2007 AWSA Summer Board of Directors Meeting
August 12, 2007
8:00 AM
1) Opening and Call to Order: Jeff Smith called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m.
2)
Introduction
and Roll Call: President, Jim Grew (S-Executive & Coaches); Secretary,
Janet Piercy (MW-HND); Bob Mayhew (SC-EVP); Ron Ives (SC); T. Caldwell
(SC-incoming); Jerry Bautsch (SC-Drivers); Pat Byrne (E-EVP); Jon Thatcher (E);
Steve Lohr (E-alternate for Doug Robbins); Ed Nichols (E-incoming); Barry Young
(W-EVP-incoming); TC Boice (W-outgoing EVP-incoming director); Gaile Heieck (W);
Mike Hayes (W- outgoing director &
alternate for Merle Vasbinder); Carey Zimlich (S-EVP); Jim Jaquess (S); Lyman
Hardy (S); Jack Travers (S-outgoing); Chris Eller (S-incoming); Vice President,
Don Bucher (MW-NSL & Nominating–HND); Jeff Surdej (MW-EVP & Ratings,
CTF); Chairman of the Board, Jeff Smith
(MW-Judges/Scorers); Treasurer, Tom Danford (MW-Rules); Dave Clark
(MW-outgoing); Dean Chappell (MW-incoming); ACC - Jonathan Travers; Committee
Chairs & HNDs: Jeff Clark (Bylaws-HND), Laura Johnson (Seeding), Tom Dusin
(Technical), Hank Longo (Announcers), Leon Larsen (Safety), Andrea Plough
(HND), Bill Winner (HND). Action Report #1: Jeff
Smith moved to allow non-board members and committee chairs to sit in the meeting. Tom Danford seconded and motion carried.
3) Appointment of Parliamentarian and Agenda Review: Jeff Clark appointed. Because of tournament work, the Technical, Drivers and Seeding Chairs have asked to go first under committee reports.
4) Announcement of Quorum: Yes
5)
Review and
Approval of the January 27, 2007 Board Meeting Minutes: Action Report #2: Pat Byrne
moved to approve January Board Minutes with a second from Jon Thatcher, motion
carried. Jeff Smith asked to have
Bylaws look into whether AWSA meetings (BOD and others) can be opened to the
membership (without voice or vote). Members should have easier access to
information pertaining to meetings times & places. (HQ will work on this
and make it easier to find information in general, including easier web site
access).
6) Clay Neill Grievance (on conference line): Action Report #3: Motion to move to executive session by Jim Jaquess, seconded by Pat Byrne, motion passed. After much discussion and deliberation, the Board returned to its regular meeting; and the matter was presented for a vote by the Board on the following question: Has the Appellant (Clay Neill) established (proved) by clear and convincing evidence that the Technical Committee’s decision was arbitrary or unreasonable. The decision of the Technical Committee is affirmed by a vote of 12 (to affirm) to 6 (to overrule). Jack Travers asked that all Senior Clinic material for Drivers and Judges be revised in light of this experience.
Board Certificates: Jim Grew handed out Certificates of Appreciation to Jack Travers and Dave Clark for their time served on AWSA’s Board. Those Board members stepping down and not in attendance will receive theirs by snail mail: Pat Holland and Doug Robbins. Jeff Smith offered accolades for the work performed by these members; and the Board gave them a standing ovation. Newly elected Board members joined the table.
*** New Board Members can vote.
7) Nominating Committee – (Don Bucher): Candidates for Honorary National Director are: Brenda Baldwin, Dave Clark, Mike Hayes and Roger Hammel. Jim Jaquess asked about former ACC Board members. Jim Grew would check into it. Action Report #4: Move to approve these four candidates. Seconded by Tom Danford, motion passed.
Officers up for nomination: Jeff Smith – Chairman of the Board, Jim Grew and Jim Jaquess – President, Don Bucher and Lyman Hardy – Vice President, Janet Piercy – Secretary, Tom Danford – Treasurer.
Carey Zimlich put into nomination
Jeff Clark for President. Jim Jaquess
removed his name from consideration.
Steve Lohr was charged with counting the ballots. The candidates were given an opportunity to
speak. Ballots were tallied. Action Report #5: The new officers are: Jeff Smith, COB – Jim
Grew, President - Don Bucher, Vice
President – Tom Danford, Treasurer – Janet Piercy, Secretary.
8) President’s Report (Jim Grew): Written report included in BOD packet. Jim kept us informed through his emails. Jim thanked Jeff Smith and Debbie Lamb for their productive stints as chairs (Judges & Scorers/Jr. Development respectively). Jim asked the EVPs to have their committee changes to him by November 1st. He further asked that the directors please attend the Membership Meeting. Executive Committee new members are: Pat Byrne (E), TC Boice (W) and Carey Zimlich (S). Action Report #6: Pat Byrne moved to accept report. Seconded by Dean Chappell, motion passed.
