Agenda Special Meeting of the USA Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 via Teleconference

Transcription

1 Agenda Special Meeting of the USA Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 via Teleconference I. General Information and Organizational Items General announcements Remarks Donald Anthony, President Motion (Mr. Anthony): To appoint Peter Westbrook as Independent Director for the remaining duration of the term of Terry Kwan. II. Approval of Minutes Motion (Mr. Baker): To approve the minutes from the February 19, 2013 Special Meeting of the Board of Directors. An emergency meeting of the Board was held on March 5, 2013 in response to changes made by the FIE to eligibility dates for the Veteran World Championships. During the emergency meeting, and in consultation with the Veterans Committee, the Board adopted a set of changes to the veterans national point standings, Veteran World Championship team selection process, and National Championship eligibility, and recommended plans to communicate the associated changes to the affected membership. In a vote conducted by mail and ending on April 5, 2013, the Board approved a contract extension with Leon Paul as Official Uniform Supplier through October 31, Motion (Mr. Baker): To approve the above record of actions taken during the March 5, 2013 Emergency Meeting of the Board of Directors and mail vote concluded April 5, III. Executive Director s Report (Val Belmonte) IV. Finance and Budget (Sam Cheris) Financial Reports Motion (Mr. Cheris): To receive the Budget Report, as submitted to the Board. US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 1

2 V. Committee and Task Force Matters Committee Reports Club Committee (Appendix A) Tournament Committee (Appendix B) Motion (Mr. Baker): To receive committee reports, as submitted to the Board. Motion (Mr. Baker): To approve the appointment of Doug Findlay to the Fencing Officials Commission with term expiring in Mr. Findlay replaces Iana Dakova in the class of 2016, while Ms. Dakova moves to ex-officio member for due to her election to the FIE Arbitrage Commission. VI. Legal Update (Jim Neale) VII. Old Business 1. Motion (Mr. Baker; Second: Mr. Benson): To adopt proposed amendments to the USA Fencing Bylaws, as previously published. The proposed amendments are included in Appendix C and reflect those originally numbered amendments 6 and 7. This motion was tabled at the Annual Meeting of the Board of Directors on September 30, Motion (Mr. Glon): That USA Fencing reinstitutes a one-day class of competitive membership. One day membership will be priced at $25. A one-day competitive membership allows participation in sanctioned USA Fencing tournaments at the local level and for qualifying events for National Championships and Junior Olympics. The one-day membership will not permit entry into National Championships, Junior Olympics, NACs, ROCs, SYCs, RYCs, or any event that may award national points. Insurance coverage for the day, at the same level as that offered to one-year competitive members, is included. All other benefits of membership, including but not limited to voting rights, subscription to American Fencing magazine, and a membership card are not included. The one-day membership shall be reinstituted effective August 1, Rationale: Motion Basis: The 1 day membership was removed as a result of failure to increase revenue and a failure to fulfill goals behind the initial institution of the 1 day membership. As originally constructed, the 1 day membership was designed to boost revenue through allowing individuals a trial membership to the USFA and once completed it was believed the individual would then permanently join the USFA through a purchase of a 1 year membership. This result did not occur and therefore the 1 day membership was terminated. However, the failure was not caused by the 1 day membership itself or US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 2

