It's the second most important triathlon election in which you'll ever have to (get to) vote. The first one was the one you voted in several months ago. That special election gave to you, the membership, the right to ratify any proposed change in your federation's constitution.

As it should be. We in the United States cannot change our country's Constitution if only our elected representatives think it best. Otherwise, we'd have legal gay marriage during those years the Democrats control Congress and the White House, and illegal abortions when the Republicans control it. As it is, both Congress and three-fourths of our states must ratify an amendment. Changing a constitution ought to be hard.

As such, your board of directors wants to make changes in USA Triathlon's constitution. USAT is an organization, remember, that you own a chunk of if you buy an annual license. This is an organization that spreads the gospel of our sport throughout the land, provides the financial backing for growth, and has a rainy day fund in case things get tough. You pay $30 per year, and about $25 of that money gets spent. The other $5 goes into that fund. Right now, your fair share of that fund is about $50. We've been doing well as a sport. It's an important organization, if you're a triathlete in America. That's why these elections are important.

Your elected board, eleven hard-working people, have honored the bylaws that you've passed and are placing before you two new questions, that is, they are asking you to ratify a change in the bylaws (amend your constitution) in a pair of ballot initiatives. Here is what is says as of today on the USAT News and Information page <http://usatriathlon.org/fs_newsPC.asp?File=14-01-2005_0.txt> on USAT's website:

Bylaw Referendums: The USA Triathlon Board of Directors is asking the membership to approve some modifications to the current USA Triathlon bylaws. There are two proposals to be voted on.

"The current bylaws, the proposed bylaw changes and the reasoning behind the requested changes are available for viewing at www.usatriathlon.org/Elections/2005_Bylaws.htm.

When you click on the link provided, you get the screen at right. If you click on this image, another window will pop up with this page at full size.

You'll notice on this page similar verbiage as on the PR page noted above. It says, and the capitalized words are USAT's:

USA Triathlon members will be asked to vote on TWO referendums involving the USA Triathlon bylaws. These will be "yes or no" votes. If you vote yes, you will be voting FOR the USAT Board of Directors' bylaw revisions. If you vote NO, you will be voting to keep the current bylaws as they stand.

The page then gives you the following link options:

Read the current USA Triathlon bylaws

Read bylaws with proposed changes from USA Triathlon Board of Directors

Read the USA Triathlon Board of Directors' platform for the bylaw changes

Read the Board of Directors' explanation of the need for a change in the voting districts

Read the report of the USA Triathlon election task force

I know what the "USA Triathlon election task force" recommends, because I was on the board when these recommendations were presented to the entire board, and we voted on these (I was a superb consensus builder—I managed repeatedly to build a voting bloc of 10-1... against me).

For all my curmudgeonliness, however, we did reach a concensus, and when I click on the link above that says, Read bylaws with proposed changes from USA Triathlon Board of Directors, I like the bylaws I'm reading.

But I do have an issue. My one problem is with the process of this election. I was promised by certain members on the board that the two questions upon which we'll be voting would be on USAT's website a week prior to the mailing of the ballots. Instead, certain people report having ballots in their hands now, and the two questions are still nowhere to be seen on USAT's website, which means no meaningful discussion can occur prior to the voting on these issues.

Well, let me take that back. While there is no dialogue afforded the membership, except any discussion we might have on what the board might be putting forth to us, we can't discuss what is being put forth to us. There are people in other parts of the country who have received, marked, and cast (or cast into the trash) their ballots prior to my ability to write anything about the questions on the ballot, because certain regions appear to have gotten ballots, and I don't have mine. So, I don't yet know what's on the ballot. So, I can't comment with specificity. The only entity that can comment is USAT's board of directors, because it and it alone knows what's on the ballot. One would think that after all the recent problems this organization has had with elections, we'd not do this kind of thing.

Yes, I have a problem with this. However, what is on USAT's website is this: USA Triathlon members will be asked to vote on TWO referendums involving the USA Triathlon bylaws... If you vote yes, you will be voting FOR the USAT Board of Directors' bylaw revisions... read bylaws with proposed changes from USA Triathlon Board of Directors.

Accordingly, I read the proposed bylaws. (you'll get these if you click the link, I got them straight off USAT's website). While I do not know which of these new bylaws are changed by which of the amendments, I note that they are agreeable bylaw changes—at least they are agreeable to me. Yes, there are certain elements of the bylaw changes upon which we all voted that I think are preferable to those in these new proposed bylaws, however I don't think a hard working board, that does its job without pay, should be without the ability to propose a set of rules that makes their lives easier in ways that don't cause any gross offense to the membership.

So, terms of office that are two years long instead of one are fine with me, and if board members really want their terms to start in January instead of July that's fine with me too. I don't think anybody wants to go back to voting districts of East, West, Central and At-Large, and if the new eight general director districts are formed more along the lines of the regional federation boundaries I have no problem with this.

Fair voting practices are retained in the bylaws, and I also note that the board has no ability to change the bylaws without approval of the membership (neither Article XX, nor Article XXI, Section 4 is changed in the proposed new bylaws as presented on USAT's website). In particular, these proposed new bylaws on USAT's website leave election practices alone, and they also leave the Sunshine Policy essentially alone. Finally, the membership's right to amend the constitution itself via a question placed on the annual ballot following presentation of a petition containing 100 valid member signatures is not changed.

Therefore, while I don't know which amendment speaks to which bylaw changes, I have no problem with the new bylaws as posted on USAT's site, which means I'm almost certain to vote YES on both amendments.

Then there is the question of those running in individual districts. As it happens, most are running unopposed. I doubt this will continue in future elections, once the membership gets used to these new districts and the eventual voting schedule.

I might point out in particular Mike Plumb in California, a level-headed guy and a friend of mine. He's on the Duathlon Commission, which means there is still a sport called Duathlon (there were rumors circulating on other websites that I had killed this sport all by myself). Celeste Callahan I have never met face to face, but appears to me a lovely person and is already a hard worker on USAT committees and commissions. She takes my place on the board and no-doubt will be a better board member that I might've been, had I decided to re-enlist. I've heard nothing but good about Jim Donaldson and Steve Meckfessel (whom I believe puts on the highly regarded St. Anthony's race). I do not know Melissa Merson but I do know her opponent, Rob Kasper, and he's a stand-up guy and is a definite asset to the current board. I also note, if I remember right, that he has not yet had to run against a woman. Now that he's got to play against the varsity, I wish Rob the best of luck—he might have graduated to a tougher league.