AWSA 2001 BOD Winter Meeting

USA-WS HQ, Polk City, FL

January 19, 2001

 

  1. Opening & Call to Order: Mark Crone, (sitting in for Will Bush) called the meeting to order 8:00 am. Executive Director, Steve McDermeit welcomed everyone and introduced a new staff member as of today, Lisa St John who will be our new Competition Director. Mark Crone thanked us for our volunteer time. He is excited about a lot of things going on in the sport right now, the new facility, progress in the administrative side and new things that we may attempt in the future. Action #1, Dave Clark moved to have Committee Chair present stay in room, second by Bill Baker. Passed unanimously.

  2. Introduction & Roll Call: South Central - Tim Robinson, Nikki Lee, Bob Mayhew-EVP, Phil Chase, Midwest Don Bucher-EVP, Dave Clark, Jeff Smith, Athletes - Rhoni Barton, Scott Ellis, Michael McCormick, Brenda Baldwin, April Coble-Eller, Officers, Mark Crone, Substitute Chairman, Jim Grew, President & South Director, Janet Piercy, Secretary & Midwest Director, West - Bob Cosby, Mike Hayes, Wayne Canfield (alternate) for Elaine Bush, Randy Hocking-EVP, South - Jim Jaquess, Gene Davis-EVP, Jeff Clark, East - Paul Allebach-Alternate for Jon Thacher-EVP, Steve Lohr-Treasurer, Bill Baker, Roger Hammel, Honorary National Directors and other guests:: Tony Baggiano, Andrea Plough-President USA-WS, Jeffry Armstrong-Chair USA-WS, Sherm Schraft-VP USA-WS, Bill Wenner, Gary Mahler, Debbie Lamb, Frank Harrison, CW Lowe, and Jeff Surdej. (HND-Dick and Wilma Nock entered room 9:24am)

  3. Appointment of Parliamentarian & Agenda Review: Jeff Clark appointed Parliamentarian. No change in agenda.

  4. Announcement of Quorum: Secretary Piercy announcement a Quorum with 25 Directors present.

  5. Review & Approval of August 2000 BOD Meeting Minutes: Action #2 - Motion to approve 2000 August Board Minutes by Bob Cosby, second by Randy Hocking. Passed unanimously.

  6. President's Report: Jim Grew, thanked Mark Crone for volunteering as substitute Chairman for this meeting and Jim echoed Steve's comments of appreciation for the many volunteers in AWSA that make it happen. Jim mentioned what goes on next door at headquarters. Steve and his staff work above and beyond the call of duty. Jim had mentioned when he took office he had two goals, #1- to improve the communication among the various entities within the sport. We are getting the information via emails and on time. We have achieved the goal of reorganization - the reporting of our sports divisions thanks to Steve McDermeit and his staff who worked on the budget and Randy Hocking, Jeffry Armstrong & Andrea Plough on the USA Water Ski side and Sherm Schraft, Mark Crone and Steve Lohr on the AWSA side. We have finally accomplished this and financially separated. We (USA-WS) have achieved meeting our fiscal goal by having approximately 40% of the gross income in fund balance. Jim touched on a few program items that were given monies to enhance their programs, i.e. Towboat, Membership, Speed Control and JR Development. We are putting into place a system for 2002 (which won't be formalized until we see how it goes) basically the President will circulate that part of the budget that pertains to each committee. The committees will request funds by their Chair explaining in detail why they need the funds and how they will use it and present them to the President. The President will collect these, compile them and send them out to the E&F Committee and probably EVP's who in turn will work through their Directors to get their opinions spending priorities. Then send this to Steve McDermeit in October so he can prepare the budget. Q, what about committees that meet in November? A, Try to do the finance details by earlier email.

  7. Treasurer's Report: Steve Lohr, before giving the statement of revenues and expenses and presenting the budget of AWSA he commented E&F has had a lot of input into the review of our statement and budget. He reminded us there is no set of books, no Balance Sheet, no Profit & Loss Statement nor separate Financial Statement for AWSA, we are a column on an allocation spreadsheet of USA-WS. He feels the staff has done a very good job of keeping the accounting records during the year. They have continued to improve the allocation system.

2000-Year End Question on allocation of membership and towboat income and expenses, we are correcting former allocations. The Balance Sheet for USA Water Ski shows 800K balance fund and a total balance fund of 1.1million. This figure will go up with the sale of the old building, which is happening very soon. From a Fund Balance and Balance Sheet standpoint USA-WS is strong, while at the same time we are not stock piling reserves unnecessarily.

2001- Proposed Budget: The budget has been structured with new spending priorities so we have a break-even year that would be good as we start in the new building. Labor allocation is spread to the best estimate of direct or indirect categories. Steve said Randy Hocking and Steve McDermeit have done a fantastic job in allocating. Jim Jaquess is concerned with AWSA funding the AWA programs; he feels they can fund themselves. Wayne Canfield disagrees AWA brings in young skiers. For the past 5 years our focus has been on strengthening our reserve (fund balance) fund, our goal has been met by reaching a fund balance of 800K. Now we can refocus priorities on promoting our programs. Action #3 - Motion to approve 2001 budget by Jim Grew, second by Jeff Clark. Passed unanimously.

 

8. Executive Director's Report: Steve McDermeit thanked Ski Club of Palm Beach for Big Screen TV. Steve, the staff, Carol and CW Lowe welcomed us to 'our' new facility. Our next big goal is to complete the museum, after which we will look to fund lake construction. We are looking for the 2012 bid for the Olympics to come to Florida. There are plans for a Marriott Hotel and golf course soon to be constructed here.

USA Water Ski is at an all time high of membership, nearing 40,000. Budget expectations were exceeded in most areas; after the sale of the old building we will have 1 million in bank. #1 goal is growing our sport. We have a great magazine. Indicators of this is are, rare negative phone calls at HQ and a questionnaire that said 76% read every issue and recent survey that said 9% read entire magazine. Scott Atkinson is doing a terrific job. We are always looking for new ideas. Website is reaching an all time high, thanks to Jessie Canfield. Hits are around 800 a day and at peak season over a 1,000 hits daily. Polls on our website are fun. He encouraged us to link USA-WS web site with our local websites.