3 the rationale behind it, instead it was caused by incorrect pricing and/or failure to place necessary restrictions on the use of the membership. Issues caused by 1 day membership: Two main issues affected the success of the original institution and subsequent secondary institution of the 1 day membership. a. Price: The original 1 day membership was priced at $10. This price allowed for individuals to participate in 6 events before matching the current price of a 1 year membership. Most Local/regional level fencers do not participate in more than 6 events a year and therefore this method allowed for those individual to purchase 1 day memberships up to 6 times, costing the USFA $5 per person as a 1 year membership is currently $65. By raising the price to $20, the USFA moved in the proper direction but still allowed the individual to fence in 3 events before it being cost effective to purchase a 1 year membership. b. Lack of Proper Restrictions: While the price originally was set to allow cheap trial memberships in the hope of an individual joining with a full 1 year membership, by allowing an unlimited number of uses, the individual will likely not purchase the full year membership until reaching the tipping point described in subsection a above. Consequences of Removal of 1 Day Membership: As a result of removing the ability for individuals to utilize a 1 day membership, local attendance at smaller events has declined and the ability of new competitors to try their hands at competitions has diminished as now every individual is required to purchase a full 1 year membership. By requiring this, the USFA is discouraging individuals from trying competing and therefore instead of promoting individuals to join the USFA are doing the exact opposite. Motion Description: It is submitted that the Board of Directors reinstitute a modified 1 day membership. Under the new method of implementation, the board would reinstitute the 1 day membership under the same circumstances as it previously was except the price for the membership will be $25. This price would only allow for an individual to utilize the 1 day membership twice before it becomes cost effective for the individual to purchase the full 1 year membership. In effect, individuals will on average opt immediately for the full 1 year membership without even purchasing the 1 day membership. However, having the option to purchase the 1 day membership is important because it allows for individuals to have their trial membership and compete before fully committing to the 1 year membership. This method also removes the need for any additional software as the existing software in place will provide everything necessary for its implementation. Additionally, under this method an individual would have no reason to falsify their information and utilize additional one day memberships beyond the first two because the price of the third would be greater than the cost of the 1 year membership. Conclusion: The failures of the original 1 day membership are correctable and are easily feasible. The unintended consequences of the removal of the membership have also negatively impacted the USFA membership rates. Under the methods of implementation described above, the original failures can be corrected and will achieve the goals original intended. 3. Motion (Mr. Schiller): In order to improve communication between the USA Fencing Board of Directors and the National Office, the Executive Director shall provide a monthly report by to the Board due on the 15th of each month, informing them of major decisions and actions taken in the National Office which are not covered in his/her report given to a previous meeting (in person or by phone) of the US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 3

4 Board. All members of the Board shall be copied on this report. In addition, if members of the Board have questions or comments that are deemed worthy by the member to copy the entire Board, the response(s) from the National Office or President will be sent to all members of the Board. Finally, no major decision made by any member of the National Office will be made public before informing the entire Board at least 2 days in advance. 4. Motion (Mr. Glon): To create a task force to evaluate, get feedback from the membership (referees, FOC, coaches, athletes, parents, Tournament Committee, etc.) and come back with a set of proposals to help the FOC in their quest best to serve the fencing community. Proposed members of this task force include: Jerry Benson epee expert Doug Findlay foil expert Wes Glon sabre expert Omar Bhutta FOC liaison Iana Dakova - advisor 5. To approve the appointment of the Competition Formats Task Force. Proposed membership, charter, and anticipated time line for the task force are included in Appendix D. 6. To approve the appointment of the Sports Performance and Development Task Force. Proposed membership, mission, and deadline for the task force are included in Appendix E. VIII. New Business 1. Motion (Mr. Baker): To allow the National Office to accept and rule on the eligibility of entries for 2013 Summer Nationals as per established procedures. Any appeals will be directed to the Tournament Committee. This authority will be valid until July 31, Motion (Mr. Baker): To adopt a policy whereby a new competitive member whose annual dues are paid during the last four months of the membership year shall be entitled to competitive membership through the next membership year. This policy applies both to new members and to existing members who have never previously held a competitive membership. Rationale: For some time, our By-Laws have specified that new members whose annual dues were paid during the last four months of the membership year were entitled to membership for through the next membership year. The proposed policy extends the coverage provided by the By-Law to offer a similar extension to first-time competitive members. The spirit and rationale behind the By-Law provision is to ameliorate potential discouraging effects on new member sign-up that result from our having a fixed membership year without pro-rata fees for joining mid-season. There are good reasons for both of those characteristics and offering a soft-join period for new members provides a beneficial compromise. The step from non-competitive fencer to competitive fencer is similar in many ways to the step from non-member to member. Many of the same factors apply to these two situations. With the addition in of a requirement of USA Fencing membership for all participants in fencing-related activities at all Member Clubs, we have seen a dramatic surge in the number of members who are not yet competitive. As of March 31, 2013, USA Fencing has 10,037 Non-Competitive members, as well as 564 Supporting or Supporting Parent members. US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 4

