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AVA Board Minutes 2006
March 2006Minutes of a American Vaulting Association
Board of Directors Meeting
March 4, 2006
Swedesboro NJ
The meeting was called to order at 1PM EST.
Roll Call:
Board Members attending: Jessica Ballenger, Carol Beutler, Charles Bittenbring, Carolyn Bland, Merry Cole, Emma Seely, Priscilla G. Faulkner, Katie Flannagan, Sydney Frankel, Susan Frankel, Connie Geisler, Rick Hawthorne, Virginia Hawthorne, Yossi Martonovich, Marianne Rose, Sue Smith.
Executive Board members attending: Nancy Stevens-Brown (President), Kelley Holly (Executive VP), Jan Garrod (Treasurer), Jennifer Williams (General Secretary), Sheri Benjamin (VP Development), Amy McCune (VP Membership), Patty Littmann (VP Competitions) and Noel Martonovich (VP Education and Region IV Supervisor). Regional Supervisors (not previously named) attending: Teresa Keville (Region II), Penny Maydak (Region III), Jan Weber (Region IX).
Absent Directors: Devon Maitozo, Nancy MacIsaac, Bob Weber, Karen Rach (Region X Supervisor), Rosie Brown (Region IV Supervisor).
President:
Approval of the Minutes of the November 2005 Board of Directors Meeting (McCune/Maydak): unanimous.
Reading of a letter from the Alumni Circle of Friends. The ACoF expressed distress that the Nationals 2005 logo appeared to them to be similar to the ACoF logo. The Executive Board will issue an apology to the ACoF.
Executive VP
Technical Committee:
Kendel Edmunds has been accepted into the Judges Training program.
Suzanne Detol presented rule change proposals as recommended by the Technical Committee. (Additions underlined, deletions struck through).
Rules for Vaulting, Chapter II, Article 204 (Team Freestyle):
2. The team coach must declare to competition management, by the time specified by competition management, which members of the team will perform in Freestyle. The vaulters team numbers for the Freestyle must remain the same as their numbers used for the Compulsories.
Rules for Vaulting, Chapter VI, Article 602 (Points and Values) Language changes on rounding and tie breakers:
2. Results are calculated to the 3rd decimal. Scores are rounded to the third decimal. “(For further information about scoring particular events, see Section 604 through Section 608 of this chapter. See also Standing Rules, Section VIII Recognized Competitions - D Scoring”)
3. Tie breakers:
a) Individual Events:
1) Compulsory: Score for Basic Seat, then Flag, then Mill, then Scissors, then Stand, then Flank. The Mount and Horse scores are not used.
2) Freestyle: Score for Composition then Performance;
3) Technical Test: Score for Composition, then Performance;
4) Overall: Compulsory score
b) Team Event (A,B,C or Trot)
1) Compulsory: Sum of the 6 vaulters' scores for Basic Seat, then the sum for the Flag, then the sum for Mill, then the sum for Scissors, then the sum for Stand, and then the sum for Flank; the mount and horse scores are not used.
2) Freestyle: Score for Composition then score for Performance;
3) Overall: Compulsory score.
c) Pas de Deux Event:
1) Freestyle: Score for Content, then score for Performance;
2) Overall: Score for Content, then score for Performance.
d) Two Phase Team Event:
1) Compulsory: Sum of the 4 vaulters' scores for Basic Seat, then the sum for Flag, then the sum for Mill, then the sum for Scissors, then the sum for Stand, and then the sum for Flank; the mount and horse scores are not used.
2) Barrel: Score for Content and then score for Performance.
e) Ties that cannot be broken as stated, remain ties.
For all events with two or more judges, each judge's scores shall be carried forward per the above.
Rules for Vaulting, Chapter VI, Article 604 (Team Canter and Team Trot Event Scoring). Clarification of scoring methodology.
a) The compulsory score of the six (6) vaulters are added creating a single score for each of the seven compulsory exercises. The vaulters whose scores are included are those declared by the team coach to perform in the Freestyle. The score for the vaulter who does not perform in the Freestyle is dropped.
b) The seven (7) compulsory score sums are averaged for the six vaulters by adding each of the 7 scores together and dividing by 6. The horse score is added to the resultant value and then the sum is divided by 8. This is the team's score for the compulsory section.
RESOLVED (Seely/Bland): accept the rule changes as presented. Unanimous.
Insurance Committee: Insurance Report
Insurance committee chair Jan Weber reported that the AVA has recently secured club association liability insurance coverage. Individual clubs may no longer secure coverage under this umbrella; they must secure their own insurance. USEF competitions are not covered by this policy.
Directors & Officers liability insurance has been secured through Equisure. Copies were distributed to Board members.
Kim Deaver was recognized for her compilation of materials on vaulting safety for use in educating insurance providers.
The Insurance Committee is working on:
small-club liability coverage
lower-priced comprehensive liability coverage for clubs
medical coverage for otherwise uncovered vaulters
Ethics Committee:
Kelley Holly reported the recommendation of the Ethics Committee that language be added to next year's membership forms to provide a signed agreement that members shall comply with AVA Rules and Regulations.
