Member News
January 25, 2006
USA Judo Announces National Event Management Team
USA Judo is excited to announce the creation of a National Event Management Team to oversee all of USA Judo’s owned events.
Led by Tommy Dyer (Fort Worth, Texas), USA Judo’s newly appointed Director of Operations, this professional staff will oversee all aspects of USA Judo’s marquee events, including U.S. Senior National Championships, U.S. Open, National Junior Olympic Judo Championships, Fall Classic National Championships and the Ladder Tournament.
This team also will manage all international events selected to be held in the United States, including the 2006 Pan American Juvenile and Junior Championships.
“We are all extremely excited about the creation of this team,” Dyer said. “This is an innovative approach to event management and one that will create an enhanced experience for USA Judo’s athletes.”
Sherrie Phillips (Monument, Colo.) will serve as the Manager of Event Administration. Phillips has extensive experience in sports management as a former administrator in the International Games division of U.S. Olympic Committee as well as through her role as founder of Sports Consult Marketing & Consulting Services. As a judo athlete, Sherrie was a four-time National Champion and World Team member who currently coaches at the Boulder Judo Training Center.
As the Manager of Event Administration, Phillips is responsible for working with the Local Organizing Committee and Convention and Visitors Bureaus to ensure that accommodations, transportation, and other tasks associated with event logistics outside of the competition venue are taken care of in an efficient manner.
“As a former athlete and current judo coach, I’m definitely looking forward not only to working with the entire team on these events, but also having a new chance to make a positive contribution to the sport,” Phillips said.
Joining Phillips is Corinne Shigemoto (Paige, Texas), the Manager of Event Venues. Shigemoto, a 1992 Olympian and 1996 Olympic Coach, is USA Judo’s Chair of the Managers Sub-Committee as well as a past Chair of Coach Education and Development.
Shigemoto oversees all aspects of venue management, including set up and oversight of the event draws, weigh-ins, and overall facility and competition floor management. In this capacity, Shigemoto will oversee a staff that includes mat crews, technical officials and medical staff.
"Working previously with Tommy under Development and having trained and traveled with Sherrie for many years gives us a head start in the foundation of this team,” Shigemoto said. “I look forward to working to help move USA Judo to the next level and am honored and excited to be a part of this new team.”
Mary Ann Relich (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Judo Chief Financial and Office Operations Director, will work with the team in regard to event finances, budgets and accounting matters.
Nicole Jomantas (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Judo Director of Communications and Media Relations, will be responsible for working with the Local Organizing Committee to create and implement promotional and media plans for each event. Jomantas also will be responsible for results reporting to both the media and the general public, through a variety of means, including USA Judo’s Web site, www.usjudo.org as well as through Webcasts of USA Judo events on a monthly basis through www.livesportsvideo.com.
The National Events Team will work under the guidance of Dyer with direct supervision by USA Judo Executive Director/CEO Jose H. Rodriguez (Colorado Springs, Colo.). Rodriguez comes from an extensive event management background, most notably including his tenure as the Director of Sports for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Rodriguez will work with all team members and also will be responsible for managing the bid process in which cities, Convention and Visitors Bureaus and Sports Corporations have the opportunity to bid to play host to USA Judo events, including the 2007 USA Judo National Junior Olympics which are now open for bidding.
“It is our goal to achieve a greater service to the athlete by introducing this innovative format of event administration for USA Judo while improving on the showmanship in presenting the sport of judo as one of the most exciting sports in the Olympic Games,” Rodriguez said. “We hope this new structure further strengthen the great working relationship we have with each Local Organizing Committees.”
Contact information for the National Event Management Team is as follows;
Jose H. Rodriguez, Executive Director/CEO: Jose.H.Rodriguez@usajudo.us
Tommy Dyer, Director of Operations: tdyer@flash.net
Sherrie Phillips, Manager of Event Administration: SportsConsult@aol.com
Corinne Shigemoto, Manager of Event Venues: corringshig@aol.com
Mary Ann Relich, Chief Financial and Office Operations Director: MaryAnn.Relich@usajudo.us
Nicole Jomantas, Director of Communications and Media Relations, Nicole.Jomantas@usajudo.org.
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