Baumgartner re-elected president at USA Wrestling Board of Directors meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo.

USA Wrestling hosted its annual Board of Directors Meeting at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Saturday, August 17, 2024. USA Wrestling president Bruce Baumgartner of Edinboro, Pa. chaired the meeting.

The Board of Directors held elections for a number of positions within the organization, including its officers, Board of Directors at-large members, as well as open positions on a number of standing committees.

Baumgartner was unanimously re-elected as president of USA Wrestling and will serve a four-year term from 2025-28. Also elected to a four-year term as First Vice President was Joan Fulp of El Granada, Calif.

Officers elected to two-year terms from 2025-26 were Second Vice-President Kerry McCoy of Coopersburg, Pa., Secretary Nate Engel of Albany, Ore., and Treasurer Don Reynolds of Bloomington, Ill.  

Reynolds was re-elected as Treasurer. In the previous term, McCoy was First Vice President and Fulp was Second Vice President. Engel was elected as an officer for the first time.

There were six At-Large Members of the Board of Directors elected: Lori Ayres of Palo Alto, Calif., Jason Christenson of Runnells, Iowa, Pat Culp of Columbia City, Ind., Sam Julian of Schuylkill Haven, Pa., Heather Lawrence of Athens, Ohio and Van Stokes of Clarksville, Tenn.

Zac Dominguez of Papillion, Neb. was elected as a member of the Executive Committee. Angie Taylor of Fairfax, Va. was re-elected as the Independent member of the Board of Directors.

Others elected to open positions on USA Wrestling standing committees included:

Long Range Planning Committee: Rob Cate of Las Vegas, Nev., Adeline Gray of Colorado Springs, Colo., Jonny Ruggiano of Pearblossom, Calif., Robby Smith of Concord, Calif., Van Stokes of Clarksville, Tenn.

Governance Committee: Michael Kummer of Gallatin Gateway, Montana, Joe Stabilito of Maple Glen, Pa., Van Stokes of Clarksville, Tenn.

Men’s Freestyle Sport Committee: Jamill Kelly of Durham, N.C, Joe Stabilito of Maple Glen, Pa., Wynn Michalak of Coats, N.C.

Greco-Roman Sport Committee: Nate Engel of Albany, Ga., Matt Paeth of Omaha, Neb., Robby Smith of Concord, Calif.

Women’s Freestyle Sport Committee: Lori Ayres of Palo Alto, Calif., Emma Randall of Jersey City, N.J., Iris Smith of Colorado Springs, Colo.

In his role as president, Baumgartner named the chairpersons of the Sport Committees for the next Olympic quadrennium: Jamill Kelly (Freestyle Sport), Zac Dominguez (Greco-Roman Sport) and Iris Smith (Women’s Freestyle Sport).

Treasurer Don Reynolds presented the Finance Committee Report, which included a financial overview of the organization, a review of the organization’s Fiscal Year 2023-24 performance to date, as well as a summary of the proposed Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget document which was approved by the Finance Committee and submitted for consideration for approval by the Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors approved the Fiscal Year 2024-25 Budget, as presented by the Finance Committee. The budget included $20,649,326 in Revenue and $20,595,443 in Expenditures, for a positive $53,883 Revenue Over Expenses.

“Our operations across the board are why we have had the financial results that we have. Every single department, the grassroots and every part of the organization is clicking. The budget is balanced and will accommodate our current growth and lead us into the next Olympic quad. The growth curve is going to keep going north, and there are going to be opportunities for us to leverage LA28,” said Reynolds.

In his President’s Report, Baumgartner gave an update on the events and activities he attended on behalf of the organization during the 2023-24 season, and shared his perspective about how the organization has done in achieving its goals and fulfilling its mission.

“USA Wrestling had an awesome year. One thing I have noticed in talking to people at the events I’ve attended is that wholeheartedly USA Wrestling does a good job. We should be proud of what we do, but we should never stop improving. I believe USA Wrestling, as a result of our volunteers, our coaches, our organization, our staff, our athletes and our officials, that we are one of the best NGBs in the Olympic movement. Our goal should be to strive to continue that and always get better. We are looking forward to another great year,” said Baumgartner.

In the Executive Director Report and United World Wrestling Update, USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender gave his perspective of the current status of USA Wrestling, praised Bruce Baumgartner for his leadership, congratulated the Athlete Advisory Committee and its athlete-leaders for their achievements and turned his focus to future opportunities.

“It is easy for us to be complacent. We’ve talked about all of the successes we have had. It is cool to be around a group of athletes, staff and volunteers who are committed that complacency is not going to creep into this organization. We have success because of hard work, effort and dedication from a group of people who are all-in. We have a lot in front of us. LA28 will be here before we know it. It is a unique opportunity for the sport of wrestling. With the growth of women’s wrestling, coupled with the revitalization of the sport at the grassroots level, there are a lot of reasons to think that we are going to go into LA and smash it,” said Bender.

The Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee (JOWC) Report was presented by Pat Culp, and included a variety of items affecting the grassroots program. The Board approved the acceptance of the JOWC report, which puts into effect a number of changes in age-group wrestling rules and procedures.

Among the items approved was the use of 2024-25 National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) scoring rules for USA Wrestling national events and the Folkstyle Tour of America events. NFHS scoring rules have included a number of changes.

Also approved was a modification to a rules clarification for the Girls Divisions at the USA Wrestling Folkstyle Nationals and Folkstyle Tour of America events. The specific modification approved is “the beginning of wrestling in regulation (1, 2 and 3 periods) and overtime shall begin in the neutral position.”  The approved item also included additional clarification for the neutral start for these events. It spells out changes in how the overtime will be conducted. If there is no scoring in the first overtime period, there will be two 30-second periods conducted similarly to the freestyle activity period.

Other actions included elimination of a qualification requirement for the USA Wrestling Kids Nationals, as well as elimination of a specified minimum weight for any wrestler at the Kids Nationals. New weight classes were approved at the 14U level for boys and girls, as well as new weight classes for girls at the 16U and Junior levels.

Pat Ream of Missouri was approved as the Chairperson of the National Council of State Chairpersons. Also announced was that Kristie Mann of Arkansas was named State Chairperson of the Year. The President’s Award winner was Jason Christenson of Iowa.

The Board also approved the report of the Audit Committee, which included its receipt of the organization’s audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2023, as well as the recommendation to retain Waugh & Goodwin, LLP to serve as USA Wrestling’s auditor for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2024.

Included in staff reports was an extensive National Teams Update by Director of National Teams High Performance Cody Bickley, including a summary of Team USA’s performance at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Manager of Safe Sport and Compliance Kenya Dixon presented a Safe Sport and Compliance Report. Director of Communications and Special Projects Gary Abbott gave a Communications and Special Projects Report. Director of State Services Tony Black provided a detailed report on USA Wrestling’s record membership year as well as other State Services activities.

The meeting also included verbal reports from a variety of USA Wrestling committees and constituent groups, as well as the submission of written reports from those not in attendance.