Open Letter to the Masters Rowing Community Regarding Governance Changes

Dear Ted Kakas, the USRowing Masters Committee and members of the Maters rowing community:

Thank you for you e-mails concerning the proposed changes to USRowing’s By-Laws. The Board appreciates your interest in this matter and values your input. If you have additional comments or questions regarding the proposed governance changes, do not hesitate to contact Don Langford.

USRowing, through a four-year process, developed the proposed Governance Documents. This process included multiple meetings with the Chairs and other members of all of USRowing’s current committees. These meetings, which included members of the Masters’ Committee, sought to explain the process and solicit input from the Committees in the development of the new documents. 

This development process was guided by the need to develop an organization that will position USRowing to be representative of and responsive to the needs of its members, while at the same time meeting all of the legal requirements that govern us. One of the legal requirements is the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act (36 U.S.C. §220501 et seq), which was enacted by the United States Congress. The Ted Stevens Act and the USOC By-Laws propagated under the Ted Stevens Act place requirements on all National Governing Bodies (NGB’s) including USRowing. An NGB is the organization recognized by the USOC as the governing body for a sport that is included in the Olympics, Paralympics or Pan-American Games. With this recognition by the USOC, the NGB also is designated as the organization that represents the U.S. in international governing bodies such as FISA. FISA requires that clubs and teams participating in the FISA Masters Regatta must be members of the NGB.

One of the specific requirements of the Ted Stevens Act is that at least 20% of the voting power of an NGB’s Board of Directors and other governing board’s must be reserved for individuals who have represented the United States in international amateur competition within the preceding 10 years. (37 U.S.C. §220522(a)(10)). The USOC By-Laws implement this by requiring that “athlete representatives shall equal at least 20% of all NGB boards of directors, executive boards and other governing boards” and “NGB committees.” (USOC By-Laws §17.7) At the time of selection to serve on the boards and committees, the athletes “shall have demonstrated their qualifications as athletes by having” represented the U.S. in the Olympic or Pan American Games, or an Operation Gold event, or a World Championship, or Paralympic Games within the prior 10 years and demonstrated that they are actively engaged in amateur athletic competition within the previous 24 months. (USOC By-Laws §17.7.C.3) The USOC By-Laws further specify that “athlete representatives may not be drawn from events that categorize entrants in age-restricted classifications commonly known as “Masters,” “Seniors,” “Veterans” or other similarly designated age-restricted competition.” (USOC By-Laws §17.7.C.4) The USOC interprets “board of directors,” “other governing boards” and “NGB committees” as those groups that are defined in the NGB’s governing documents.

The Ted Stevens Act was enacted by the U.S. Congress, not USRowing. In order to comply with the athlete representation provisions of the Ted Stevens Act, the Governance Task Force and the Board restructured the Masters Committee so that two of the at-large members will meet the requirements of the Ted Stevens Act both in terms of qualifications and selection. The size of the Committee remains at nine members and two-thirds of the Masters Committee continues to be elected by the organizational members of USRowing. Studies have shown that the most effective Boards and Committees are those with between five and nine members. Simply adding members to the Masters Committee would have taken the Committee further from the realm of best practices.

While a majority of USRowing’s members can rightfully be called “athletes,” the Ted Stevens Act uses a very narrow definition: an athlete must have represented the U.S. in the Olympic or Pan American Games, or an Operation Gold event, or a World Championship, or Paralympic Games within the prior 10 years. For Committees that directly deal with the selection or funding of National Teams, the athlete representatives serving on a board or committee must be directly elected by the athlete members. For Committees such as the Masters Committee, the athlete representatives can be selected by the NGB with approval of the athlete members. (USOC By-Laws §17.7.E) Under the proposed By-Laws, the athlete members of the Masters Committee will be selected by the CEO. This allows the selection of those individuals who not only meet the Ted Stevens athlete definition, but who also have in interest in or are active in masters rowing.

As an alternative to restructuring the Masters Committee to add two “athlete members,” the Masters Committee could have been removed from the list of standing committees defined in the governing documents of USRowing. Removing the Masters Committee from the by-laws would eliminate the requirement of the 20% athlete representation. It would also mean that the composition and nature of the Committee could be changed by an action of the Board of Directors rather than only through a vote of the organizational members. Representatives of the Masters Committee requested that their Committee be preserved as a standing Committee and therefore, the Masters Committee was kept in the proposed By-Laws with a structure that complies with the Ted Stevens Act.

