USA Cycling Board approves governance changes; Elections begin

The USA Cycling Board of Directors approved the revised bylaws and final governance structure during its July 13 meeting with the changes being effective immediately. As previously announced in May of 2011, the USA Cycling Board of Directors approved a revised organizational governance structure with the goal of ensuring the bylaws and operating principles of the company accurately reflect the current business models of the sport today and for the foreseeable future. The new governance structure is designed to clarify roles and responsibilities and eliminate ambiguity in the original documents when USA Cycling, Inc. was created in 1995.

“We started down this path nearly four years ago,” said Steve Johnson, CEO of USA Cycling.  “During that time we have engaged in countless hours of dialogue that, quite frankly, has produced some of the most interesting and productive discussions of my tenure with USA Cycling.  I think the board of directors and the trustees have done an absolutely remarkable job of reshaping the company to be more reflective of the current business trends in our sport as well as one that will be much more responsive to the needs of our various membership categories.”

More information, including a complete list of committees and vacant positions, the Amended and Restated Bylaws of USA Cycling, Inc. and the Second Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, can be found on USA Cycling’s Governance webpage.

2011 ELECTION TIMELINE

• August 1 — Nomination period begins
• August 31 — Nomination period ends
• September 1 — Voting opens to all members
• September 15 — Voting ends

Members are able to vote in the election beginning September 1 through their My USA Cycling account.

How to Submit Nominations

Potential candidates must fill out the respective nomination form (see below) and include the section on how they are qualified, per the table at the bottom of each nomination form. Candidates must also acquire five signatures from USA Cycling licensees. While the forms have spaces for five signatures, individuals may submit separate signature pages.

Sport Committee Nomination Forms

• BMX Committee Nomination Form
• Collegiate Committee Nomination Form
• Cyclo-cross Committee Nomination Form
• Mountain Bike Committee Nomination Form
• Professional Committee Nomination Form
• Road Committee Nomination Form
• Track Committee Nomination Form

Nomination forms are due by midnight on Wednesday, August 31 at the latest, and forms must be mailed, faxed, or scanned to:

USA Cycling Technical Director Shawn Farrell
210 USA Cycling Point, Suite 100
Colorado Springs, CO 80919
sfarrell@usacycling.org
Fax: 719-434-4364

Under the revised governance structure, which was developed by the USA Cycling board and staff over the past 16 months, the current five associations (USCF, NORBA, USPRO, BMXA and NCCA) will be replaced by seven sport specific committees: BMX, Pro, Collegiate, Cyclo-cross, Mountain Bike, Road, and Track.

“Giving each stakeholder group, including team managers and masters, a dedicated position should increase the interest in governance participation for all these groups,” explained Wayne Stetina, USCF representative and vice-president of the USA Cycling board of directors. “The further decision to split USCF into separate Road, Track and Cyclocross Sport Committees charged to work directly with USA Cycling staff to develop programs and rules for their specific disciplines provides greater opportunity than ever for future event and membership growth.”

“The new structure will allow each discipline’s stakeholders to have a stronger voice in how things are structured and regulated within the governing body of cycling in our country,” stated John Bucksbaum, USA Cycling Development Foundation representative to the Board of Directors. “These positive changes in governance will well serve the membership of USA Cycling for years to come."

The new sport committees’ role will be to serve in an advisory capacity and work with USA Cycling staff to develop competition rules and consider issues relevant to their respective discipline. Each sport committee will also nominate and elect representatives to the USA Cycling Board of Directors. Under the new model, representation on all sport committees will be based on membership categories rather than by region. This structure will allow all of the stakeholders in our sport to have a more relevant and consistent role in the development and growth of each specific discipline.

Due to the recently approved governance changes by the USA Cycling board of directors, the previous election calendar was delayed and a transition plan developed to ensure the implementation of the new structure can begin with the 2011 election cycle. The USA Cycling board approved a transition plan guided by the fundamental philosophy of attempting to respect the remaining terms for all current association trustees. Based on input from affected associations, each trustee has been placed in a sport committee position for which they should otherwise be qualified for the remainder of their term, with the exception of those trustees whose terms expire in 2011. All vacant positions were then assigned a “term” designed to create a reasonable staggering of the committee members so that, in the future, only a few are being elected in any one year. The vacant positions will be filled in the 2011 election.

In all, 30 sport committee seats are available in the 2011 election. Open positions may be filled only by members of the respective qualified candidate pool and voted upon by the appropriate electorate group as outlined below.

Related Articles

• 2011 USA Cycling elections delayed to allow for governance changes - May 06, 2011
• USA Cycling, Inc. Governance & Election Info - Feb 22, 2010