Athlete Safety, Beach Volleyball Top USAV Board's Agenda

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Oct. 12, 2010) – Athlete safety and the status of the U.S. Olympic Trials for Beach Volleyball were among the agenda items at USA Volleyball’s annual October Board of Directors meeting held on Monday in Denver, Colo., at the conclusion of the Regional Volleyball Association (RVA) Assembly gathering.

"The Board had an excellent working session today,” said David Schreff, Chairman, Board of Directors of USA Volleyball. “We advanced our commitment to athlete safeguards, updated progress on the bid discussions with cities in preparing for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials for Beach Volleyball, honed our development goals for the USA Volleyball Foundation, and were updated on the NCAA collegiate sand volleyball initiatives being pursued in the next 18 months.”

Schreff was also pleased with the work and discussions that took place at the RVA Assembly on Oct. 8-10, where John Bryant, commissioner of the Puget Sound RVA, was elected as the body’s new chair.

“I'm delighted to see that our 40 regional volleyball associations and 5,300 clubs continued to add thousands of new athlete members in the past year, bringing our total to more than 260,000. USA Volleyball's national office, the regions and clubs are being prudent about cash management in the challenging financial climate that all sports organizations are navigating," he said.

The Board unanimously approved the codification of an enhanced athlete safety program based upon the recommendations of the Special Commission on Athlete Safeguards that was developed at the Board’s meeting in May.

A follow-up task force is being formed to implement the Commission’s recommendations and the timeline in which it can be done.

The Commission, which was chaired by Dr. Cecile Reynaud, recommended a responsible hiring process for coaches, continual age-appropriate education for parents, coaches and the athletes themselves dealing with a variety of issues that impact participants and reporting of unacceptable behavior by those involved with USAV sponsored activities.

To view the Commission’s full report, click here.

The USA Volleyball Board of Directors also received an update on city proposals to host the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials for Beach Volleyball and how the proposals will be reviewed.

“I remain very pleased with the way the newly-restructured USAV Board of Directors works together and also with our staff to move the organization forward,” said USA Volleyball CEO Doug Beal.

The Board welcomed its newest member, two time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh, who is now serving as one of the two beach athlete representatives.

Other key issues undertaken by the Board on Monday:

• Clarification of a gender determination policy
• Review of the successful annual sponsor summit and an overall marketing update
• Received an NCAA sand volleyball update from board member Kathy DeBoer, who is the Executive Director of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA)
• Approval of prohibited sponsor categories for youth and junior events

Tags: board, David Schreff, Doug Beal, Kerri Walsh, USA Volleyball, USA Volleyball Board