In 2007, our National Team members had an average age of 28 years old (men - 27 years old; women - 29 years old). The average National Team member currently representing the U.S. is already a Masters Rower. While they may not have yet competed in a Masters rowing event, there is a good chance that within the next 10 years, most of these individuals will compete in such an event. 

Historically, the same drive and determination that drove individuals to become members of our national teams has also driven them to become leaders in the communities in which they live and work. These individuals are dedicated to the sport of rowing. The same qualities that lead to success and dedication to rowing make this a talented pool from which to select members of the Masters Committee.    

The Masters Committee is charged with promotion of recreational and competitive opportunities for rowers over the age of 21. One of the big challenges the organization is facing is how to keep young masters rowers engaged and active in the sport after their collegiate experience is over. While the majority of these “younger” masters will never compete on an international championship level as an elite athlete, the challenges of balancing the development of a career while staying active in our sport are universal to this group. This is also a segment of the Masters rowing community that tends to be under represented in our governing structure. The athlete representatives on the Masters’ Committee have the potential to represent this group. Through this representation, USRowing will be able to ensure that recreational and competitive opportunities are developed for masters across the masters rowing spectrum.

One of the problems that USRowing and many largely volunteer organizations face is how to be responsive to the needs of its members. The reverse is how members hold the organization accountable for its actions or inaction. The current USRowing governance structure exemplifies the problems. There is an old Japanese proverb that states that when there is more than one captain of a ship, the ship will end up on the rocks. USRowing’s current structure has multiple captains -- the Committees report directly to the volunteer Board of Directors and the professional staff is responsible to the Executive Director. The Directors, while trying to remain active and aware, do not have their fingers on the pulse of the organization like the Executive Director (CEO) and staff, who are working full-time with the rowing community. This leaves the control Committees subject to the special interests of the Directors. Without the active supervision and guidance of the CEO and staff, Committees can slide by without representing and serving the segment of the community they were designated to serve. There is also an issue of a lack of coordination and engagement of all of USRowing’s resources, both professional and volunteer committee, to meet the needs of the members of USRowing. 

The proposed governance structure adopts the Carver Governance Model. Under this model, the CEO is responsible for the activities of both the Committees and professional staff. The rowing community through its elected Board of Directors defines the goals of USRowing. The CEO is then responsible for implementing actions, within specified boundaries, to meet these goals. The CEO is held directly accountable for the achievement of the goals. This allows the organization to use all of its resources in a coordinated manner to address and meet the goals of the members. The Board of Directors feels that this change is critical for USRowing and our sport to remain relevant today and in the future.

The proposed governance structure allows the CEO to appoint one at-large member to the Masters Committee. Through this appointment, the CEO can appoint a person who can provide the skills or representation of a segment of the Masters rowing community that is required to allow the Committee to effectively promote recreational and competitive rowing opportunities for Masters rowers. The CEO also designates the Chair of the Committee. This allows the CEO, who will be held accountable to the Board and USRowing members, to select the Committee member who is in a position to best facilitate the Committee’s role in achieving these goals. This does not mean that the CEO gets to appoint an additional person to the Committee. Rather, the CEO designates one of the nine members of the Committee to serve as the Chair. This chair person could be one of the six regionally elected Committee members. After the changes, the majority of the Masters Committee will still be elected by the organizational members of USRowing. The remaining minority will be selected by the CEO who is accountable to USRowing to ensure that the entire Committee actively provides for the recreational and competitive activities of Masters rowers in the Untied States.

A comparison of the current and proposed Masters Commission is:

Current

6 Regional Members elected by the Organizational members in their regions for three year terms

3 At-Large Members elected by all the Organizational members for three year terms

Chair is selected by the Committee Members

Proposed

6 Regional Members elected by the Organizational members in their regions for three year terms

2 Athlete Members appointed by the CEO for four year terms

1 At-Large Member Appointed by the CEO for a three year term

Chair is designated by the CEO

Throughout the process of drafting the proposed governance documents, the goal was to create an organization that positions USRowing to meet the needs of its members both now and in the future. This process was constrained by statutory requirements such as the federally mandated Ted Stevens Act. The Board of Directors feels that the proposed By-Laws in their final form comply with these statutory requirements, incorporate the feedback provided by our membership including that provided by the current committees during the process, and will enable USRowing to remain relevant and vibrant for the future. 

If you have questions regarding this explanation, please feel free to contact Don Langford or any member of the Board of Directors. Their contact information can be found on the USRowing Web site at www.usrowing.org under the heading, “Contact Us” and clicking on Board of Directors.

The USRowing Board of Directors