Jim Grew presented Jeff Surdej and Dave Clark with special certificates in recognition of their outstanding contribution in making the AWSA’s Ranking List a reality. Mark Crone received his earlier. The Board also gave them a standing ovation.
9)
Executive
Director’s Report (No Executive Director – Jim Grew gave update): Since
April 14th, he has been meeting weekly with the HQ Directors. He also meets with the mid-level dept. managers
occasionally and monthly with the full staff. Jim Jaquess put out an email
through his contacts which has resulted in some good leads for ED. Jim Grew thanked him and said that BOD
members are welcome to recruit. The
Search Committee did look at the prospect of hiring a head hunter, but decided
not to pursue that avenue. Pat Byrne stated that one can purchase their
services a la carte. The Search Co. has already
received 50. Mike Hanson, Chair and NSSA President, is the person to contact
with suggestions. Action Report #7: Bob
Mayhew moved to accept report, seconded by Carey Zimlich. Motion passed.
10)
Treasurer’s
Report – 2007 year to date (Tom Danford): Balance Sheet as of June 30, 2007 shows a
balance of $56,633.18. AWSA has not
received the Hunter donation as of yet, so that the elite Team account is down
to about $1000. Action Report #8: Pat Byrne
moved to accept with Jon Thatcher’s second, report accepted.
11) Executive Committee Report (Jim Grew): There was nothing to add as the committee has not met since the last Board meeting. All discussions have been carried out by email and decisions communicated to the Board in the same fashion.
12)
National
Championships
a.
2007 – Scott
Snape proposed that we change the Class L events from our original stipulation
in 2003. He wanted Open Men & Women to be run as L or R, Boys 3 & Girls
3, Men & Women 1-2 as L and all other divisions as E. Jim Jaquess said that we couldn’t change what
has already been announced and mirrored at some Regionals. Bob Mayhew asked that the issue be sent to
the EC for discussion when it meets in December.
Tom Dusin said that the Technical Committee had voted to remove the video on slalom gates requirement for the 2007 Nationals and beyond because (1) only the ACC athletes asked for it, (2) this site is very narrow, affording officials an excellent view and (3) no other tournament in the world required video for gates for E/L/R events, not even the World Championships. Dave Clark said that gate video equipment is mandated by the Board (Rule 10.08 b, second paragraph, last sentence) for this tournament; but its necessity in setting up the site, although clearly required, was not spelled out in the contract. At this point, can this be accomplished by early morning anyway? The Rules Committee did not have enough time to respond to the request from Tech, and that is why the issue is not mentioned in the report. Action Report #9: Amend the Rule 10.08 b, last sentence) to remove the slalom gate video requirement at Nationals, seconded by Bob Mayhew. The vote was 10/11 and the motion failed.
Carey Zimlich said that this is
the second year the ‘Nasty Boys’ jumpers from
Tom Dusin asked if he could amend
his motion from before. Action Report #10: Motion to bring back the
issue of slalom gate video camera use. T
Action Report #11: Steve Lohr asked the Tech Committee to give us a
cost analysis for purchase and maintenance of and the time involved to set up
gate video equipment for this tournament and to table it until the Tech Co.
presents its report. Seconded by T
*Tabled item. After discussion it was determined that the
LOC was mandated to provide the equipment necessary to implement these
procedures. Action Report #12: Jon
Thatcher moved that, if the LOC was unable to do so, the volunteers would
purchase and provide the necessary equipment with all funds expended being withheld
from the final amount owed to the LOC under contract. Carey
Zimlich seconded, motion carried.
In answer to the hotel situation,
Amanda Willson said that the Days Inn would accept us (for those moving from HJs). The other option was to split up our group
among several other hotels. Carey had
already moved the SR officials to the
b.
2008 – There
was a single bid, Ski West Village
Ski Team. Jim Grew said that a new bid
form, a complete Request for Proposal (RFP) would go out to every 3 lake site
by September 15th. It would
be due back by January 15th.
Jim said that we originally had four clubs interested; but, as the deadline date grew closer (even with a 45 day extension), HQ had only one bid. If we have any concerns or questions on this bid, BOD members should pass them on to Jim. Carey thought that AWSA should include the EVPs in the bid process in the future both before and after AWSA receives bids. It was further suggested that we form a Nationals Task Force with past and present Chief Judges, Technical Co-Chairs and the EVPs to revise the current contract so that we avoid just such problems. Jim Grew would meet with the EVPs at lunch to set deadlines and establish a plan on how to proceed.