5 3. Motion (Ms. Crouse, on behalf of the Tournament Committee): To direct the National Office, working with the Tournament Committee and others as appropriate, to research and develop a system of points-based qualification for the 2014 Junior Olympic and Summer Nationals championship events, such proposal to be presented to the Board for consideration at its May 8 meeting. Rationale: The current divisional championship qualification path is dysfunctional and inequitable, with widespread continuing problems with ineligible competitors and improper formats. The sheer number of championship qualifiers and entries exceed our capacity to process; the increasingly large events endanger our ability to run our championships according to the best interests of our athletes. Points-based qualification will relieve divisions of the burden of running qualifiers, reduce the processing workload on national office staff, and create a mechanism for managing event size. Without such a mechanism in place for 2014, our ability to run championship tournaments safely and efficiently is endangered. 4. Motion (Mr. Thompson): To approve the creation of a scholarship and permanent trophy in memory of Connor Porter. Rationale: Connor passed away on July 26, 2012 in a plane crash with his father and another friend shortly after placing 3rd in Div III Foil at the Summer Nationals. Connor had many friends in the fencing world and was well known for his sportsmanship and encouraging others. Both his mother, Trish, and father, Pat, are US Olympians. Trish Porter and her daughter, Shannon, have committed $4,000 to scholarship awards for 2013 award program ($2,000 each to one female and one male). The award will be based on an essay topic that will capture Connor s spirit. In addition, Trish and Shannon would like to donate a permanent trophy for the 3 rd place finishers in Div III Men s Foil. The design has not been chosen yet, but will be consistent with past permanent awards. The first presentation would be at the 2013 Summer Nationals event. Andy Shaw has been consulted and is supportive of this award. A waiver of the award design is requested until motion approval is received. 5. Discussion Item: 2013 Senior Zonal Championships funding IX. Good and Welfare Upcoming Board meetings via teleconference are scheduled for May 8, 2013 and June 12, X. Executive Session to consider personnel, litigation, disciplinary and membership matters XI. Adjournment Motion (Mr. Baker): To adjourn the meeting. US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 5

6 Appendix A Club Committee Report We have set a timeline of May 15th to develop the goals and responsibilities of the committee. We are at present having discussions as to what the scope of "club matters" really means that we as a committee could address. Some ideas to accomplish this are to: 1. Canvas the USFA or the committee members as to what questions arise within their clubs and develop a procedure for those questions to be answered by persons on the committee thus relieving some of the burden from the USFA office. 2. Development of a "Fencing Club Business Alliance" as a resource for clubs. Where we could meet on a regular basis to provide feedback, blog, forums, panel discussions at nationals, etc. 3. Continue to develop timely stories about club developments and accomplishments in the American Fencing Magazine by going to clubs in different regions to tell us about themselves and how they have accomplished their goals to promote fencing in their area. Working with the members of the committee, Jerry Benson of the Board and with Kris Ekeren, USFA staff liaison, we hope to have our recommendations as to the goals and responsibilities of the Club Committee at the next Board meeting. With Respect, Fernando Delgado Club Committee Chair US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 6

7 Appendix B Tournament Committee Report National Calendar for and Beyond As of April 10, the TC is still struggling with event combinations for the national calendar. Problems: no data to reliably determine the effects on entry numbers, officials & equipment needs, or financial viability of potential changes to the combinations used this season; response from tournament-related committees to requests for feedback on options being considered has been limited. Championship Qualification Paths Championships qualification through divisional qualifying tournaments is increasingly problematic: Many a majority of divisions do not follow the instructions for running their qualifiers, allowing ineligible (by age, category, or citizenship) fencers to compete or using improper formats. We have no mechanism for enforcing the rules governing such events. (35 of the 67 divisions have failed to file the required officers and financial reports as well.) The burden of processing qualifier results on National Office staff is becoming untenable. Results of events from each of 67 divisions must be reviewed by hand there is no current Railstation function to automate the process for compliance with qualifier rules, and then each SN or JOs event entry must be checked again by hand against the list of confirmed qualifiers. Even where division qualifiers are properly conducted, the overall results are inequitable in some divisions, fencers can qualify for championships without ever competing, while high-level competitors cannot qualify because they happen to live in more competitive divisions. Size of championship tournaments is growing beyond our ability to create workable schedules. We have fewer options when we create the schedules and are therefore less able to vary the days and conflicts so that the same groups are not repeatedly affected by them. As always, saber events are routinely flighted; this season, foil and epee events also had to be flighted, and several times saber had to be triple-flighted. Because there are so many large events, some must be scheduled for afternoon starts, with the result that DEs rounds--on strips--may not begin until 4:40 or 5:00 pm or even later. If current trends hold, we can expect individual entries in excess of 2,500 for JOs and approaching 8,000 for SN in 2014.The 2013 SN is essentially the same as the 2012 schedule; adding events (for instance, if we wanted to return Division I events to SN) would require adding extra competition days or eliminating other events. The increasing size of our tournaments puts more stress on the personnel and equipment. Officals must work longer hours under more crowded and stressful conditions; while we are recruiting new officials, we are also losing experienced officials, hampering not only our ability to staff events, but to develop those new officials for higher levels. More strips need to be squeezed into the available space, further increasing the crowding and stress. Because more strips are needed to run events, fewer extra sets are available to replace malfunctioning equipment. In order to create a mechanism for managing event entry numbers to alleviate some of these problems, we propose the implementation of a points-based qualification system for the 2014 championships. A motion to that end is attached. Tournament Restructuring Our current national tournament structure, designed for the USFA demographics of 15 years ago, no longer meets the needs of our competitive membership. A new model, considering the ages, competitive levels, development and performance needs, and growth trends among all athlete categories, as well as the financial, personnel, and equipment resources necessary to support such a model, is years overdue. Respectfully submitted, Mary Griffith Chair, Tournament Committee US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 7

