USA WEIGHTLIFTING
AMENDMENT TO PROPOSAL TO AMEND BYLAWS
USOC ATHLETE DEFINITION
Add the following definitions to Article 1, Section 101.2:
Athletes Congress shall be comprised of all Elite Athletes (as defined in
below). Athlete delegates elected by LWC’s to serve on the Board of Governors
who do not satisfy the definition of Elite Athlete may attend meetings of the
Athletes Congress, but shall not be entitled to vote.
Elite Athlete. An individual shall be considered an Elite Athlete if he/she has
either (i) within the ten (10) years preceding election, represented the United
States in the sport of weightlifting in the Olympic or Pan American Games, or
an Operation Gold event, or a world Championship recognized by the IWF for
which a competitive selection process was administered by the USAW; of (ii)
within the twenty-four (24) months before election, demonstrated the he/she is
actively engaged in amateur athletic competition by finishing in the top half of
USAW’s national championships or team selection competition for the
Olympic Games, Pan American Games or an event or discipline which is
regularly included in the international competition program of the IWF; or
(iii) represented the United States in weightlifting at the Paralympic Games, or
an International Paralympic Committee-recognized Weightlifting World
Championship; provided, however, that an individual shall not qualify for
membership as an Elite Athlete if he/she satisfies the definition set forth above
by virtue of competition in one or more events that categorize entrants in
classification commonly known as “Junior”, “Masters,” “Seniors,”
“Veterans” or other similarly designated age restricted competition. All Elite
Athlete members shall be members of the Athletes Congress.
Delete the following definitions from Article 1, Section 101.2:
Athlete Representative on Selected National Level Committees.
Athlete representation on national level committees that approve or implement
programs related of expenditure of USOC provided funds and selection of
international, Olympic and pan Am team members will be athletes who have
represented the United Stares in international competition within the past ten
years or who have qualified for the National Championships:
Athlete Representative Other Than on Selected National Level
Committees. A USAW member who is selected by the Athlete Congress.
Revise Article 2, Section 102.1 (8) as Follows:
8) Individual Members. Any person who pays registration dues to the
Federation in any specific membership category or categories, such as athlete
(including Elite Athletes), administrator, coach, or official.
Revise Article 3, Section 103.1 as follows:
103.1 Annual Meetings. There shall be an Annual General Meeting or the
Board of Governors for election of members of the Board of Directors, for
receiving the annual reports of committees, and for the transaction of such
other business as may come before it. There shall be such other meetings of the
Board of Governors as my be called pursuant to Section 103.4 below. There
shall also be an annual meeting of the Athletes Congress for election of
additional Elite Athlete delegates to the Board of Governors, Elite Athlete
members of the Board of Directors, Elite Athletes representatives to those
committees to which the Athletes Congress is to appoint Elite Athletes (as
described below), and the Elite Athlete representative to the U.S. Amateur
Weightlifting Foundation Board of Directors, and for the transaction of
such other business as may come before it. Athletes representatives of the
LWCS referred to as the Athletes’ Congress. Such meeting will be scheduled
to take place prior to the Annual General Meeting. Notice of the Annual
General Meeting, signed by the Executive Director of the Federation, shall be
mailed to the last recorded address of each LWC officer or Delegate member at
least thirty (30) day and not more than (90) days before the time appointed for
the meeting. All notices of meeting shall set forth the place, date, time and
purposes of the meeting.
Add new Article 3, Section 103.2, Subsection 6 as follows:
6) Once the number of delegates to the Board of governors appointed or
elected by the members as provided in subsection(1) through (5) has been
determined, the Athletes Congress shall be entitled to elect from among its
Elite Athlete members that number of additional delegates (which shall be
calculated by the Executive Director) necessary so that Elite Athletes
(including those athlete delegates elected by LWCs who meet the definition
of Elite Athlete) equal 20% of the total delegates to the Board of Governors.
No such election shall be necessary if sufficient Elite Athletes representation
is achieved under subsection(1).
Revise Article 3, Section 103.3 as follows:
Voting. At any meeting duly called and held, a majority of the votes cast at
such meeting upon a given question by the delegates and athletes
representatives entitled to vote thereon who are present in person shall decide
such question. There shall be no voting by proxy. A quorum is established at
ten (10) percent of delegates duly appointed by respective LWC members
entitled to appoint them in accordance with Article 103.2. Athlete
representation must constitute at least 20% of the quorum. In the event that
Elite Athletes represent lass than 20% of the quorum, then the votes of the
Elite Athletes shall be weighted so that they equal 20% of the quorum.
Revise Article 4, Section 104.1 as follows:
104.1 Number. The business, activities and affairs of the Federation shall be
managed and controlled by its Board of directors, consisting initially of a the
president, the first and second vice president, the treasurer and eight (8) and
eleven (11) other members of whom at least three shall be individuals who are
actively engaged in weightlifting competition or who have represented the
United States in international weightlifting competition with the ten (10) years
preceding the date of their election (“active athlete member”). The active
athlete members. Three (3) members of the Board of Directors shall be
elected by and from the athlete representative of each LWC and Class A
members. One of the three athlete representatives the Athletes Congress from
among the Elite Athletes for terms of four year. One of the Elite Athletes
shall also be the elected USOC athlete representative. Athlete representation
shall constitute at least 20% of the membership of the Board of Directors. The
five (5) remaining Board of Director members (referred to as At-Large
Directors), other than the active athlete members, shall be elected by and from
the members of the Board of Governors in the Olympic years to serve for a
term of four years and until the election and qualification of their respective
successors who take office following the conclusion of the Olympic Games
following the election. At-Large Directors shall be elected by a plurality vote.
