Olympic notes: USA Volleyball prepares for reorganization

Nearly 40 people are being considered for the USA Volleyball board of directors in the Colorado Springs-based national governing body’s first reorganization in eight years.

The Initial Nominating and Governance Committee of USA Volleyball began reviewing applications this month. The 16-person board — 15 members will have votes — should be named in April.

“We want this board to think more globally,” said Colorado Springs resident Rose Snyder, chair of the INGC. “That’s the goal of every NGB — get a board that’s focused on governance and less on the day-to-day decisions. They’re going to change the way they do business a

little bit.”

The current board, which will remain in place through the Beijing Games in August, consists of 30 voting members. It unanimously approved a motion last January to restructure itself in response to the governance guidelines recommended by the U.S. Olympic Committee in 2005.

The new board will represent both Olympic disciplines — indoor volleyball and beach volleyball. There will be three independent directors, one non-voting, at-large director and 12 board members comprised of athlete directors and directors from the various volleyball constituencies.

“I feel very good about the new governance,” said Doug Beal, chief executive officer of USA Volleyball. “Our new board has lots of advantages for the future of the sport and the future of USA Volleyball. Being smaller certainly is one of them. The board much more directly represents the current world of volleyball.”

USADA SAMPLES STORED

The Colorado Springs-based U.S. Anti-Doping Agency stores some athletes’ samples for as many as four years so it can retest for newly discovered drugs, such as the anabolic steroid THG.

Samples are kept in laboratories at UCLA and the University of Utah. No U.S. athlete has been sanctioned for a doping violation on a retest, said Travis Tygart, CEO of USADA.

“For that group that’s tempted to dope, it increases the likelihood of getting caught,” Tygart said. “The policy is to serve as an effective deterrent. It’s one more mechanism to protect sport and detect cheaters and give clean athletes additional reasons to stay clean.”

VISE, TRENT PULL IT OFF

Tiffany Vise and Derek Trent, members of The Broadmoor Skating Club, made history by becoming the first pair to perform a throw quadruple salchow in an International Skating Union competition.

Vise and Trent executed the jump Nov. 17 during their free program at the Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris. They finished fourth in the Junior Grand Prix Series event.

WRESTERS EARN CASH

Two Colorado Springs wrestlers have been awarded payments from a private-donor fund for winning multiple medals at high-level events, such as the Olympics and the world championships.

Kristie Marano earned $10,000 for a silver medal in the 158.5-pound women’s freestyle division at the 2007 world championships. Katie Downing earned $3,000 for a world bronze in the 147.5-pound women’s freestyle division, a non-Olympic weight class.

Massie doesn’t qualify

Colorado Springs resident Giddeon Massie failed to qualify for the men’s sprint last Sunday in the second round of the International Cycling Union (UCI) Track World Cup series in Beijing.

Massie posted a 200-meter time of 10.687 seconds. He finished 38th.

ADAMS JOINS USA CYCLING

Nick Adams has been named director of sponsorship and business development of Colorado Springs-based USA Cycling.

Adams previously worked at AG Edwards & Sons, Inc., a St. Louis financial consulting firm.

He also served as athletics director at Mesa State College in Grand Junction and the University of Illinois at Springfield.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0256 or brian.gomez@gazette.com. Check out our Olympics blog at gazetteolympics.blogspot.com