Steve Lohr asked whether we could
decide by email ballot on the host for the 2008 Nationals. Carey has been in
contact with Charlotte Melchers with the thought that
*Special EVP meeting on 2008 Nationals & beyond: A Nationals Task Force consisting of the EVPs, the TC Co-Chairs, recent Nationals chiefs and other experts as deemed necessary, with Carey Zimlich as Chair, would put together a revised contract for the 08 Nationals, addressing issues of concern that have been raised in the last few years, such as hospitality, by September 15th at the latest, and submit it to the President. This contract would in turn be sent to all clubs who would have expressed an interest in hosting the 2008 Nationals by that time. Those clubs who agreed in principle to the new contract would have their bids reviewed by the Board by email ballot by November 1st at the latest.
c.
2009 &
beyond: Jeff Surdej would be putting
in a bid for a 2 lake site. They have
worked out a schedule.
*This same committee will then work to create a Request for Proposal for future Nationals – 09 and beyond – that will be sent, by October 15th, to all clubs who have three lake sites and others who express an interest such as Jeff. These RFPs must be returned by January 15th.
13) Athletic Advisory Council
Report (Freddy Krueger): No report.
14) Committee Reports
a.
Awards (Sherm
Schraft): No report.
b. Bylaws (Jeff Clark): Written report included in BOD packet. (no proposed changes)
c. International Activities (Frank Harrison, given by Jim Grew): Written report included in BOD packet. There was a proposal on appointing fewer officials for a team trials and conducting a shorter event (two versus three days, two versus three rounds for example). If it were approved to have fewer appointed officials, Jeff Clark was concerned that we would lose our workers. IAC would review this issue this fall. Action Report #14: Barry Young moved to accept report. Seconded by TC Boice, motion carried.
d. Judges & Scorers (Jeff Smith): Written report included in BOD packet. Action Report # 15: The committee recommended approval for 3-event Dan Custer as Senior Judge Emeritus and Joyce Rucker as Senior Scorer Emeritus. Seconded by Carey Zimlich, motion passed. The committee would ask HQ to send work credits to officials on the ‘off’ year. It was mentioned that HQ should consider including this info on line if cost allowed. Jim Jaquess asked the committee to look at allowing younger Open skiers to become Regular/Senior Judges or Scorers. Action Report # 16: Jim Jaquess moved to accept report. Seconded by Pat Byrne and passed.
e.
Rules (Tom
Danford): Written report included in
BOD packet. No proposals. He didn’t have much to present to the IWSF. He has had a request to eliminate the 6-flip
rule. Carey Zimlich said that their region asked that the requirement to pay officials
$150 per day be removed for cash tournaments.
If the LOC wanted to pay it, that was fine; but, if the LOC and the officials
agreed not to be paid, why should it be required? Scott Snape had asked that the Regionals and
Nationals trick events be pulled according to boat selection (i.e., all Correct
Craft, then all Mastercraft, etc.) Pat Byrne asked that the applicable Zero Off
wording in the blanket exception for 2008 be changed to “2008 Nationals
qualification”. Action Report #17: TC Boice moved to accept report. Lyman Hardy seconded, motion carried.
f.
Technical (Tom
Dusin): Written report included in BOD packet. No action until winter. Jon Thatcher didn’t believe that the wording
in the report “and do not require BOD approval any longer” conformed to our
bylaws as written. Action Report #18: Bob Mayhew
moved that changes to the record review protocol must be approved by the
Board. Seconded by Dean Chappell, motion
passed. Jeff asked that the
Technical Committee presentation for the January BOD meeting include the revised
application form and protocols as part of their report requiring approval. Bob Mayhew suggested that the completion of record
applications be part of our Judges/Drivers Clinic materials.
g. Coaches Advisory (Jim Grew): No report.
h. Junior Development (Debbie Lamb, given by Jim Grew): Written report included in BOD packet. Jim Grew related that she thanked us for the time she chaired this committee. The BOD, in turn, thanked her for the time she has served as she has done an excellent job. Action Report #19: Jim Jaquess moved to accept report. Pat Byrne seconded, motion carried.
i.
Safety (James
Babcock not present): Written report included in BOD packet (no action
items).
j.
Seeding (Laura
Johnson): Written report included in BOD packet. Laura thanked Dave Clark
and Mark Crone for all their help. Action
Report #20: Pat Byrne moved to accept report, seconded by Dave Clark, motion
carried. Dave Clark explained about
the future of WSTMS (20 year old program). David Allen from the East was going to start
the process of converting WSTMS into a Windows format or creating a new Windows
based program. He was going to need a
lot of support from various people, committees and HQ. Jeff Smith asked if Dave Clark would lead us
into what needs to be done to implement this new scoring program.
k. Skiers’ Rating (Jeff Surdej): Written report included in BOD packet. By-Laws would present a change of name for the committee at our winter meeting. The committee had to come up with a new overall calculation because of the use of the rolling 12 months Ranking List. An updated NOPS could result in a different overall score in a new year from that obtained with the same scores from the same tournament in the prior year. It was the consensus of the BOD for the January meeting that we receive an explanation on how this worked with more study done on the overall and overlaps between years. Action Report #21: Dean Chappell moved to accept report, seconded by TC Boice, motion carried.
l.
