NATIONAL OFFICE UPDATES

January 14th and 15th Conference Calls 

As a result of these calls, a five-member committee has been selected to work with Chair Tom Virgets on reviewing the proposed By-Laws changes. The following individuals were selected as a result of recommendations from the participants of the conference calls: 

• Joe Higgins
• Joe Zanders
• Dennis O'Connell
• Gary Richards
• Luke Runion (athlete)

Per Gary Richards' request, additional reference material relating to Sports Act and requirements for NGB recognition by USOC were also distributed.
 

National Under-19 Tournament 

This Tournament will be expanded to include all open class women. In an effort to give our female boxers additional competition opportunities, all open-class females are invited to participate. This is not an advancing tournament for the females therefore it is a great opportunity to expand the tournament.
 

Staff Changes 

As many of you are aware, High Performance Program Manager Andrew Madigan has accepted a position with AIBA, the International Governing Body of Amateur Boxing. His final day of employment with USA Boxing will be Friday January 29. Andrew will be moving to Switzerland in early February. He has been a valuable employee and was outstanding in overseeing our 2009 USOC High Performance Plan. His detailed work and USOC Allocation Presentation on the 2010 HPP Plan proved to be instrumental in our 2010 funding. We wish Andrew great success in his new position. 

As a result of Andrew's departure, USA Boxing is faced with a huge void in our operation. Also, recognizing the current budget restrictions and need to review any permanent hiring based on the current management structure, which includes taking into consideration that we have an Interim Executive Director and a Board of Directors that will change in the upcoming months. Because of this, we are not in a position to offer any long term positions at this time. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that former USA Boxing Events Coordinator Anthony Bartkowski has agreed to contract with USA Boxing on two levels.

First, Anthony and the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation have been contracted with to produce USA Boxing's 2010 Senior National Championships. USA Boxing has submitted the second-year grant proposal to the Daniels Fund with the assistance of Anthony and the Sports Corp. With this grant USA Boxing will be able to fund the contract that will produce this event. Basically, USA Boxing will have a turn-key event produced by Anthony and the Sports Corp. 

Second, USA Boxing will have the continued responsibility of overseeing the 2010 High Performance Plan. This includes all elite athlete programs, International Competitions and reporting responsibilities. Anthony has agreed to contract with USA Boxing to fulfill this responsibility. USA Boxing has been approved by the USOC to utilize our allocated High Performance Team Manager funds to ensure that we fulfill our 2010 mission. 

The National Office is very fortunate to have Anthony back in our boxing family. As many of you know, Anthony left USA Boxing to work with USA Hockey and eventually accepted a position with ESPN Outdoors. His return to Colorado Springs can be described as a blessing for our organization as we go through this new transition phase. 

Anthony's contact information will be posted next week. 

We are fortunate to have a new Intern on staff. Ashley Gartland joins us after graduating from Miami of Ohio. We welcome Ashley to our organization. Many of you will meet her at the upcoming Under-19 tournament. Contact information will be forth coming.


Finances 

• The National Office will be submitting an adjusted 2010 Annual Budget to the Board of Directors in the upcoming weeks. Our intent is to post the budget on our website.  
• USA Boxing made a $25,000 payment to the Foundation this week.  
• USA Boxing awarded nine scholarships to our athletes this week.
• USA Boxing was notified on January 27th that the Daniels Fund will
  provide a second-year $100,000 grant that will fund the 2010 Senior
  Championships. The event will move back to Colorado Springs with
  preliminary bouts being conducted on the campus of the Olympic
  Training Center with Championship Finals moving to the Crown Plaza.
  Thanks to the Colorado Sports Corporation with special thanks to USA
  Boxing's Andrew Madigan and Sports Corp's Anthony Bartkowski for their
  assistance in securing this important funding.
   

Additional Comments 

As always, membership is encouraged to contact Interim Executive Director Michael Martino if they would like to discuss any issues of concern. 775-303-3747