8 Appendix C Proposed Bylaws Amendments In the following proposals for amending the USFA Bylaws, language that is suggested to be changed is indicated by strikeout when the proposal is to omit existing text and by boldface when the proposal is to insert new text. PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 1 Article IX, Section 8 governs proceedings of the Election Committee. The Election Committee recommends that the section be amended to read as follows: Proceedings of the Election Committee. The Proceedings Formal meetings of the Election Committee shall be open, except for deliberations in arbitration and consultations with legal counsel regarding matters within the protection of the attorney-client privilege. Reasonable notice of meetings of the Election Committee shall be given by posting on the official USFA web site. Candidates for office or their designated representatives may attend such meetings at their own expense. Rationale: The majority of the work of the Election Committee was done via consultations, and in fact in the most recent election, the Election Committee had no formal meetings, with two ad hoc meetings held amongst the members present at various national events. Thus, the addition is sought to provide clarification that any formal meeting actually held would be open, as necessary, in order to give transparency to the voters and to provide for a record of any open meetings, but the section does not, as presently constituted, adequately address the current state of affairs. PROPOSED AMENDMENT NO. 2 Article IX, Section 11 specifies the number of votes needed to elect a candidate. The Election Committee recommends that the section be amended to read as follows: PluralityNumber to Elect. In elections by the membership to fill positions in the USFA, the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes shall be declared the winner, provided that if no candidate for a given position receives at least 35% of the votes cast, there shall be a runoff election between the two candidates who receive the greatest number of votesif there is a tie in the number of votes cast for the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes, the Board of Directors shall select the winning candidate. Rationale: Due the low rates of membership participation in elections, (the most recent election had 20% of eligible voters participating, which was the largest to date) the plurality provisions have caused significant problems for the Election Committee, particularly in construction of the percentage of votes cast for directors, when there are two votes to be cast by each member for at large candidates. Removal of the plurality provision would leave the member with the greatest number of votes cast declared the winner, with a provision for a tie breaker in the unlikely event of a numerical tie. This will reduce the time necessary for elections, and possibly lead to a lower charge from the electronic voting system provider, as in the absence of the change, such contracts must have a runoff possibility built in. US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 8

9 Appendix D Competition Formats Task Force Members: David Blake, chair Dan Berke Alan Kuver Darius Wei Athlete TBD Charter: The Competition Formats Task Force shall research and evaluate tournament formats to create recommendations for: Formats: Formats permitted for USFA-sanctioned tournaments Formats permitted for sanctioned tournaments that award classifications Formats permitted for divisional qualification tournaments for national championships (Guideline: Qualifier formats should not be more demanding than the championship events for which they are a qualification path.) Formats that the ROC and Youth Committees should consider for potential use in their respective circuits Notification & Consequences: Rules for inclusion of formats in tournament information and publicity Consequences for failure to comply with publication guidelines Consequences for failure to use acceptable format New Formats Process: Adding/authorizing new formats. Timeline: May 1: Formats Task Force submits report to Tournament Committee. May 3-17: Formats report circulated to committees for comment. May 18-31: Tournament Committee prepares formal proposal for June 12 board call. US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 9