We had another excellent year of support from the industry. Goode Skis are again sponsoring our Nationals, with that interest others will follow. We can thank Steve Upp and his marketing staff that is working hard. We have also added another premier boat sponsor, Infinity. Headquarters has found leasing computers is better than buying. State of the art computers are at every desk and this has helped minimize down time. Headquarters is networked throughout the building with the capability to expand this has enhanced our productivity. Communication speed has doubled because of the technology.

Our teams were very successful this year. We are so proud of our teams, out of the seven International events five of our teams were gold medal winners. Our Jr. Team was successful at the Pan Am and Worlds and was chosen US Team of the Month by USOC (this is a first for our sport). Our winning US Team at the Pan Am and Barefoot World Team. Our other two teams placed in the top three US Veteran and US Wakeboard. We successfully implemented all USOC programs. Chris Prunty and a few others devote most of their time on this. If successful on hitting markers we are rewarded with a bonus which would be incorporated in next years funding.

We are proud of the exposure our athletes are getting in several sports magazines. (Sports Illustrated, SI for Women, SI for Kids, Women's Health) Justin Canfield is enthusiastic about getting our athletes coverage. We have created our first USA-WS commercial for TV, a 30-second spot featuring our athletes.

After all this good news there was bad news too, the Athens Olympic decision was a big disappointment. And we have some decrease in active membership.

Bits and pieces: Our product is participation. For 2001 online sanctioning, Jim Miese has worked very hard on the SWIFT (on-line sanctioning) program. A CD is being developed to furnish tournament paperwork normally sent in the mail. Direct mail will be in house, cutting costs. Flyer put in packets for members to bring in more members. Steve reminded us, we are the best ambassadors for water skiing. 200 NSL events planned for 2001 contact Colleen Gleeson (Ext.139) if you have any questions or would be interested in helping in your area to promote this program. Board members will be included in her .com web news to keep us updated on this activity. USOC will be doing an audit this year (every two years). In the near future Steve is hoping to utilize an internet group that is affiliated with the USOC. They will collaborate NGB members' (35) and share their experiences. If it materializes it will help our sport in the use of their technology at no cost to us and help us market our sport. Justin and Scott are working on a media guidebook. We have a new article in the Water Skier called 'Tales from the Dock'. It's all about interesting story lines that have happened through the years. Pass your favorite one on to HQ they are looking for input from everyone.

Q, Dave Clark asked about the billboard in front of new building, could we remove it? A, It will go with widening of road to 6 lane. Q, Randy Hocking asked about the CD timeline. A, Don't know for sure, but looks like a year out. He also said speaking for the West he appreciates the efforts HQ does but some members were still concerned about not getting their membership and officials cards etc.. Steve said members need to call Lisa at HQ with problems. HQ needs to hear their complaints to help them. Q, What is happening with The US Open? A, It is still a challenge, HQ has been working for several months to identify their options. Down to two options, downtown Disney (month of September) Disney cannot be ready at the usual date so would have to go to September if at all. Sammy Duvall is very involved in helping us with our talks. Shreveport is the other option. Steve is working with Terry Eberhardt and his marketing group but nothing finalized. Steve wanted to add Butch Allen was instrumental in opening the line of communication with Disney.

9) Executive and Finance Committee: Short meeting 2 hrs 45 min, information shared in the minutes. Jim just wanted to cover three issues. #1 Regional Guides, they have put together a proposal. Consensus in the group, electronics will have an increasing importance in the future, Guide to continue for the next few years in the AWSA Regional Guide format, four announcements per page and one-line listing of the other four regional tournaments. Scott Atkinson with the EVP's input will continue to fine-tune the Guides. Figures of active membership will dictate the cost to regions for Regional Guides. The Southern Region wanted all collegiate skiers to receive guides. This was approved by E&F and will be included in their budget. Second part of the equation is USA-WS will continue to help promote by producing a leaflet, magazine or brochure that will not be in Guides to catch non-active skiers and collegiate. Bob Meyhew asked what is the distribution for Guides (ask Steve) no change in that. Tim Robinson noted there was a $2500 change. E&F will leave this issue alone and let them work with Scott. Bob Meyhew said we should revisit the issue of electronic media. He wants USA-WS E&F not to back off but to umbrella and express the need to push for electronic mailing. Sherm said that if a Region did want to go electronic at this time they certainly could. Jeff Clark said not everyone is electronic capable. Steve Lohr thought we need to use our existing membership and that the electronic media is not a way to get them into the sport. Comments so noted. Prior to future meetings, attempt will be made to handle administrative tasks by email allowing us to spend more time on strategic planning.

Issue #2, Jim Grew handed out a 2001 Ski Fly Nationals Proposal for our review. E&F (along with amendment), LOC and Chief Judge have approved this proposal. The sponsors and marketing department is in favor of this concept. The competition department feels they can administer it. Basically, Ski Fly Nationals is divided into two parts. The Open section of Ski Flying Thursday evening and the age division section on Saturday (B-G 3 & M/W 1-4). Scott Ellis is organizing clinics throughout the US for skiers to qualify. Roger Hammel was concerned there needs to be some consideration for skiers interested to qualify if clinic not held in their region. Get with Scott Ellis to be sure a clinic is in your Region. Gary Mahler was concerned about lack of time to prepare for testing the Ski Fly Boat. Jim suggested working with Steve Upp on this. Rhoni Barton said the athletes requested that the boat be tested. There is a Wakeboard boat testing in March and they thought it could be done together. Tom Danford will email latest draft on Ski Fly with in a week. Action #4 Jim Grew entertained a motion to accept Ski Fly proposal as presented and to include flexibility with boat test timing in D. Second by Jeff Clark. Motion passed.