In the case of election for At-Large Director, each properly credentialed
delegate shall vote for five candidates; any ballot with less than five votes
will be disallowed and will not be counted. The five candidates receiving the
highest number of votes will be elected. The nominees for election to Board of
Directors must be United States citizen, and shall be selected without regard to
national origin, race, color, religion or sex.
Revise Article 4, Section 104.3 (1) as follows
Technical Committee. … there will be active athlete Elite Athlete
representation of at least 20% on the committee with such representatives
being elected by the Athletes Congress (in this case, two individuals)…
Revise Article 4, Section 104.3 (2) as follows
Coaches Committee. ... There will be active athlete Elite Athlete
representation of at least 20% on the committee with such representatives
being elected by the Athletes Congress (in this case, two individuals)…
Revise Article 4, Section 104.(3) as follows
Managers Committee. … The committee will consist of four elected people
plus a chairperson appointed by the president, for a total of five including 20%
athlete representation (in this case one individual). The three members elected
by the Board of Governors, the chairperson appointed by the president, and
one Elite Athlete representative elected by the Athletes Congress. …
Delete Article 4, Section 104.5 in its entirety and replace it with the following:
104.5 Administrative Committees. The following are the types of committees
of the Board of Directors for whom the Board of Directors has oversight
responsibility:
Rules & Legislation Committee Managers Committee
Coaches Committee Women’s Committee
Technical Committee Medical Committee
Sports science Committee
At least 20% of the members of the Coaches Committee, Technical
Committee and Managers Committee shall be Elite Athletes elected by the
Athletes Congress.
In addition to the committees listed above, the President may from time to
time appoint ad-hoc committees to deal with specific issues. The President
shall ensure that at least 20% of each ad-hoc committee, the Rules &
Legislation Committee, the Sports Science Committee, the Women’s
Committee and Medical Committee are each composed of individuals who
have either (i) within the ten (10) years preceding appointment, represented
the United States in the sport of weightlifting in the Olympic or Pan
American Games (if weightlifting is included), or an Operation Gold event,
or a World Championship recognized by the IWF for which a competitive
selection process was administered by the USAW; of (ii) within the twenty-
four (24) months before appointment, demonstrated that they are actively
engaged in elite amateur athletic competition; or (iii) represented the United
States in weightlifting at the Paralympic Games, or an International
Paralympic Committee-recognized Weightlifting World Championship;
provided, however, that an individual shall not qualify for appointment to the
committee if he/she satisfies the definition set forth above by virtue of
competition in one or more events that categorize entrants in classifications
commonly known as “Masters,” “Seniors,” “Veterans” or other similarly
designated age restricted competition.
In the event that Board of Directors chooses to delegate authority to an
Executive Committee, the Executive Committee shall consist of the president,
first vice president, second vice president, treasurer, and one Elite Athlete
member of the Board of Directors (as designated by the Athletes Congress).
Revise Article 4, Section 104.8(1) as follows:
Election of Officers. The officers of the Board of Directors shall be elected,
except for the Secretary, prior to any other members of the Board of Directors
in the following order: President;, First Vice President, Second Vice President,
treasurer. Officers shall be elected by a majority vote of the board of
Governors. In the event that more than two candidates for an office are
nominated, and no candidate receives a majority vote in a round of voting,
the candidate with the fewest number of votes will be dropped from the ballot
an another round of voting will be conducted among the remaining
candidates. This process will be repeated until there are only two candidates
remaining on the ballot.
Add New Section 104.11 as follows:
U.S. Amateur Weightlifting Foundation. One member of the Board of
Directors of the U.S. Amateur Weightlifting Foundation appointed by USAW
shall be an Elite Athlete elected by the Athletes Congress.
Revise Article 4, Section 104.3(1) as follows
Technical Committee. … There will be active athlete Elite Athlete
representation of at least 20% on the committee with such representatives
being elected by the Athletes Congress (in this case, two individuals)…
Revise Article 4, Section 104.3(2) as follows
Coaches Committee. … There will consist of active athlete Elite Athlete
representation of at least 20% on the committee with such representatives
being elected by the Athletes Congress (in this case, two individuals)…
Revise Article 4, Section 104.3(3) as follows
Managers Committee. … The committee will consist of four elected people
plus a chairperson appointed by the president, for a total of five including 20%
athlete representation (in this case one individual). The three members elected
by the board of governors, the chairperson appointed by the president, and
one Elite Athlete representative elected by the Athletes Congress. …
Delete Article 4, Section 104.5 in its entirety and replace it with the following:
104.5 Administrative Committees. The following are the types of committees
of the board of Directors for whom the Board of Directors has oversight
responsibility:
Rules & Legislation Committee Managers Committee
Coaches Committee Women’s Committee
Technical Committee Medical Committee
Sports science Committee
At least 20% of the members of the Coaches Committee, Technical
Committee and Managers Committee shall be Elite Athletes elected by the
Athletes Congress.
In addition to the committees listed above, the President may from time to
time appoint as-hoc committees to deal with specific issues. The President
shall ensure that at least 20% of each ad-hoc committee, the Rules &
Legislation Committee, the Sports Science Committee, the Women’s
Committee and Medical Committee are each composed of individuals who
have either (i) within the ten (10) years preceding.