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USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known for a number of years as The Athletics Congress (TAC) after its spin off from the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), which governed the sport in the US through most of the 20th century until the Amateur Sports Act of 1978 dissolved its responsibility. Based in Indianapolis, USATF is a non-profit organization with a membership of nearly 100,000. The organization is led by an elected President Stephanie Hightower and a full-time Executive Director/CEO. On April 23, 2012, USATF announced the CEO position, that had been vacant since July 2010 with the termination of the contract with Doug Logan, would be filled by former NASCAR executive Max Siegel. USA Track & Field is involved in many aspects of the sport at the local, national, and international level – providing the rules, officials, coaching education, sports science and athlete development, youth programs, masters (age 40+) competition, the National Track & Field Hall of Fame, and an annual meeting. It also organizes the annual USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Through its sanctioning program, the national body provides the insurance coverage necessary for members to rent facilities, thus allowing for competitive opportunities for all athletes to happen. ==History== On January 30, 1878, in the city of New York, rower and runner William B. Curtis founded what officially became, in 1887, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). The AAU governed the sport of track and field in the United States until 1979, when the first Amateur Sports Act of 1978 decreed that the AAU could no longer hold international franchises for more than one sport. The enactment of the Amateur Sports Act was prompted by lobbying by amateur athletes, particularly runners, who felt that the AAU imposed artificial rules preventing widespread participation in sports. The Athletics Congress (TAC) emerged from the AAU in late 1979, when its first annual meeting was conducted in Las Vegas, in conjunction with the annual AAU Convention. A constitutional convention was subsequently held in Dallas–Fort Worth in 1980. In 1992, TAC changed its name to USA Track & Field (USATF) to increase recognition for the organization and for the sport in the United States. However, USATF inherited from AAU the 57 regional associations which are responsible for promoting the sport in a particular state or locality. Many of these associations were viewed as unaccountable to their members and some were accused of operating in a racially discriminatory manner. In addition, in some areas, the AAU continues to organize track and field events, including youth running programs. In response, the USATF restructured the Associations, and adopted Regulation 15, which set minimum standards for association performance and called for biannual accreditation of each association under those standards. In May 2008, the United States Olympic Committee notified USATF that its governance was deficient and threatened to remove its national governing body status unless major reforms were made.〔(Bill Roe press conference excerpts ), 07-01-2008. Retrieved February 23, 2009.〕 In response, at USATF's December 2008 Convention, the size of its Board of Directors was reduced from 31 members who had represented constituencies within the organization to 15, and none of the new directors could have an operating role in the organization. Most of the new board members represented sponsoring organizations. On February 18, 2009, the members of the new, reduced Board were announced.〔(USATF announces new Board of Directors ), 02-18-2009. Retrieved February 23, 2009.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「USA Track & Field」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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