Boat Drivers
(Jerry Bautsch): Written report included in BOD packet. Gary Mahler and Al Rucker have requested
Senior Driver Emeritus (3 event) status.
Action Report #22: Committee recommended approval. Carey Zimlich seconded, motion passed. Jeff Smith asked that, when the Drivers
Co. revises the course module, that the same module and info be included in the
materials for all officials’ categories.
m. Towboat (George Lindy & Will Bush, with Lyman Hardy presenting): Written report included in BOD packet. Zero off would be used next year. Rules needed to make the necessary changes to allow for the introduction of this system. Action Report #23: Carey Zimlich moved to accept report. Seconded by Jeff Surdej, motion carried.
n.
Cable (Sherm
Schraft not present): Written report included in BOD packet. Jim Jaquess wondered why we have this committee
among ours and asked that the EC look into its necessity.
o. NSL (Don Bucher): Written report included in BOD packet. His goal was to get some meaning to the ranking list for the NSL skier as we needed to motivate our entry level skiers. The committee hasn’t met since the last Pro-Am and wanted to look at where we go with the Pro-Am in the future. Action report #24: Carey Zimlich moved to accept report, seconded by Barry Young, motion carried.
p.
Announcers (Hank
Longo): Written report included in BOD packet. Carol Boice and Traci at HQ helped in sending
out the announcing guidelines Hank and the committee created. Announcers were
now included on our officials’ card. Hank had also designed another announcer
sheet. Polk County Sports Marketing is sponsoring
an electronic sign at HQ, viewable from I-4, announcing our water ski museum. Action report #25: Carey Zimlich moved to
accept report, seconded by Lyman Hardy, motion carried.
15) Regional Recommendations
A. East - Pat Byrne:
1) It was recommended that the video and written materials for Officials’ Testing be updated to reflect new rules and current conditions. Examples include:
1. Full Buoy Scoring in the Slalom Event
2. Flips in the Trick Event.
3. Video Jump Measurement in the Jump Event.
4. CPR Guidelines for safety.
1) It was recommended that the Rules Committee standardize the Trick Judging process because 3-5 Judges calling Trick runs from elevated shore towers was different in perspective from 3-5 Judges calling Trick runs from camera views placed in the boat. This was unfair to skiers who ski under one method all tournament season long and were then judged by another method at Nationals.
2) It was recommended that the Towboat Committee require GPS-based speed control systems to work off of a minimum of 4 satellites at any one time.
3) It was recommended that the Towboat Committee require GPS-based speed control systems to control the speed from pre-gate to pre-gate rather than from entrance gate to exit gate.
4) It was recommended that the Judges & Scorers Committee, Boat Drivers Committee, Technical Committee, and Safety Committee consider cross-over credits or lesser annual maintenance credits for officials holding multiple ratings.
B.
C. South - Carey Zimlich:
1) Rules should look at creating Masters Men Trick & Jump divisions.
2) AWSA needed to create a new version of WSTIMS that is Windows based. We needed to encourage the efforts of David Allen in that direction.
3) The Drivers Committee should look at allowing drivers who attend a clinic to receive both clinic and tournament driving credits.
4) Rules should look at adding a national level skier to the Rules Co. in addition to the three AAC, elite skier representatives.
5) Rules should review the new NOPS presentation that has been provided by Joel Norton.
D. South Central - Bob Mayhew:
1) The Judges & Scorers Committee should outline a strategic plan on how we would retain officials going through the system and entice Regulars to become Seniors now that the Ranking List system for Nationals Qualification was in place with no differentiation between Class C and Class E & above scores in terms of weighting.
E. West – Barry Young:
1) Rules should look at returning to the previous slalom buoy scoring method.
2) The West would work with HQ to see how the West could ensure that their Regional Guide included Appointed Announcers (Swift – Scott Atkinson).
3. There was concern, shared by others, about the absence of AAC representation at the BOD meeting at these and other Nationals.
16) Any Other Business: Tom Danford expressed appreciation for the generosity of the Southern Region which had donated $5500 for the Can-Am Team (applause and a big thank you).
17) Adjournment at 2:07 - Action report #26: Dean Chappell moved to adjourn, seconded by Tom Danford, meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by Janet Piercy, Secretary and edited by Jeff Smith and Jim Grew