Call for Volunteers for USATF MLDR Committee on Team Eligibility Rules

January 9, 2019. Bill Quinlisk is Chairing an Ad Hoc Committee to examine current USATF Championship Team Eligibility Rules and Residency guidelines.* The Committee is charged to make recommendations to the USATF Masters LDR Executive Committee by June 1, 2020. The timing is so that the Committee's recommendations, if adopted by the Masters LDR Committee, can be considered as Rules Changes at the Annual Meeting. [Rules changes are only allowed in even numbered years.] An additional 3 to 5 members are being sought. The Committee will meet by conference call. If interested in serving, or if you have questions, please contact Bill Quinlisk no later than January 31, 2019 at: crosscountry@usatf.org.

Background (if interested): Some years ago, the rule on residency permitted runners from adjacent Associations to count as ‘resident’ members of teams. Residency rules were changed to only allow one member from outside the Association on each team. At that time, a Grandfather Clause [GC] was introduced that allowed all of those adjacent association resident members to continue to count as ‘resident’ members. At the same time, other long-time resident members on several teams who were about to move (often upon retirement) to a different area, were ‘grandfathered in’ as ‘resident members.’

Quinlisk has received complaints in recent years that the GC Rule has allowed a few Clubs to establish ‘All-Star’ teams from several different associations rather than having everyone on the team from the same association or all but one from the same Association. This Committee call for volunteers was originally issued at the 2018 USATF Annual Meeting in Columbus OH.

Questions should be addressed to Bill Quinlisk at the above email address, not to this blog.

*Posted at the request of the USATF Masters LDR Committee