Issue #3 this was Jim's second goal at membership meeting. He is concerned with our tournament formats. It may not be universal but there is some feeling we are losing members because there is not competition in our sport other than State, Regionals and Nationals. The bulk of our tournaments, are they interesting and drawing new members? Discuss new formats. We talk about it on email forever and not get anywhere. In late October Jim hopes to organize a meeting of the Chairs of a few committees and other interested personnel to discuss this issue. Is there competition in our sport, are we growing? We need a leader who has the time and commitment to take us to the next step! Mark Crone presented slides to quantify the decline in tournament participation. We need to keep this issue alive, keep it going so in October hopefully we can have a solution to putting competition back in our sport.

  1. Related Organizations Report

  1. Athletic Advisory Council: (Brenda Baldwin) AAC meeting was October 30th with 13 of the 15 members present. They had good discussions on Team selection procedures, proposed Rules changes and various subjects. AAC comments and recommendations were forwarded on to respective committees. Elections were held with the following results: AAC-Chair (2 year) Brenda Baldwin, USOC-AAC Representative (4 Year) Brenda Baldwin, Alternate (4 Year) Ben Favret, USA-WS BOD - USOC rep (2 year) Brenda Baldwin, (2 year) Bill Bowness, 1 year (remaining) Chris Sullivan & Mark Crone, 1st Alternate Peter Chase, 2nd Alternate Mike McCormick. USA-WS E&F- (2 year) Mark Crone & Alternate Chris Sullivan. AWSA BOD- (2 year) USOC rep Brenda Baldwin, (2 year) Rhoni Barton & Mike McCormick, (1 year) April Coble-Eller & Scott Ellis. AWSA E&F-(1 year) Mark Crone, (2 year) Rhoni Barton.

    2. The athletes will continue to hold Elite Camps. They plan to help Sports Medicine work with the IAC, in getting more involved with setting criteria for selecting team positions and trainers.

  2. Pan Am & IWSF: Jeffry Armstrong asked Scott Ellis to comment on meeting. He thought they listened to the athletes and were eager to please. It was a good meeting. Jeffry would like to thank Steve and the HQ staff and Cory & Rose Pickos for picking up the ball on the Pan Am Championships at the last minute. Those testing for Pan AM test, will be getting results faster. They have been streamlined and are updated every year now. We can use live events if there are enough trick skiers or use the current rides from the 2000 US Open trick events.

As Pan Am Tournament Chair, Jeffry has tried to get our judges more involved with judges in other areas of the world. She was invited to their judge's clinic last year. They could see we do things pretty much like they do. We had invited one of their judges to our US Open, it turned out he could not make it but the effort was there in sharing officials. You will notice some American judges will be used at the French Masters, British Masters and the Austrian Masters. If you are interested in putting your name on the list let Jeffry know.

Jeffry suggested that we should get on record along with the Greece Water Ski Federation that they were not treated fairly. She also commented on a letter written by Andres that he felt like he had fought the good fight, but he was going to quit. Because of encouraging words and letters from others, he will stay on. Jeffry - Barcelona is not for sure. Trick flip questions will be finalized soon.

c. USOC: (Tony Baaggiano) reported on the three meetings he attended. Gary Mahler's family and the

McDermeit's stayed with Tony for the Washington DC meeting. Tony serves on three committees. 1) Centralized Funding Committee, which is in limbo since Norm Blake took over about this time last year. It appears this will be re-activated and he will continue to serve on this committee. 2) Tony served on the NGB Bylaws Committee, which has been extremely busy. 3) Tony was re-elected Chairman for a 4-year term on the Pan Am Sports Council.

Leadership problems set us back this past year. In the interim Scott Blackman will take over, he has a good working relationship with the USOC staff and will lead into the 2002 Olympics in. This was an election year for Chair of the USOC. It was a competitive battle between two good people running, Paul George and Sandy Baldwin. Sandy was elected and will do a good job.

We have a 14K grant that we can use, it was supposed to have been used last year but they have extended it to this year. It is an International Relations Grant. For instance if we send Gene Davis to S America and only one homologater shows up to be certified, we have a hard time convincing the USOC their money is well spent. On the other hand if we were to bring several countries together to our Senior Clinic and be able to put on a Judges, Scorers, Drivers and Coaches clinic it would be good use of the USOC money. Tony called Canada to see if they were interested in getting involved. This is a great program because it is worthwhile it expands our sphere of influence with S. American countries it may even cause more to get involved and puts us in a good light with the USOC. Right now we have only the minimum number of countries that participate in water skiing.

Centralized Funding should be approximately 205K he will present funding report in the USA-WS meeting. There is another 25K on top of that set aside for joint marketing, and there is a good chance of getting a possibly bonus. This should stay stable for the next few years. A big movement on the para-lympics, we will need funding, which Tony is working on. Pan Am Games 2003 meeting going on now, Dominican Republic site not a good one. We will hear outcome soon. We have to compete in the games or lose our funding.

Two weeks ago it appeared we were out of the 2004 Olympics. Tony says there is still a glimmer of hope on Athens. He just received a letter from the Greek Water Ski Federation stating they want Andreas to go to a meeting. They are upset because they are the first organizing host that has not been allowed to add at least one sport. (NO new sports were added) At the close of Tony's report, Mark Crone and others expressed how much work Tony has put into this program and his effectiveness as he serves. The Board gave a round of applause in appreciation for his hard work and dedication.

