The meeting began at 1100 on 2/6/99 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, VA.
Roll call:
Officers present: President (Reyn Kinzey), VP (Eric Pittelkau), Secretary (David Chapman), Treasurer (Jamie Jisa). Officers absent: Director-at-Large (Nigel Willis). LAU Reps present: VRU (3): Kinzey, Carl Schmitt (late), Kris Kabza (late). PRU (3): Pittelkau, Jisa, Tom Walsh. EPRU (3): Dana Bateman, Dawn White (sub for Carl Ostermann), Elaine Recchiuti. Guests at the meeting were: Anne Barry (USA Rugby President), Daryl Lowery (United RFC), Mark Koiwai (MARR Chairman), Jason Maloni (7's Committee Head) and two gentlemen affiliated with the Catholic University RFC (Rob and Pete).
Approval of prior meeting
minutes:
General consent with no vote taken.
Treasurer's Report:
Ended 1998 in the black (in relation to the budget) and have $16K in the checking account. Provided current statement of budget and checking account. There is an on-going turnover of the treasury from the former-Treasurer-now-Secretary (David C) to the new Treasurer (Jamie). Taxes have been filed for 1998 and the request for a final determination on continuing status for the 501(c)(3) has been sent to the IRS.
Guest Speaker:
Anne Barry, President of USA Rugby, attended the meeting and had a 2 hour session with the BoD. Anne provided a summary of current events within USA Rugby (the following are just the highlights): hired Paul Montville (Executive Director); talked about the USOC relationship; mentioned grants to Under 23s to support their efforts; advertised the new liability insurance that comes with CIPP registration; said a closer look at expenditures and bill paying is happening with new staff; contracts will be in place for all events (1999 contracts have been drawn up); the NTP will be rebuilt; imminent announcement of coaching clinics; naming of program directors for all select side programs (with Jack Clark as the GM); discussed that select sides are generally not performing as well as desired; noted the BSkyB contract and new adidas contract ($150K-$200K/yr) and that 5% from contracts go to National Office; met with Superleague (want to bring this back under USA Rugby; problems because of lack of promotion/relegation and financial equity in the league); USA Rugby needs to communicate better and on a more timely basis; USA Rugby is in discussion with Fox on the city-based league (8-10 teams; maybe after World Cup, but maybe a few years down the road); discussions are on-going with NMG (a media group) to sponsor the Sweet 16 round of the college playoffs; USA Rugby has offered to host a part of the proposed World 7's circuit; USA Rugby has submitted a bid for the 2002 Women's World Cup (is one of 4 bids); making application to the IRFB for the next round of grants (will be targeting Youth Rugby at approx $80K-$100K); noted the end of the Southeast College Conference (college prototype where the National Office would coordinate college Rugby).
The BoD had a number of concerns and voiced them:
Coaching Clinics: problems with going to or hosting Level II and Level III clinics, fees for trainers, getting on the schedule, belief that the market for Level I certification is not saturated, some approved trainers have had no communication from USA Rugby regarding their status.
CIPP: problem with FT Collins printing cards, problem with reporting, no data on-line, slow 1999 turnaround, problems with response from the National Office.
World Cup on TV: concern about areas that do not get the International Channel.
The BoD thanked Anne for her informative and amicable discussion, as well as taking the time to visit us.
College Club Eligibility:
Catholic University. no longer recognizes the Catholic U. Rugby Club. As a result, it cannot compete within the USA Rugby collegiate competitive structure under current USA Rugby guidelines; reportedly, Georgetown has a similar problem.
The CU Alumni Association has been helping the current CU team with their LAU dues; they're committed to the team and to their coach (Tom Walsh).
A discussion ensued about CU's "firing" of Tom and the administration at CU. The team has chosen not to file with the university because of various strings attached. However, unless USA Rugby changes policy or grants a waiver, CU may not play as a college team (in terms of advancing to playoff competition). Anne Barry suggested that CU go through the appeals process to the USA Rugby Management Committee.
7s Committee
Report:
Motion from Reyn to accept the 7's Committee proposal. Seconded by David C. Friendly amendments (edits) to the report were offered and accepted. Passed on unanimous voice vote.
Tournaments:
6/5 Severn River
6/12 Bethlehem
6/19 Philadelphia-Whitemarsh
7/10 Norfolk Blues
7/24 Championship (hosted by Frederick, pending verification of adequate fields)
Women's Committee:
Elaine was pleased with the team at the ITTs and the support she received. She's working on more games for the team. In the immediate future, the Ireland tour is off due to the expenses that would be incurred, but she is trying to get the Pacific Coast to come here. She is working with Regina Etheridge at Balls Out on a fund raising plan.
Women's Club League:
Reps are to talk to folks by 2/17; committee will work this out at the end of February to establish a MARFU-wide Women's Club league.
Women's
Championship:
Dana Teagarden is coordinating with the Cherry Blossom Tournament to have the W's Championship event held during the M's general tournament.
No Show Policy (College Playoffs):
Motion from Reyn: The LAU of any team that fails to fulfill its obligation in a championship or consolation round can lose a slot in next year's championship and that team is subject to discipline by their LAU. Seconded by Jamie. Passed on a vote of 9-4 (For: Reyn (2), Eric (2), Jamie (2), Tom, Dana, Elaine; Against: David C, CarlS, Kris, Dawn)
Coaching Credentials Motion:
Motion from Eric: Require select side coaches to have USA certification (college-Level II, senior-Level III) plus 3-4 years experience at college or club level, or a proven track record as evidenced by national team coaching appointment or their club team make USA Final Four in last two years. Seconded by Dana. Defeated on voice vote.
Men's Select Side:
Report from Mitch and discussed by Reyn. Relayed plan for matches and camps. Stated that a problem exists with Div II-N and scheduling into November. Reyn said Competitions Committee would need to resolve.
MARFU CIPP
Game Day Procedure:
Motion from Eric: Accept game day procedure as he outlined in an Email message. Seconded by Dana. Defeated by voice vote.
Eric said he would no longer handle match-related CIPP complaints. David C said he would take this over.
Div I/II Conundrum:
David C and Eric bantered back and forth. No action taken due to impasse.
Division I C Sides in Division III Tournament:
Some limited discussion, but no action.
Event
Championship Costs:
The feeling of the BoD was that we would pay for EMTs (or better) for Championship events that we help co-sponsor, but not for trainers. The purpose of the original policy was for emergency medical care and not for nice-to-haves. The policy posted on the web-site will be updated after the meeting.
Next Meeting and
adjournment:
The next BoD session will be on May 16. The meeting was adjourned at 1530.