National Youth Athletics Minutes
Executive Board Meeting
Phoenix, AZ
March 20, 2004
The Meeting was called to order at 9:15am by Chairman Bob Flint. In
attendance were Larry Seifert, Linda Phelps, Mary Aude, Dorothy Dawson, Kim
Haines, Rita Ramsey, Lionel Leach, Harold "Lefty" Martin, Bob Kreutz,
Erika Baxter, Bob Flint, Norine Richardson, Nancy Seifert.
Bob thanked everyone for attending the meeting
Minutes and agenda: Nancy passed out the previous minutes and they were
approved. The agenda was then handed out to the committee for approval and
several items were added for discussion under new business.
ISSUES DISCUSSED AND ACTED UPON
Bob Flint passed out an agenda that we will utilize with the LOC when we go
to on-sites.
At the Annual Meeting, Bill Roe appointed Alan Roth chair over the committees
consisting of Youth, Masters and Associations. Alan wants to start a site access
sub committee for all athletes to practice. Lionel volunteered to be part of the
committee. Bob will advise Alan.
World Youth Staff Selection: Bob presented an outline for picking the staff
for the World Youth Team. The Board agreed to the outline. Some names will be
submitted by the Ex. Board. Bob Kreutz would like to see the people from last
year's youth trip get together with the new committee and discuss problems, etc.
The board felt this was a good idea. We have concerns about the location and the
cost. Kim suggested we cut down on the number of athletes. This will be
considered. A close watch on what is going on in that part of the country is
being done.
Zonal Meets: Linda reported the Zonal meet in New York went very well. There
were about 500 athletes. We entered into this as an already established meet.
Lefty reported that the meet in Illinois had a little over 150 entries and went
well. He felt it was a great location and would recommend we go there next year.
Information will need to get out earlier next year. It will be given out at the
Annual Meeting, with dates established before the Youth and JO Meets. We are
recommending that the date be set for the President's day weekend.
New Sponsors: Rita informed us that we now have Sunny-D and Ben Gay as new
sponsors. Sunny D has given monies for the "Pursuit of Excellence"
travel grants. She will discuss with Mark Springer what the budget will be. That
will determine how many clubs will be considered for funds.
Regional Coordinator Report: Larry showed us the new JO entry form and showed
the new additions. He suggested we let all the Youth Chairs know that they need
to have their club numbers for the new form. This will make it easier for the
Hy-Tek entries to be done.
Cross Country rule & Vendors: Bob Flint feels that the rule regarding the
width of the starting line and elevation is ambiguous. This is going to be
discussed with the present Cross Country chair Ron Boemker and the past chair
Bob Kreutz as to how we can clarify this in our rule book. There were some
problems with vendors at the Cross Country Meet. Kim suggested that we talk to
the LOC about these problems at the onsite visit.
Cross Country Nike/New division in USATF Cross Country: They are not
replacing Foot Locker, which goes head to head with their program. Nike is
calling it a "Team Championship". They will be going with eight
regions, and taking the top 25 teams ranked by high school groups. Nike is
funding the entire program. All athletes and clubs would have to be USATF
members. The date is the first week in December (2-3-4). The eight region
division is still being worked on. Information on our new High School division
for cross country Nationals will be put in our Youth and JO Passport. Bob Kreutz
and Larry will discuss how we can get the teams.
Term of Office (by-law change): Lefty would like to see the Youth Committee
follow the same procedure as the National Officers and go with election every
four years rather then every two years. This will be discussed at the Annual
Meeting.
Emergency Weather Plan: Lefty feels that we need some kind of a plan for the
final day of the meet. The Youth committee will work on some ideas to implement
this plan.
Background Check: Lionel reported that the Associations not involved in the
pilot program can do background checks. It is not mandatory. An individual at
this time can call the National Office if you want someone checked. This would
be at your own cost. At this time we have 10-12 Associations involved in the
pilot program.
Religious Service and Meets: Linda had an inquiry about having a religious
service at a track meet. Norine stated that they can pass out flyers but it
can't be tied into the track meet. It can be held before or after. It can be
held during, as long as it involves a small group that does not interfere with
the meet.
Youth Web Site: Lefty would like to develop a better manner of getting
information out to the membership. Lionel suggested USATF Youth.org to link to
the information you need. Lionel will be our web master and it will be up and
running by April 1, 2004.
National Qualifiers to JO: Larry quoted the rule as to how entries are to be
handled. Lionel stated that someone will be delegated at Buffalo for the Junior
Nationals. They will send the entry forms to the Regional Coordinators. Rita
said she and Mark will make sure the World Youth Team entries are sent in.
Credibility of Coaches: Dorothy feels that we need to implement a punishment
for coaches that are caught cheating at a National level. Norine said we do not
have anything in our rule book that addresses this issue. Lionel is going to
propose a grievance procedure to the Board for their approval.
Hammer sub-committee: Bob Kreutz feels that we need to make sure that the
athletes have some kind of knowledge of what they are doing before they are
allowed to throw the hammer.
Meeting adjourned at 5:30pm
Respectfully submitted by,
Nancy Seifert,
Youth National Secretary