10 Appendix E Sports Performance and Development Task Force Mission: Develop Charter, Recommended Committee Composition, Guidelines and Membership Criteria for Sports Performance and Development Committee going forward. Work with Sabre Coaches Council on selection of Nation Men s Sabre Coach(s) for remaining Season events and Select Coach for remainder of 2016 Quad. Objective: To have completed work and provide deliverables to the Board including SPD Committee Charter, Committee Composition, Guidelines, Membership Criteria and Personnel Recommendations by August 1, Task Force and Advisors to address immediate issues: 1. Carl Borack- FIE + Cadre Liaison 2. Buckie Leach - Coaches Liaison 3. Cathy Zagunis - Managers Liaison 4. Doug Findlay - Referee Liaison, technical execution manager 5. Keeth Smart - Athletes Rep 6. Kate Reisinger - NO/HPD Rep 7. Allex Gruman- Project manager, Chairman/President Liaison 8. Cody Mattern AAC Rep Advisory Body 1. Vladimir Nazlymov - Coaches, Veterans, NCAA 2. Sam Cheris - Financial, Legal 3. Seth Kelsey - HPD Director, Office of the CEO liaison 4. Carla Mae Richards Former ED Subgroups: Athletes Handbook Working Group: 1. Sam Cheris 2. Alex Wood 3. Carla Mae Richards 4. Jeff Salmon 5. Omar Bhutta or Jeff Bukantz (if acceptable to Board and Staff) Tournament Evaluation Working Group: (Charter Being Developed) 1. Brendan Baby 2. Jerry Benson 3. Omar Bhutta 4. JR Bourne 5. Soren Thompson US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 10

11 Appendix F USA Fencing Tournament Structure Task Force Proposal The Tournament Structure Task Force will evaluate the competition system currently in place in the US and make recommendations for possible alternative systems that better align with the USA Fencing strategic plan. This document is to confirm the Task Force objectives, scope, approach, timing, deliverables, and resource requirements. Project Objectives To develop one or more new tournament structure(s) for consideration by relevant committees, the National Office (NO), and the Board of Directors (BOD) that better serve the interests of USFA and its membership. A preliminary rank order of system objectives are: 1) USA Fencing international team selection 2) Athlete pipeline development 3) USFA tournament profit/cost efficiency 4) Provide maximum value to maximum number of USFA stakeholders, including athletes, tournament officials, staff, coaches, clubs, parents, etc. 5) Provide best possible work and competition environment 6) Promotion of fencing to the general public 7) Improve USA Fencing standing with outside stakeholders, including sponsors, FIE, USOC, NCAA, etc. 8) Provide training environment to support a developmental pipeline for tournament officials, and staff 9) Promote the growth of the sport in the US Project Scope The task force will analyze the existing tournament structure, identify the goals and constraints for new structure(s), evaluate pros and cons of possible new structure(s), and present new structure(s) with supporting data and recommendations to the BOD. The scope of the project will include Evaluating current tournament offerings with revenue and participation models Evaluating membership opinions of current, and preferences for future, USA Fencing tournament experiences Defining the constraints and opportunities faced by the national office related to tournaments (financial, logistical, organizational, staff, etc.) Research of foreign national tournament structures to establish potentially useful comparables Development of multiple complete tournament structure options with financial and participation projections Recommendation of final tournament structure with schedule and any necessary investments, national office requirements or barriers to adoption/success Multiple rounds of feedback from relevant committees, the USA Fencing membership, the NO, and the BOD. Approach and Timing Phase 1 Engagement Definition and Preliminary Research Define engagement scope, information needs, action plan, timing and resource requirements Phase 2 Primary Research Collect data on tournament attendance, venue costs, travel, and lodging expenses for numerous US locations Interview USFA staff, volunteers, competitors and stakeholders US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 11

12 Survey membership to determine complaints, goals, and preferences Identify foreign fencing organizations with successful tournaments and review structures Phase 3 Option Definition Define 3-5 potential tournament structure options Evaluate option tradeoffs Select/develop best options for USFA Phase 4 Solution Development Prepare detailed schedule and list of recommendations that will allow restructuring of USFA qualifying tournaments Phase 5 Final Report Deliver final report to USFA stakeholders Note: Some phases or parts of phases may be repeated as feedback from each stakeholder is incorporated. Resources Required In order to successfully complete the deliverables and provide the best possible analysis and recommendation for the USFA, we will need access to the following resources from the USFA. Membership and tournament databases Office staff for interviews Tournament volunteers, officials, and competitors for interviews Funding to Summer Nationals for non-bod and non-staff task force members for presentation to the BOD Deliverables As a result of the above activities, the task force will provide the deliverables listed below. These items will summarize the research, detail the recommendations, and outline the appropriate next steps. Complete schedule concept of all USFA qualifying tournaments from local through national events Analysis of USFA member opinions Detailed recommendations to maximize the benefit of one or multiple new structures These items will be communicated and transferred in the form of a final presentation to the board with supporting written documents. Task Force Membership Brendan Bâby - Chair Soren Thompson BOD Liaison Omar Bhutta Jerry Benson J.R. Bourne US Fencing Board of Directors April 17, 2013 Agenda 12