Ray Plotecia, a long-time triathlete and both regional and national triathlon federation official in February was elected president of triathlon’s national governing body, USA Triathlon. Plotecia, from Towson, MD, has had a distinguished career in triathlon and has raced at every distance from the sprint to the Ironman while also contributing to the administrative end of the sport.

The USA Triathlon Board of Directors, at its meeting in the new USA Triathlon National Training Center in Clermont, Fl, also elected Clermont resident Fred Sommer as vice president. Diane Travis, also from Clermont, was elected treasurer, and Greensboro, NC's Karen Buxton was elected secretary-general.

Actions taken by the Board include:

1/ Funding was set aside by the Age Group Commission so that a representative can attend the World Conference on Women and Sport to be conducted in Montreal, Canada, later this year;

2/ A resolution was passed that modifies the awarding of vacant national team slots to elite athletes who earn adequate ITU points between national team evaluation time frames;

3/ A committee was set to create the protocol for Olympic team selection and Olympic trials venue selection. The committee will consist of USA Triathlon President Ray Plotecia, National Teams Director Libby Burrell, National Coaching Committee representative Gale Bernhardt, past Olympic trials race director Rick Margiotta, and three elite athlete representatives as selected by USA Triathlon Athletes Advisory Council;

4/ A resolution was passed that further defines and enforces potential penalties on race directors who do not comply with USA Triathlon safety and administrative requirements;

5/ The Board considered a resolution that would better identify time frames of suspension in the event an athlete does not maintain a current USA Triathlon license. The language pertinent to the resolution will be referred to the USA Triathlon Legal Committee;

6/ Collegiate Elites will be allowed to compete in the upcoming USA Triathlon National Collegiate Championship;

7/ Team USA User Fee Amounts as presented by the Age Group Committee were approved. The concepts of a fee were originally supported through a resolution passed in February;

8/ The Medical Committee's proposed restructuring plan as well as a new staffing plan for each of Team USA's medical teams was approved;

9/ The use of Regional Federation funds to be applied towards the purchase of uniforms for certified officials was approved. In November, the Board had approved an increase in the budget of .25 per member to the regions to help offset this cost.