The board of directors approved the changes under pressure from the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

 

The plan will be submitted to the entire USATF membership at its annual meeting in Reno on December 3.

 

USATF chief executive Doug Logan said: "We simply must become a more efficient and effective organization.

 

"It is the belief of our board that this is the right plan, at the right time, to govern ourselves."

 

He said the proposed changes "are the result of countless hours and days of analysing ourselves as an organisation."

 

The board of directors would be reduced from its current 32 members to 15.

 

The federation also would expand the authority of the chief executive to provide better oversight to the USATF's national team staffs, Logan said.

 

The restructured board would include the USATF president and a seat each to the areas of high performance, long distance running, general competition, youth, coaches and officials groups.

 

Three seats would go to athletes and three to "independent" members from outside the USATF.

 

Another seat would represent other related organizations, such as the NCAA.

 

The 15th seat would go to the USATF's representative to the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

 

Logan said: "This reduction in size is in line with current practices in the nonprofit world of smaller, more nimble and efficient boards."

 

The USATF plans to hire a full-time employee responsible and accountable to the programmes of the federation's high performance committee.

 

Logan said he would announce a restructuring of the USATF national office in Indianapolis later this year.

 

Earlier this year, the USOC threatened sanctions, including cutting off funding of $2 million (£1.2 million) per year and even decertification if the USATF did not move more quickly to reform what was widely seen as a bloated and unwieldy structure.