National Bids (20 minutes for each presenter)

1:00 PM: Margie and Joy Bozicevic presented the Okeeheelee Bid. Gordon Hall and Rusty Gilmore presented for Largo Santa Fe Water Ski Club. Discussion requested to have silent vote. Bob Meyhew thought that homeowners might pose a problem. Gary Mahler said their club is not bringing in younger workers, he would like to see them get the bid. Steve McDermeit said both clubs were acceptable. Steve Lohr liked the one-year concept. Action#7 Jeff Clark moved to cease discussion, call for the question. Second by Phil Chase. Motion passed. Don Bucher had asked to have a short time to discuss within ourselves. We brought the bidders back in to answer questions that came up in our discussions. If Okeeheelee would be willing to make it a one year bid? Joy said she would have to speak with her club on this but didn't see it as a big problem. Texas bid was asked if they had done the preliminary work in securing homeowners agreement to put on the tournament. Rusty said that they had a meeting where every homeowner made a commitment to make at least a minimal effort in hosting the Nationals. The private docks are part of the easement and should not be a problem. Action#8 Jim Jaquess moved we go to Okeeheelee. Second by Gene Davis. Jeff Clark said as parliamentarian we should vote on presentations as presented vote either Okeeheelee or Texas. Discussion followed on procedure. Action #9 Jeff Clark moved to table the issue and have the presenters come back with like bids. Second by Tim Robinson. After discussion, Second withdrawn by Tim Robinson and Jeff Clark withdrew motion. We returned to voting on Action #8 Motion failed. Action #10 Steve Lohr moved that we go to Okeeheelee for one year 2002. Second by Bill Baker. Motion fails. Action #11 Dave Clark made a motion that we go to Sante Fe, Texas in 2002. Second by Phil Chase. Motion passed.

  1. Committee Reports

 

  1. Awards: Nikki Lee, report attached. A new award given this year is called the Lifetime Achievement Award. It will only be given when there is a special person deserving of the award, not an annual award. Criteria based on lifetime contributions to the sport of water-skiing, participation as an elite athlete, committee work, and board member and industry innovator. The first recipient is Kris LaPoint.

    2. Other award winners for the year are: Slalom Skier of the Year - Kristi Overton-Johnson, Trick Skier of the Year - Cory Pickos, AWSA Rising Superstar of 2000 - Jimmy Siemers, Jumper of the Year - Freddy Krueger, Overall Skier of the Year - Jimmy Siemers. USAWS Awards: Developmental Coach of the Year April Coble, Coach of the Year - Mike Meek, Athletes of the Year - Freddy Krueger & Kristi Overton-Johnson, Team of the Year AWSA Jr. Team, James E Sullivan ASU Award - Ron Scarpa, Award of Merit - Stew McDonald.

    For the first time, USOC selected a water ski team as their Team for the Month, when our AWSA Jr Team won the Pan AM Championships. Kristi Overton-Johnson was a finalist for the Sports Woman of the Year award, sponsored by The Women's Sports Foundation. April Coble said the awards ceremonies in New York were so exciting. She was glad she took the advice of those who told her not to miss it. Water Skiing had never been put in the spotlight that it was put in with all the other Olympic sports than it was this past weekend.

  2. Bylaws: (Jeff Clark) Two items were presented. After discussion, Action #5 Motion to approve Item 2 of report, Remove the Membership Committee as a standing committee in Article IX (A) of Bylaws (also removed from the Policies & Procedures Table of Contents 10.6 and Number 10.0 item 10.6) (page 2 and page 5) and Item 3 Remove the Time & Place Committee from the following places in the Policies and Procedures Manual of the AWSA. (Table of Contents 11.0 number 11.6 (page 2) and Number 11.0 item number 11.6 (page 6). Second by Jim Grew. Motion passed

    3. Jeff went through the preference designations seeing Ski Safe brought in a lot of members; they will in the future have to classify discipline. It was a BOD issue that was handled in committee. There is one more seat on USA-WS board - NSSA added one more board seat. This will be presented in the USA-WS meeting.

  3. International Activities: (Frank Harrison) Report attached. The IAC meets in November and at the Team Trials. He is happy with the cooperation he gets. With the Pan Am Championships being shuffled around neither one of the coaches selected were able to attend. Based on the recommendation of the Coaches Committee he had the pleasure of calling Jim McCormick and April Coble they did an excellent job.

    4. There was recognition that our independents are needed to help reach our USOC markers. They will now be helped in their expenses (excluding flight expense) and treated more like a team member. E&F approved request for $2500 for a medical bag, and to reimburse all physicians for out of pocket costs for needed medical supplies. (Some have a short life) In future JR Worlds we need to allocate enough staff, Coaching, Physicians etc. Frank says they have learned to screen volunteers carefully to know they are willing do whatever it takes for the team. Action #6 Motion to approve report along with officials for events. Second by Brenda Baldwin. Motion passed.

  4. Judges & Scorers': (Jeff Smith) Report attached. He thinks sharing with the International community is great. Jeff encourages any of us that have not made it to a SR Clinic to get your reservation in. The primary focus of the committee this past year has been updating where we have been, by updating all of the tests and manuals. The Water Skier will put an article in the magazine to advertise the different routes by which people can become officials. He reminded us to let our judges/scorers know they don't have to be downgraded if they are short on credits, there are ways to handle these matters. Hardship, finding lost paperwork, etc. Jeff is willing to help as well as HQ. We don't want to lose anyone. NSL has a way of getting Assistant slalom judges.

    5. Action #12 Motion to approve report. Issue #1 Program for Assistant Scorers to become Regular Scorers. Assistant Scorers holding a current rating would, upon request, be eligible to test (under supervision) to upgrade to Regular Scorer in the event(s) for which they hold their current rating upon (1) serving as an Assistant Chief Scorer at 2 or more tournaments (Class C or above); (2) attending a sanctioned Judges and Scorers' Clinic; and (3) submitting a resume to the Judges and Scorers' Committee for approval (by a majority vote) setting forth the skier's experience and qualifications to serve as a Regular Scorer. Issue #2 Inclusion of Senior Scorers at National Senior Clinic. Senior Scorers attending the National Senior Clinic would receive clinic credit to fulfill their 5-year maintenance/continuing education requirement, as an alternative to re-testing. Second by Brenda Baldwin. Motion passed.

    This is a budgetary Issue #3 International EAME Exchange Program. The EAME Tournament Council Chair would be invited to attend the AWSA Senior Judges' Clinic, with up to $1000 support for travel expenses. No action required, as it was already included in budget.

