VIRGINIA SCHOLASTIC ROWING ASSOCIATION

MINUTES of the BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING MARCH 3, 2010

I.   The Board of Directors meeting was called to order by the President at 7:52 pm, March 2, 2010 in the cafeteria of Thomas Jefferson HSST.  Thirty-One voting members were present as follows:

  Non-voting Members:

II.         President’s Report. Rob Ittig: 

A.     Rob went over the Capital Equipment Budget Plan. He discussed suggestions from the membership, one of which was to finance the finish line building. This proved to be unworkable because it requires an individual to sign for the loan, the banks will not deal with an organization or group such as ours that has no fixed source of income and whose membership is ‘temporary’.

In response to a question from Bob Lenneman (TCW), the number of rowers on which to base the $22 assessment will be determined by the number of rowers entries received by Ronin Registration in the sign-up process.

It was asked by David Oakley (Robinson) what was the life expectancy of the finish line tower (FLT) and the start platform. The current FLT dates to about 1989 and the start platform was constructed in 1984. He said that the budget plan replacement dates for these items does not make sense. Rob said there are other costs that will require this plan to execute the projected time line, such as the start-up of a race course at Brambleton Park on the Beaver Dam Reservoir on the Fairfax/Loudon Counties line west of Dulles airport. This is not in the plan but should be, and will be added.

Stan Koussis (Fairfax) said the money is a hardship, our budgets having been set for the year already, and the assessment should commence next year. Charles Mcnamara (Georgetown Visitation) said the costs should be pro-rated between small and large schools base on use. Michael Osborne (Yorktown) asked if the boosters pay or the school? The boosters are the responsible organization to support the plan, if you can get the school to pay, that would be a good deal! Dorothy Lazor (Hylton) asked do other organizations like Occoquan Boat Club and George Mason University, that use our facilities, also pay in? Yes, in various ways they assist in all sorts of operational costs, but not necessarily directly to facilities. They also pay the Park Authority, the same as we do, to use the Sandy Run facility.

The vote was called, Mick McKeown (West Potomac) making a motion to adopt the plan as is, seconded by Don Schilpp (Gar-Field). The motion passed 29 to 1, with 1 abstain.

            B.  Rob announced the appointment of Harry Heim and Ryz Obuchowicz to the Nominations Committee.

            C.  The booster organizations that have not yet named its LOC staff member were cited. All LOC staff are to sign in on Ronin Registration now to capture contact information and sign liability waivers.

            D.  There was a short discussion on trophy retirements. Those retired are older, generally smaller, trophies or those that have been damaged beyond repair. We have a number of more modern trophies remaining from the discontinued regattas (NCASRC, NCC) that we have gradually been adding to the Ted Phoenix and Virginia Scholastic Rowing Championship (VSRC) regattas. We will have room in the new finish line building to display the retired trophies.

            E.  Rob said that he was unable to contact the Fairfax County Public School Head Athletic Director to find out if the $100 per athlete user fee reported to be collected would apply to crew. More on this to follow.

III.       Secretary Report.  John White: 

            A.  The Minutes of the February 2, 2010 Board meeting were read and approved as written.

            B.  The number of male / female rowers per team were taken. This number determines the classification of Division I or II for team trophy competition at the VSRC.

            C.  John reviewed the four items/documents that are due on March 19^th: Rule Book certification, Master Eligibility List (MEL), Liability Waiver Signatures certification, and rower entry fees. No team can row without completing these. Also mentioned was the 2010 USRowing membership requirement which should have been done at the beginning of the year.

            D.  John reported on the Coxswain Clinic conducted February 20^th at Woodbridge High School. He thanked Woodbridge for hosting it on a difficult weekend that had many more activities that day because of all those that were cancelled the previous two weekends due to the snowstorms. Sixty-two coxswains attended.

IV.       Treasurer’s Report.  Lee West:    

            A.  The February 2010 financial statement was reviewed.

            B.  The LOC organizational meeting for the LOC Staff is March 11^th at the NVRPA Headquarters, 5400 Ox road, Fairfax, 7:30 pm.

            C.  Lee thanked all those present for voting for her in the USRowing Board of Directors election. She was voted in as the Mid-Atlantic representative in an election that had the largest participation ever.

