Countdown to Lillehamer / ’94 Winter Olympics : USOC Talks of Harding : Olympics: Board to meet early next week to determine if skater will remain on U.S. team, sources say.

The U.S. Olympic Committee’s Games Administrative Board will meet early next week to decide whether figure skater Tonya Harding can compete in the Winter Olympics, USOC sources said Sunday.

Although the USOC’s official position remained that it would announce this week whether to call a hearing to discuss the matter, one source said it was “97, 98, 99%” certain to happen.

“I don’t know why we’re playing games with you on that,” said another source, adding that USOC officials were meeting into the early morning hours in Lillehammer today to try to set a date when all 13 members of the board could attend.

As required by the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, Harding must be invited to appear at the hearing. Adding to the logistical complications, the USOC had no firm travel plans for her as of Sunday, but had been advised by her attorney that she might not arrive in Norway until Feb. 15, three days after Saturday’s opening ceremony.

A U.S. Figure Skating Assn. hearing panel reported Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo., that it found reasonable grounds to believe Harding was involved in either the plan to attack rival Nancy Kerrigan during last month’s national championships in Detroit or the cover-up.

Within hours, the USOC set in motion the process that could result in Harding’s removal from the team if the Games Administrative Board decides that her actions violated the organization’s code of conduct.

But the USOC’s executive director, Harvey Schiller, said Sunday that the committee would not proceed until its president, LeRoy Walker, has time to evaluate more than 300 pages of documentation made available by the USFSA.

The USOC has until Feb. 21, two days before the women’s competition begins in Hamar, Norway, to name its two entrants. Kerrigan, who has recovered from knee injuries suffered in the assault, was waived onto the team, while Harding earned her berth by winning the national championship.

The first alternate is Michelle Kwan, 13, of Torrance, who finished second to Harding in Detroit. Although International Olympic Committee rules do not allow alternates to live in the athletes’ village or train in the official practice rink, the USFSA, according to a member of Norway’s figure skating association, has reserved time at a rink near Oslo where Kwan can train until Harding’s status is resolved.

Kwan is expected to arrive next Sunday or Monday in Oslo, about 110 miles south of Lillehammer.

In response to a question Saturday night about whether the USOC felt pressured to decide soon whether to hold a hearing, the U.S. team leader, Howard Buxton, said: “It’s like the old cliche: in all deliberate haste. We have 151 athletes here. We can’t allow this to continue to be a distraction. That time is of the essence is everyone’s gut feeling.”

That also was the argument advanced Sunday in informal discussions by administrative board members who want the hearing date set as soon as possible, sources said. “There are a number of us who want to bring this to closure as soon as possible,” one said. “The Games are almost here. We need to get something done one way or the other. It’s time.

“But it’s difficult logistically. Some administrative board members are here, some are in Oslo, some are in the United States and some are en route. We’re also being very careful because of all the little nuances. This thing has to be done properly in every respect. We want to make sure that Tonya’s right to due process is protected.”

The International Olympic Committee is the final judge of who competes in the Games. Although its secretary general, Francois Carrard, has repeatedly said the IOC will act on Harding’s status, if necessary, other IOC officials have been adamant that they prefer this matter to be resolved by the USOC.