    Jeff mentioned there is an opportunity for fast tracking for NSL slalom judges to become Assistants. There is a manual. Our new Pan Am officials are: Cindy Benzel, Scott Snape, Tom Danford, Jim Jaquess and Leon Larsen. Our congratulations to them! Jeff will get a list for USA-WS on members attending the Sr. Clinic in 99' - because of a misunderstanding the attendees' next re-qualification period will end in 2007.

  5. Officials' Maintenance: (Jim Grew) Jim reminded us we should be the ones getting this information to our officials, fast tracking and the maintenance program. This is the start of the 4th year of the 5-year renewal testing. Because this is a take home test and you have 60 days to send in, you could make it a group effort and talk about what is on the test and have fun with it like a clinic. We should not let our senior judges be surprised.

  6. Rules: Action #13 Dave Clark made a motion to accept report with the exception of pull out items. Second by Bill Baker. Motion passed. Jeff Clark asked to pull Rules 4.02(a), 4.03(a), 5.01, 8.02(b), 9.03(e), 9.10(b)(3), 10.06(c), 10.06(d), 10.13(g), 10.11, 10.15, 11.12(d), 15.02(f), 15.07(c) and Trick table changes.

    7. Rule(s) 4.02(a), 403(a), National Tournament Qualifications: (next to last sentence) ….must be a U.S. citizens. However competitors who ski in international competition for another country, within one year of Nationals, shall not be eligible for placement. 4.03(a) All entrants in a Regional Tournament shall be U.S. citizens, However competitors who ski in international competition for another country, within one year of Regionals, shall not be eligible for placement. (Second Paragraph)…In any year, a skier shall be qualified to enter only one Regional Tournament for placement. Jeff Clark was not in favor of passing because they seemed to be designed for only a few skiers. Discussion followed. Action #14 Don Bucher moved to accept Rule(s) 4.02(a) and 4.03(a). Second by Tim Robinson. Motion passed after amendment vote. Action #15 Mike Hayes amended the motion to read 'within one year plus or minus of the Nationals' or (Regionals) for a time frame for the international competition. Second by Dave Clark. Motion passed.

    Discussion on Rule 5.01 Overall Qualification: To be considered for Overall placement a skier must be qualified for, entered in and attain skiing position, in all the three events… Action # 16 Dave Clark made a motion to call for the question. Second by Mike Hayes. Motion passed. Action #17 Motion to approve Rule 5.01as written. Second by Mike Hayes. Motion passed.

    Jeff Clark wanted wording to Rule 8.02(b) to say it is allowable to enhance the wake, the way it is written judges will think it is only to balance. Dave Clark suggested making it in two paragraphs. Action #18 Motion to separate paragraph 8.02 (b)(1) Added Weight: It is the duty of the Boat Judge, …. or potential harm to the boat interior. (New paragraph) 8.02(b)(2) For Tricks, the skier may place a tournament-supplied weight of between 20-50 kg (44 -110 pounds) in the boat (either on the floor by the feet of the release operator or behind the engine cover) with side to side positioning as decided by the skier or release operator. Second by Mike Hayes. Motion passed.

    Action #19 Jeff Clark just wanted to clarify. It is a new Rule 9.03(e) The outcome of each attempt shall be communicated to the skier, including the distance and any reride possibilities, before the boat proceeds to any subsequent attempt by the same skier. Second by Bob Meyhew. Motion passed.

    Action #20 Motion to approve Rule 9.10(b)3 as written. If the requested speed is below the maximum allowable and either segment is out of tolerance, then a reride (with a protected score) is optional…. Second by Dave Clark. Motion passed

    Rule 10.06(c) is to be pulled from this report; it is a Technical issue (they did not pass)

    Action #21 Motion to approve 10.06(d)(3) Through the 2001 Nationals, a skier may elect to ski at a speed higher than his division maximum speed, up to his respective Open Division maximum speed. Any passes skied at that higher speed shall be scored as though they were being run at his division maximum speed. Second by Jeff Clark. Motion failed.

    Action #29 10.06(e) Upon completion of a pass (defined as a score of six including entrance and exit gates) the skier shall have the option of designating a faster speed and/ or shorter rope length for the next pass. Second by Mike Hayes. Motion passed.

    Rule 10.11 - Jeff Clark thought there may be some local abuse in handle throws if opened up to all passes. Discussion. Action #23 Motion to accept Rule 10.11 strike last sentence Once the skier has passed….(this allows slalom skiers to throw handle before each pass provided the refusal was for a reason acceptable to a majority of the Event Judges). Second by Phil Chase. Motion passed.

    Action #22 Motion to approve 10.13(g) striking Where minimum starting speeds are raised, the number of possible points skipped shall be added to the contestant's score providing that at least one point is actually scored by performance. Second by Jeff Clark. Motion passed.

    Action #24 Motion to approve Rule 10.15 Damaged Equipment, first sentence strike 'or during' add: a completed pass. If a skier notices that his equipment is damaged after a handle throw, a run that leads to a reride or a completed pass the Event Judges may grant him, upon immediate request, three minutes to repair or change the damaged equipment. Second by Dave Clark. Motion passed.

    Rule 11.12(d), Jeff Clark thought trick skiers using wakeboards should ski in an AWA event, Dave Clark mentioned this is more a Technical issue. 11.12(d) tabled to Technical Report (value 1/2 1 ski tricks). (this did not pass)

    Rule 15.02(f), Jeff Clark wanted to leave this section in and change it to say "at least one skier from out-of-area". To lend credence to the record tournament. Action #25 Motion to strike 15.02(f) as presented. Second by Tim Robinson. Motion passed.

    Rule 15.07(c) Action #26 Amend wording to read Designated by the Chief Judge and from the same location for the entire event. All trick passes must be videotaped from the boat or from a shore judging position as designated by the Chief Judge and shall be from the same location during the entire event.. Second by Jeff Smith. Motion passed. Action #27 Accept Rule 15.07(c) as amended. Second by Bill Baker. Motion passed.

