judo forward in the United States.
“There will be workshops and presentations by professionals in the field of dojo and club administration and promotions. There will be coaches’ educational seminars as well as new product presentation and an array of speakers that will both educate and motivate,” added Rodriguez in announcing the new concept. “And, of course, we will have a meeting of the USA Judo Assembly so that we may report on all of the programs being carried out during the year.”
“The meeting was a breath of fresh air. We came up with lots of new ideas and we’re all looking forward to the Assembly in October,” Thornton said.
The Board also discussed the location for the 2007 and 2008 U.S. Open, including a recommendation to look at New York City as a possible location for this premier event.
“While in Argentina for the Pan American Championships this past month, I had a chance to meet with the leaders of the Canadian Judo Federation. We agreed to have the US Open Senior Championships be the third week of October while they will place their two key events as bookends the week prior and the week after the US Open. This being the case, it just makes sense to have this event in New York. Besides, New York is such a great backdrop for our most valuable property! We will have a great partnership with the New York State Organization.” added Rodriguez.
In addition to in-person meetings, the Board also will conduct a monthly informational conference call in order to be updated by CEO Rodriguez with USA Judo achievements and any recent issues to be discussed. This conference call will take place the first Thursday of every month.
While the Board was in Dallas, the directors took time to visit the USA Judo Junior Southwest Training Camp which was being run by Bert Becerra. This training camp has become one of the largest camps in the United States and draws nearly 300 junior athletes annually.
“The meeting convinced me more than even that USA Judo is moving in the right direction,” Stolzenburg said. “This was reinforced by the visit we made to the highly successful Junior Training Camp with athletes and coaches from all over the Southwest. We have some of the best athletes, coaches, clubs, and referees in the world. All they need is the support of everyone in USA Judo.”
USA Judo CEO Rodriguez explained that there is still a lot of ground to cover, and many operational committees to be named. “Everyone should understand that in this new structure recommended by the USOC only a limited number of Standing Committees are named in the actual byaws. As we move forward, operational procedures will be designed that will include many other committees that will be made up of USA Judo family volunteers. There is enough work to go around, and as we have now shown time and again, we do accept everyone’s offer to come on board this train and help us shovel coal into the engine. I really hope that as our members see the names of those being named to committees, they realize that this is not business as usual. We mean to use all of the talent that there is out there for the benefit of the sport and our athletes.”
In conclusion, USA Judo President Dr. Ron Tripp framed the success of the first meeting best by stating: “This is indeed the start of a new era for USA Judo. Our members will soon see the result of their vision to vote in favor of this new governance structure; in just a few short weeks our national talent such as Mike Swain, Jimmy Pedro, Jason Morris, Eddie Liddie, Brett Barron, Jim Hrbek, Israel Hernandez and others will come together in Colorado Springs to sharpen our athlete performance plan and financial commitment for the last two year leading to Beijing 2008! We will not deny our athletes the opportunity to succeed, we will bring the best that our nation have together for the good of the sport and the success of our athletes.”
Indeed USA Judo is heading into a new era and everyone is welcomed to be a part!
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