V.        Vice President’s Report.  Michael Mutter:

            A.  Mike went over the schools that owe Launch Driver Training Plans. The date for formal launch driver training sponsored by The Foundation for Rowing Education is March 21^st.

            B.  Mike reviewed the lightweight rower requirements. A handout explaining the Rowing Weight Control Program (RWCP) was distributed. There was concern expressed about the body fat measurements in some cases indicating the attainable weight was far too low to be a healthy weight. There was general agreement that trainer comments may not have been appropriate ande theat the coaches have to be actively engaged in the RWCP and monitor his/her lightweight rowers. And the boosters must be aware of what the coaches are doing.

            C.  Mike announced a contemplated electronics forms project plan wherein every booster contact would sign in on Ronin Registration. From that, rosters could be extracted without laborious maintenance (by the VASRA Secretary) and changes would be instantly available. More to follow.

            D.  Mike announced that the coaches regatta entries deadline will be at 9 pm on Wednesdays before regattas. NO CHANGES or entries will be accepted after 9 pm. If entry is missed, it will wait until the coaches pre-regatta meeting on Saturday and adjustments to the schedule will be considered on an availability basis.

VI.       Representative’s Reports.

            A.   Crew Council.  Noel Deskins/Dan Forgas:  NTR

            B.   USRA Referees.  Ryz Obuchowicz:  Referee Clinic is Saturday, March 13^th in the VFW Post 5633, 11511 MacArthur Blvd, Potomac, MD. Candidates are particularly welcome.

            C.   Sandy Run Park.  James Short:  We are on the water as of March 1^st , two weeks behind schedule due to the snow and ice. Because of restricted parking due to the snow still piled in the parking lots, practice for teams is on alternate days to allow everyone access. Carpool and use busses.

            D.   Thompson Boat Center.  Jermaine Lasane:  Not present.

VII.      Coordinator Reports.

A.      LOC.  Lee West:  The finish line building plans are approved. Construction is to begin after the last regatta. The new flooring is down in the HQ building.

B.       Charlie Butt.  George Kirschbaum: NTR

            C.   Personnel.  Mark Lindon:  Workdays are mandatory participation by all schools. The volunteer coordinators know and have the names.

            D.   Programs.  Mary & Watson Pryor:  The team photos and write-ups are due tonight.

            E.   Trophies.  Mike Stilwell:  Trophies are due tonight. Not all are turned in. Please see me to make arrangements to get them in. We have a number of trophy changes to make before the Phoenix and VSRC regattas and it takes time.

VIII.     Committee Reports.

            A.   Audit.  John Kowal:  NTR

            B.   Bylaws.  John White:  NTR

C.      Coaches Committee.  Peter Stramese:  Not present>

            D.   Coaches Development.  Ryz Obuchowicz:  NTR

            E.   Grievance.  Harry Heim:  NTR

            F.   History.  TJ Kozikowski:  NTR

G.  Nomination.  TBD: 

H.  Publicity.  Cherie Lejeune:  NTR

IX.       Old Business.  None.

X.        New Business.  None.

XI.       Announcements.

A.     Mar 6, 13, 20 - Occoquan Work days, 9 am to 1 pm.

B.     Mar 11 - LOC Organizational Meeting, 7:30 pm, NVRPA HQ, 5400 Ox Road, Fairfax.

C.     Mar 13 - Referee Clinic, 8 am, VFW Post 5633, 11511 MacArthur Blvd, Potomac, MD.

D.     Mar 13 - USRowing Men’s junior National Team ID camp, Sandy Run, at 8 am and 1 pm.

E.      Mar 19 - VASRA Regatta Entry Fees due to VASRA Treasurer from Boosters.

F.      Mar 19 - Rower and coach Liability Waiver Signature certification due from Boosters.

G.     Mar 21 - Launch Driver Training by Foundation for Rowing Education, Sandy Run, 8-4 pm.

H.     Mar 22 - List of Trained Launch Drivers due to the Personnel Coordinator, Mark Lindon.

I.        Mar 22 - Volunteer names due to the Personnel Coordinator, Mark Lindon.

J.       Apr 6 - Team Rosters for the Phoenix regatta and VSRC programs due to Lee West.

XII.      Adjournment.  The President adjourned the meeting at 9:10 pm.

            A.  The next BOD meeting is 7:30 pm, Tuesday, April 6, 2010 in the TJHSST Cafeteria.

John D. White

John D. White

Secretary