    Appendix -Trick table Changes: Action #28 Motion to accept wording on as proposed: Adopt IWSF additions and changes, and provisions regarding 6 flip limitation. But, subject to clarification from IWSF regarding scoring. If a skier should declare and perform more than 6 flips, which 6 should be credited? IWSF added 3 new flips: WflipBBF & Reverse, WflipB5F & Reverse, WflipB5B & Reverse. Bottom line is AWSA will adopt IWSF policy on flips for 2001. Second by Dave Clark. Motion passed.

  7. Technical: (Gene Davis) Item 1 Rule 10.08(b) As an option in record tournaments (E, L and R), two judges may be used in slalom on a centrally located tower rather than using two towers. In this case, the tower will be located between buoys 3 and 4 with the same height requirements. Additionally, there will be video feeds from cameras placed at the required angle to the gates at each end and that provides an unobstructed view of the entrance gates, at least 3 meters (10') above the water. If the camera is located more than 100 feet back from the course centerline, it is recommended that it be elevated approximately ten percent above the water (one foot in height for each ten feet back from the course centerline adjusted to show both gates in clear focus and equipped with optical (not digital) magnification of sufficient power to display the gate at least 1/6th of the full width of the screen (1/3 width or larger is recommended). These camera feeds will be displayed …

    8. Item 2, Recommend that the 300m optional gate be Green Buoys. (jump event)

    Item 3, aligning with IWSF, Change the appendix "Official Jump Course Diagram" to read: The ramp must be parallel to the jump course and slightly open. The tolerance for standard jumping is between +2.00° and +4.00° open. Open means that the high end of the ramp is turned away from the jump course.

    Action #38 Motion to approve all three recommendations. Second by Bill Baker. Passed unanimously.

    The Technical Committee did not pass the 10th run in slalom, proposed Rule change by IWSF 10.06(b). Tech did not give a distinction of wakeboard. Rules Committee wanted Technical Committee to have a definition of a wakeboard before we bring it to the table.

    Jim Grew requests that the Chairman come up with a procedure with your reviewers so all records are finalized by December 31st of the calendar year. Board stopped for dinner at this point.

  8. Coaches Advisory: (Jim Grew) Thanked the volunteers especially the athletes that participate in the program, like Mike McCormick, Rhoni Barton and HQ staff, Chris Prunty. We are proud of our honored Mike Meek and April Coble. He is concerned the program is not growing, there is no incentive to become a certified coach above Level 1. Five years ago they tried to create incentives and encouragement, but did not succeed. Jim is going to try again with some fresh ideas. USOC put an emphasis on coaching. Board members receiving their Level III certificates are Roger Hammel and Brenda Baldwin attended a 3rd level coach's symposium, Steve Lohr and Rhoni Barton also participated in this clinic.

  9. Junior Development: (Debbie Lamb) Debbie presented four goals: 1) attracting new junior skiers 2) promoting junior athletes and their recognition 3) providing opportunities to increase their levels of skiing 4) and to have them continue to ski in their college years. To facilitate the first three goals they plan to work with the NSL. By promoting NSL and taking the list of AWSA junior membership whether active or supporting try to get the family and kids to participate in Class C events. Then the list of junior non-participants and get them involved with an NSL event.

    10. Once we have them into our program we want to provide good clinics. Each region will continue to host various clinics. A list of elite skiers who are available to coach will be given to the committee chairs. We are reorganizing the All Star Team process. The process will be posted in all Regional Guides. We need to get the message out about our All Star Teams.

    To catch the top end of our young skiers, Phil Chase is going to provide a list of all colleges that have a water-ski team, club or program. Each region will get a copy of this list to distribute at Regionals to develop an awareness of collegiate skiing to both parents and skiers. Jim Grew announced they will receive $5,000 for committee to use toward these goals and programs, please keep Jim posted on the use and need of funds. Nikki Lee has expressed an interest in helping streamline the Thursday night awards banquet at Nationals.

  10. Tournament Seeding: (Mark Crone for Barbara Canfield). They finally have achieved including every single tournament in the National Seeding and the Nationals Ranking Lists. Credit goes out to volunteer seeding personnel and HQ. The National Standings List this past year was changed to reflect the same seeding formula used for seeding the Nationals. The Seeding Committee would like to get on record, again, to see us moving toward some sort of a competition based system versus a score based system. Jeff Clark was wondering if we could use the past five years of data and come up with a pilot to show how a placement format would show in numbers. Mark said even a single year of data would show what we need. This is the next step that needs to be done. We need to convert a concept over into a prototype set of rules and the affect of those rules. We are not trying to reduce the numbers at Nationals.

  11. Safety: (Leon Larson) Report attached. 3-event ratio of injury to rides is good and all disciplines is 0.172%. So far there is no indication that hard shell binders are having any adverse affect. Committee expressed concerns in specific areas and encouraged Board to assist in insuring current policies are implemented uniformly. Discussion on how we train these volunteers before they get in a boat. Last year there were 37 clinics with 330 participants. They are reviewing the slalom switch and recoil tube issue.

  12. Skiers Rating: (Report attached) Jeff Surdej, the committee was asked to re-do the Open Qualifications excluding foreign skiers and Class C performances. The AAC asked that we not lower any ratings. This became a 7% across the board. Open Men Slalom 61 (1 @ 39), 34mph (5 @ 38), Open Women Slalom 59 (5 @35), Open Men Trick 7000, Open Women Trick 5500, Open Men Jump 5.5 & 6 185-35-6/177-35-5.5/149-32-5.5, 5' (147-34/141-32/135-30) and Open Women Jump 138-34-5.5/130-34-5/124-32-5/118-30-5). Action #39 Motion to approve Open Qualifications. Second by Jeff Clark. More discussion. Action #40 Motion Bob Meyhew call for the question. Second by Phil Chase. Motion passed. Vote on original motion. Motion passed. Bob Meyhew asked that the National Ranking List have Class C Open performances removed from data. Mark will look into this. Dave Clark brought up the question of when these ratings take place, as this was a left over issue from summer meeting. Action #41 Motion to make these ratings affective retroactive at last years Nationals. Second Rhoni Barton. Motion fails. Action #42 Motion ratings become affective forward to this years Nationals. Second Phil Chase. Motion fails. Action #43 Motion ratings become affective immediately. Second by Jeff Clark. Motion passed. (implying those receiving Open Ratings prior to Board meeting would retain the rating through Nationals, even if the standard was now higher)

