Up Next
I’m Back . . .There seems to be some (a lot!) confusion about USTA’s governance procedure as it relates to the 2014 changes. After reading through the USTA by-laws in their entirety, I can tell you that I’m not any closer to understanding the intricacies of how this terribly complicated organization operates. I have asked some people who have been involved with USTA for way longer than I have to please explain to me what our options are moving forward. Here’s what they have told me.
At next week’s meeting (see my email exchange with Lew Brewer for more info), the Sections will discuss then vote on whether to approve the Proposed Changes to the already-approved 2014 Junior Competition Calendar.
- If approved, the Board will vote on the Proposed Changes at its April meeting. If approved by the Board at that meeting, the Proposed Changes will go into effect January 1, 2014.
- If not approved, the original 2014 Junior Competition Calendar will go into effect January 1, 2014.
However, a third possible scenario – one that has not been mentioned by the Commenters on my previous posts – is that the Sections can combine efforts to garner at least 30% of the vote and can propose a “call item” to ask for a pause on the 2014 changes. This “call item” would then go to a Board vote, I’m assuming at the April meeting. If approved, we could see the Junior Competition & Sportsmanship Committee go back to work to develop a world class junior competition schedule with a competitive structure that:
- Is fair to all the sections
- Allows for a logical progression from sectional to national to super-national play
- Results in the best players competing against the best players in the country
- Is accessible, easy to understand, and cost-effective
- Provides choices to families and parents in allowing them to build a tennis schedule that suits their individual needs
- Most importantly, promotes true earned advancement
I have spoken to someone in my section’s (Southern) leadership and am hopeful that they will work with some of the other sections to harness enough support for a “call item” to be proposed. If you are in favor of a pause, I urge you to speak with your section leadership as well to gauge their stance. Each section should vote in such a way that benefits its own junior players – that’s why these sections exist, after all. However, I suspect there is some political pressure from the National office for the sections to support the stance of the President and Board, so it’s important that we constituents put some pressure on our representatives to support what’s in the best interest of our kids.
