COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - James Ravannack of Metairie, La. was re-elected as the president of USA Wrestling during the annual USA Wrestling Board of Directors meeting, held at the Cheyenne Mountain Conference Center on Saturday, August 21.

Ravannack was elected to another two-year term as the organization's president.

Held alongside the Board meeting was USA Wrestling's State Leaders Conference, where state association leaders from across the nation held a series of workshops, seminars and planning meetings. An impressive 43 states were represented at this year’s conference.

The Board of Directors elected all of the officer positions for the organization for two-year terms. The other officers elected were:

First Vice President - Bruce Baumgartner of Edinboro, Pa.
Second Vice President - Greg Strobel of Bethlehem, Pa.
Secretary - Rance Stein of Cashion, Okla.
Treasurer - Van Stokes of Clarksville, Tenn.

Stein was re-elected to the position he held during the last two years. Baumgartner, Strobel and Stokes have all served in different officer positions in the past. Baumgartner is a past president of USA Wrestling.

Also elected were eight at-large Board members. Those who were selected by the Board to serve as at-large members were:
Bruce Baumgartner of Edinboro, Pa.
Dave Black of River Falls, Wis.
Jim Considine of Carol Stream, Ill.
Bill Grant of Inverness, Fla.
Mike Juby of Hutchinson, Kan.
Jim Keen of Ann Arbor, Mich.
Larry Sciacchetano of Baton Rouge, La.
Van Stokes of Clarksville, Tenn. 

Elected to the Executive Committee were Bill Grant of Inverness, Fla. and Rick Tucci of Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Elected to the Steering Committee were Mike Duroe of Marion, Iowa, Ed Gould of Merrick, N.Y. and Mark Reiland of Iowa City, Iowa.

The USA Wrestling Board of Directors also approved two by-laws amendments.

The first amendment which was approved created a Women’s Age Group Division, which will represent the Kids, Cadet and Junior age groups for grassroots development. A representative of the Women’s Age Group Division will serve on the USA Wrestling Board of Directors.

The second amendment which was approved concerned the Women’s Oversight Committee, which is a standing committee of the organization. The amendment defined the responsibilities of the committee, as well as its composition. The Women’s Oversight Committee will consist of the Chairs of the three Sport Committees and two active athletes. The Chair of the Women’s Oversight Committee will be elected by and from the members of that Committee.

The Board of Directors also approved the fiscal 2010-11 budget, with total revenues of $9,235,725 and total expenditures of $9,120,393. With the effect of restricted revenue/expense of $17,000, the budget had unrestricted revenues over expenses of $132,332.

“The staff is comfortable that they can meet this budget. It gives them the latitude to institute the programs of this organization,” said Treasurer Duane Morgan.

Morgan also presented the Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee report, which was unanimously accepted by the Board. Included were changes in the age-group programs of USA Wrestling, including:

- the creation of a Cadet Women’s National Freestyle Championships, which will be combined with the Junior Women’s Freestyle Championships and the Junior Women’s Freestyle National Duals, alongside the men’s Cadet and Junior Nationals

- the approval of Developmental Girls weight classes

- the creation of two age categories for Developmental Girls

- regional representation for Developmental Coaches within the Coaches Council

- the addition of the West Cadet Regional as a qualifier for the Cadet Nationals.

- the results of the election for committee chairpersons, including Rance Stein of Cashion, Okla. (Kids/Cadet Division), Duane Morgan of Hollister, Calif. (Junior Division), Mark Reiland of Iowa City, Iowa (State Chairpersons).

Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the U.S. Olympic Committee, addressed the Board of Directors, with an update on the U.S. Olympic movement. He reported that the USOC was “in great shape financially,” and will beat their budget for the existing Olympic quadrennium. He also indicated that the USOC was in a strong position in its relationship with the International Olympic Committee, and is striving to “put a positive face for the USOC internationally.”

Blackmun also praised the relationship between the USOC and USA Wrestling.

“Our strategy No. 1 is to build an environment of service at the USOC,” said Blackmun. “We work for you. Our job is to make you successful. We have a great relationship with USA Wrestling and look forward to working with you in the future.”

In his President’s Report, Ravannack addressed a number of issues facing USA Wrestling and the sport at this time.

“I have been honored to serve as president of USA Wrestling for the last four years,” said Ravannack. “Each of you have been an important part of our success. USA Wrestling is widely regarded as one of the best performing NGBs in the Olympic family.”

Ravannack also presented President’s Award winners Mark Reiland of Iowa City, Iowa and Ned Zollinger of Rexburg, Idaho with official gear from the 2010 U.S. World Teams. The President’s Award program brings outstanding state leaders to the World Championships as part of the official United States delegation. Reiland and Zollinger will participate at the 2010 World Championships in Moscow, Russia, Sept. 6-12.

“As stated in our vision statement, ‘USA Wrestling will strive to be the World's best Olympic Sports Organization.’ I believe it will,” said Ravannack.

Executive Director Rich Bender made his report to the Board of Directors, and thanked the many volunteer leaders who attended the meeting.

“I want to recognize our state leaders here today. I am inspired by you. You motivate us to get up every day to do our best for you and the sport. Thank you for all of your tireless efforts on our behalf,” said Bender.

As part of Bender’s report, the Board of Directors also received an extensive presentation by Director of Program Development Les Gutches and Jay Bartlett of Parthenon, concerning an in-depth research project in which USA Wrestling members, former members and coaches were surveyed on a variety of important topics.

“When I got here in February, I knew right away that we have a great mission and vision at USA Wrestling,” said Gutches. “In order to get there, I had to know where we are at and to know our customers better.”

Long-time Board member Chuck Elvin of Lenexa, Kan. addressed the Board upon his retirement from service as a Board member. 

“Thank you for the privilege of serving with you,” said Elvin. “I watched this organization mature and evolve into one of the best NGBs in the country. We have developed into a very sound financial organization. Our athletes have performed heroically. We have a terrific staff. You know the challenges that we face. Stick together and serve our customers, the best athletes and coaches in the land.”

At the end of the meeting, the Board voted to name Elvin as an Honorary Member of the Board of Directors.

Greg Strobel made a presentation concerning the recommendations of the ad-hoc committee which has been working on Board of Directors restructuring.

Strobel reported that the committee has been meeting regularly since it was formed by President Ravannack. He noted that the board had previously voted to reduce its size, institute term limits and restructure its committees. He presented the Board members with a rough draft of the proposed changes, and asked them to review and evaluate them over the next 60 days and to provide feedback. Strobel felt that the Board should be able to make decisions about the proposal in the near future.

In his FILA Report, FILA Bureau member Stan Dziedzic updated the Board on key issues facing the international federation. Dziedzic reported that FILA would be addressing the issue of athletes changing nationality. He also noted that there may be potential changes in the size of the FILA Bureau. Dziedzic also indicated that the United States has put in a proposal to host the 2012 Olympic Qualifying Tournament for the Pan American nations.

Eric Pearson of the College Sports Council updated the Board on his organization’s activities concerning Title IX reform, as well as a report on how the regulation of the law affects wrestling and other Olympic sports. He also announced a new rebranding of the organization, with a name change to the American Sports Council, to reflect an expansion of activities on the high school level. USA Wrestling continues to provide support for the organization and work cooperatively on a number of projects.

“Our mission is to preserve and promote the student-athlete experience,” said Pearson. “We support the law but take issue with the regulation. It is a good law, with bad regulation.”