  13. Boat Drivers: (Wayne Canfield for Tim Cost) we need to work on education, not only drivers but judges as well. Two policy changes 1) It has been proposed that any assistant driver or above receive a tournament credit (toward advancement or maintenance) for serving as Chief Driver of an "F" class tournament. Action #44 Motion to approve. Second by Tim Robinson. Motion passed. 2) Everyone recognizes that we need to be doing more speed control clinics and several are in the planning stage. To help get this underway for more people much faster, it has been proposed that we allow these speed control clinics (hopefully for judges as well as drivers) in a CLASSROOM ONLY format for maintenance credit only (clinics qualifying for advancement credit would still require an on-the-water session, too). Former policy required on-the-water sessions for all clinics. The committee supports this, which would allow much larger, higher-quality clinics involving more participants. Action #45 Motion to approve Classroom Only clinic for maintenance. Second by Paul Allebach. Motion passed. Item 3 Action #46 Motion to approve speed control testing for Assistant Drivers (no manual driving). Second by Don Bucher. Passed unanimously. Don Bucher mentioned we had passed Sr Driver Emeritus for Clark Smith and he has not heard from anyone. He should have gotten something from HQ, a certificate or something. Jim took note of this, it will change. Jim also said convey to Tim Cost, the committee will receive $5,000 towards speed control, clinics etc. But need to report back to Jim on progress and needs. This manual does include policy issues we just voted on.

  14. Towboat: (George Lindy) Report attached. Committee revisions we have 5 issues to deal with. 1) Open Bow vs. Closed Bow policy revision, Action #30 Motion to approve item 1) Towboat Policy will allow Open and Closed bow boats that are "identical" under towboat committee criteria to combine credits toward qualifying to tow the Regional and National tournaments. Second by Don Bucher. Motion passed. (This also changes items written in the Manual #12: All models are viewed as separate and distinct when it comes to qualifying for the Regional Tournaments. Credits earned on one towboat model cannot be transferred to another towboat model by the same manufacturer. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS POLICY IS NOTED IN THE FOLLOWING ITEM #13.

#13. A manufacturer may test "identical" open and closed bow boats for the purpose of using both models to jointly accumulate tournament credits toward qualifying the manufacturer to tow the Regional and National tournaments. The following conditions exist:

  1. The two boats will be considered different models

  2. The two models must be identical in every respect except for the configuration of the deck seating area in front of the windshield

  3. Both models must pass the towboat test

  4. In the opinion of the test team, the two boats must ski and drive identically

  5. If the two boats pass the towboat test and are judged "identical", the manufacturer must inform USAWS headquarters of their intent to combine credits for "identical" open and closed bow boats. For the purpose of accumulating credits toward qualifying to tow Regionals and Nationals the open and closed bow boats will then be considered the "same model" until the next towboat test

  6. If a manufacturer qualifies for Regionals and Nationals using "identical" open and closed bow boats, then a combination of open and closed bow boats may be used at Regionals and Nationals

Item 2 of his report was just a clarification and rewording of ambiguous language on how a boat qualifies for Regionals and Nationals. Change first paragraph to read; Record Capability Approved Boat models which participate in 20% or more of the traditional class C or higher tournament events held during the preceding year in a given Region are invited to pull each of those AWSA Regional Championships where it has qualified. Boat models that participate in all 5 AWSA Regional Championships and receive a positive performance report from four (4) of the five (5) Regions will be approved to pull the National Championships. Boats participating at Regional and National tournaments must meet these specific requirements:

A. REGIONALS

    1. The boat must be a current year or previous year approved model

    2. Manufacturers must provide the appropriate number of boats as determined by the USA Water Ski, in conjunction with the chief driver for each respective regional tournament

    3. For each model provided by the manufacturer at all 5 Regional tournaments, the speed control software and hardware must be the same and must be the latest version that has been approved by the Speed Control Committee as of July1, directly preceding the respective Nationals.

    4. If the above conditions are not met the chief driver of the regional tournament shall inform the Regional EVP and the EVP shall decide if the boats have met the requirements to participate

    1. NATIONALS

    1. Boats must be a current year model

    2. USAWS, in conjunction with the Chief Driver of the National Tournament, shall determine the number of boats required

    3. Speed Control requirements are the same as Regionals

A boat model that pulls the National Championships will be recognized by AWSA (and may be promoted by the manufacturer) as an AWSA National Tournament Towboat

A boat manufacturer which has qualified and has pulled two (2) consecutive National Championships will be eligible to be invited by AWSA to participate in the US Open Tournament and other major national and international competitions sponsored and organized by AWSA.

Upon payment of the appropriate sponsorship fees, the manufacturer may promote and market that specific boat model as an Official Towboat of the US Open Tournament.

A boat model which has qualified to pull the National Championships will be recommended and supported by AWSA to be invited to pull IWSF Championships.

A minimum of 6 Pan American Region sanctioned tournaments must be pulled to qualify a specific boat model for international approval. The five US Regional Tournaments and the US National Championships are Pan American Region Sanctioned Tournaments.

Item #3: Adding Weight to Boats for Tricks; A manufacturer may alter his boat to enhance the wake for the trick event. The method of wake enhancement must be verifiable. The committee must approve the boat with the manufacturer's method of wake enhancement before it may be used in USAWS sanctioned events. George said they did not test any boats using the water ballast system, but if they had that is how they (promo boats) would bring them to tournaments. Action #31 Motion to approve Item 3. Second by Tim Robinson. Motion passed.

