5/20/2003: AUA TO NAME AMERICAN TEAM TO 2003 WORLD 24-HOUR RACE Following an agreement with USA Track & Field and its MUT Sport Council, the American Ultrarunning Association will sponsor and select the American team to participate in the IAU 24-Hour Run World Challenge, to be held in Uden, The Netherlands, on October 11, 2003. The team selection process will be as follows: (1) The Men’s and Women's gold and silver medalists from the 2002 USA 24-Hour Championship will be automatically named to the team. (2) AUA will select one American man and one American woman who have each distinguished themselves exceptionally and uniquely over the course of the past two decades by consistent, world-class performance at the 24-hour event, and who have supported and promoted the USA 24-hour championship with national-class achievement for more than a decade.  These athletes are Roy Pirrung and Sue Ellen Trapp.  Since this World 24-Hour is an inaugural event of this type, selection to this team for these two athletes on this basis is considered a one-time, special honor and reward for their contributions to the history of the American 24-hour event. (3) Any American man or woman who has completed a bona-fide 24-hour race between January 1, 2002 and June 15, 2003 and who has achieved a performance level of at least 75% of the currently existing, absolute, respective 24-hour world records (rounded to the nearest, lower, full mile) will be named to the team.  This selection criterion results in performance standards of 141 miles for men and 116 miles for women.  If implementation of this standard results in teams of more than 6 men or 6 women, then, after the standards (1) and (2) above have been implemented, athletes selected by standard (3) will be added to the team in order of greatest mileage achieved. (4) Performances for standard (3) above shall be considered from events conducted on tracks or road courses which were USATF-certified at the time of the event, or which otherwise may be deemed acceptable for record purposes by the Road Running Technical Council of USATF.  The AUA selection committee reserves the right to reject any performance from any event if it is determined that the performer gained a material advantage from being paced. (5) Current USATF membership shall be a requirement for membership on this team. (6) A single team coordinator/manager shall be named.  The team coordinator/manager shall be USATF-MUT Council Vice-Chair Roy Pirrung, acting in the capacity of “player/coach” for the American team for this event. (5) Athletes selected for the American Ultrarunning teams will be subject to the following competition restrictions leading up to the 2003 World 24-Hour event:  No competitions longer than 100km after Aug. 15, and no competitions longer than 50 miles after Sept. 1. (6) In the event that the above-defined team selection process results in American Men’s or Women’s teams of less than 3 athletes each, the team coordinator shall be authorized to utilize his discretion to nominate American athlete replacements to fill out a minimum contingent of 3 American men and 3 American women.  The final appointment of such replacement athletes to the team shall be subject to approval by the AUA Executive Board.