Item #4: Conditions Requiring Improvement. Current policy states; When the Committee identifies certain problems which they feel are serious enough to warrant change, but which involve redesign of some type, they may issue a warning stating the condition "MUST BE IMPROVED" or "MUST BE CORRECTED" the following year. Boats found to have problems of this seriousness will fail the following year if no improvement is seen. Since boats are required to physically retest every 2 years if they are unchanged, we have added the following amendment to the existing policy to mandate that a boat physically re-test if it has a condition that must be improved:

If a boat has a MUST IMPROVE condition, the "USAWS Approved" status for that boat is valid only for one year following the boat test.

Action #32 Motion to approve Towboat Policy in Item #4. Second by Bill Baker. Motion passed.

Item #5 Committee proposed to delete the following policy: A manufacturer may use all approved towboat/speed control combinations in sanctioned tournaments. If a towboat qualifies for Regionals with more than one speed control system, the boat manufacturer must designate by July 15 a single speed control system to be used in all Regionals. They chose to delete this because one of the speed control manufacturers felt we had been keeping them out of the Regionals with this policy. (meaning they do not have to designate by July 15 to a single system). As a clarification they added to their policy manual in defining what is a New or Modified Towboat - (item I) A change in speed control software or hardware that impacts the skiers' pull in slalom, trick or jump. If a boat manufacturer chooses to test different speed control systems in the same boat the boat would be considered a different model.

The committee felt the SC systems should be brought up through the class C levels for exposure to drivers and skiers. There was a lot of discussion and comments about speed control device use. A vote was taken on item #5. Seconded by Roger Hammel. Motion fails unanimously. Action # 34 Jeff Clark moved to implement the following policy, effective immediately. Policy stated below to be properly worded by Speed Control Committee. Seconded by Jim Grew. Motion passed.

    1. Towboat manufacturers shall be permitted to use any APPROVED speed control device (i.e. Boat/Device combination) for establishing credit toward Regional and National participation.

    2. Speed Control performance standards should be established to insure skiers receive a pull equivalent to a better-than-average Senior Driver (performance standards are already well defined)

    3. Only one Speed Control brand shall be used within a single event. In order to use multiple Speed Control devices in Nationals or Regionals a towboat manufacture must provide the required number of towboats equipped with each speed control device. A manufacturer may elect to use only one Speed Control brand.

Further discussion: George Lindy said there should be at least a minimum number of tournaments for systems to be used by our drivers to acquaint them before the SC system get to Regionals. Action #35 Steve Lohr moved to require 20% usage of a speed control device independent of the boat in each Region, as a requirement for that speed control device to be used "in any approved boat" at a Regional or National tournament. Second by Roger Hammel. Motion passed. George said that this will be incorporated into the policy manual and his committee does not have to have a mailed ballot. George will clean up some of the other wording, which is participation in Regionals, Nationals and the US Open so that the Towboat Manual reflects this final draft. Jim reminded George his committee has 10K in budget but will need to report to HQ of items they need. George wanted to convey to HQ that we should give as much exposure to the boats being tested as we can. (Jeff Smith, April Coble and Brenda Baldwin left)

  1. Speed Control: (Wayne Canfield) Wayne introduced the new load switch for slalom. Others noted that this may have some rules implications. Certain internal settings may now be established by the skier, specifically to assist driver in obtaining the correct setting (one which insures proper speed and appropriately matches the pull to skiers weight, strength, etc.). Discussion as to whether this would change the speed for a reride? His report included an 8-page document, AWSA's Official Speed Control Programming Guideline for operation and system parameters. We only have Perfect Pass at this time. AccuSki as yet, has not produced their operations manual for the new AccuSki 9.0 system. When we get it, the committee will incorporate AccuSki into the guidelines. Wayne Canfield reported that the Speed Control Committee does not believe there is a conflict of interest among any of its members (comments prompted by a rumor.) Action #36 Motion to have Safety Committee evaluate the safety issue of use without standard shock tubes as designed by Perfect Pass. Second by Jim Grew. Motion passed.

    2. Wayne said the speed control committee tests what the boat manufacturer brings to them. It has been an evolving process and they hope to keep improving the systems. Tim Robinson wanted a clarification (IWSF September meeting) in the jump event if a skier could change the S2 percent or were they referring to the S2D? Jeffry Armstrong felt that the SD2 should not be changed. Action #37 Motion to approve Programming Guideline of system parameters. Second by Jim Grew. Motion passed. Bob Meyhew suggested we publish these guidelines so everyone is on the same page. HQ will get it on the webpage.

  2. Membership: (No report as committee is now at USA Waterski level.)

  3. Sports Technology: Report attached. (Committee is now at USA Waterski level.)

  4. Time & Place: (Now a USA-WS Time & Place report recommending New Orleans.)

  1. Regional Recommendations

  1. East: Rick Norford received Sr Judge Emeritus has not heard from anyone. It was recently handled through committee.

  2. Midwest: The Region is strongly behind a competition-based system.

  3. South: Request HQ electronically send our Board packets. That way we can in turn email to our people.

  4. South Central: Rankings list should be changed to exclude Class "C" and Internationals skiers for Open Division (as per policy on Ratings). On line sanctioning was used this year and they liked it.

  5. West: Encourage HQ to be more diligent in getting Officials and Membership cards on a timely basis. Clinic materials should be updated to current standards. New rules should be approved at January meeting and implemented the day after Nationals.

  1. Other Business: Gene Davis showed a new fin that was submitted to Tech Committee for interpretation under Rule 8.03. Committee voted that it was not a moveable device fin. This would not be considered an active (skier controlled) or passive (not being skier controlled) fin. IWSF said they would pass it. We may need some new language in this rule for clarification.

Nikki Lee, this is an amendment to the Awards Committee report. We want to thank Jennifer Lamb and Scott Atkinson for all their hard work.

A round of applause in appreciation for Mark Crone being our substitute Chair, another superb job in handling the meeting!

16) Adjourn: Action #47 Motion to adjourn. Second by Rhoni Barton. Passed unanimously. �