RESOLVED (Rose/ Detol) 2007 membership form include a signature line and agreement to abide by the Rules and Regulations of the American Vaulting Association. Unanimous.
National Office (Craig Coburn)
National Office Manager Craig Coburn reported the following:
Membership cards with registration date have been issued to all members
Competition Management tool allows member lookup by name, registration date, vaulter number, club.
Email blast tool has been developed for focused message delivery. Tool will be administered by the National Office and available through request of the VPs. Email blast delivery will be focused to profiles as self-reported by members on their yearly registration.
The AVA website will shortly launch members-only forums as a more manageable replacement for the Yahoogroups.
Year-to-date membership numbers are slightly up compared to 2005.
The Board recognized Jan Weber for managing the AVA Publications, Sue Detol for her roles as Medal Test Secretary and Competitions secretary, and Marianne Rose for her daily contributions to the National Office.
Constitution & Bylaws (Charlie Bittenbring)
After the extensive C&BL changes of 2005, very few change requests have been received.
The Committee is seeking input on the desirability of consolidating related rules within the rulebook in order to simplify information presentation. This issue will be discussed in the committee meeting to be held at this Annual Meeting.
Treasurer
Balance Sheet
Jan Garrod presented the AVA's current Balance Sheet. The AVA has a current balance of approximately $102,850. The 2005-06 budget is approximately $4000 in deficit due to increases in insurance costs. The treasurer will attempt to bring the budget into balance as the year progresses.
501(c)3 Subordinate Clubs
Clubs subordinate to the AVA's 501(c)3 standing MUST submit annual profit/loss statements to the AVA to allow the AVA to file its taxes in a timely matter. These statements should be submitted shortly after the close of the AVA's fiscal year (September 30). Requests for subordination and profit/loss statements must be received by November 1 yearly. Craig Coburn and Marianne Rose will design a suitable form to attempt to make this requirement clear to clubs.
Auction 2006 profit earmarking
Amy McCune (VP Membership) noted that Annual Meeting 2006 auction proceeds have not been earmarked.
RESOLVED (Frankel/J. Weber): Funds raised at Auction 2006 be allocated toward funding competitor expenses for WEG2006. Unanimous.
VP Education
VP Education Noel Martonovich reported on the activities of the Education Committee. The EC is gearing up to help the US provide horses for FEI Games 2010.
Discussion on Medal Design
Katie Flannagan (Education Committee) noted that the AVA's trot medals depict female forms. Is this an obstacle to the AVA's recruitment of male vaulters?
An androgynous or stylized form could be developed. Carole Dwinell volunteered to create a design.
RESOLVED (Benjamin/Littmann): Casting the medal for trot on a new design with an androgynous or stylized figure. Unanimous.
Discussion: Annual Meeting registration process (Katie Flannagan)
Katie noted that the education component of Annual Meeting 2006 had a separate registration from the main meeting. She would recommend that registrations be unified, with options for registering for modules of interest.
The Board recognized Noel Martonovich and Katie Flannagan for their Education efforts.
VP Membership
Amy McCune, VP Membership, proposed the following locations for upcoming meetings:
Proposed meeting locations:
2006 Nationals Industry, CA (Region I)
2006 November Online if feasible
2007 Annual Meeting Texas (Region IV)
2007 Nationals Denver, CO (Region IV)
2007 November Online if feasible
2008 Annual Meeting TBD
2008 Nationals Region II
2008 November Online if feasible
2009 Annual Meeting TBD
2009 Nationals Kentucky (Region X)
By July 2006, it will be determined if online meetings will be feasible.
RESOLVED (Flannagan/Faulkner): To accept the meeting schedule as proposed. Unanimous.
VP Competitions (Patty Littmann)
Denver 2005 Nationals had participation by 52 horses, 245 vaulters, 59 coaches, 45 longeurs
Competitions committee discussed offering more classes for more levels at Nationals in order to bring in more participants, with possible division of classes into Open and Championship classes - Championship classes potentially requiring qualification. Discussions will continue.
Nationals 2006 July 26-30 Industry CA. Horses may arrive Tuesday July 25th. Wednesday July 26th will be the Festival of the Future, vet check, warmup.
Proposed Nationals locations:
Denver , CO Aug 8-12
Northern California
Lexington, KY
Split Championships
Denver, CO
Region IX
The intent of recommending dual championships in 2010 is to provide scheduling flexibility for the American vaulting community (especially American horses) to participate in the FEI Games.
Another suggested alternative for 2010 was to have a smaller Championship, perhaps later in the year, rather than a larger National Festival.
RESOLVED (McCune/Detol): Approve Nationals locations as presented. Approved with three opposed.
Competitions Secretary (Suzanne Detol): The Zone Awards program seems to successfully encourage AVA recognition of competitions, especially in areas with fewer competitions. June 30, 2006 will be the close of qualifying scores for Zone Awards 2005-06. Objections were registered that the Region II Championship scores will not count for the Zone Awards - scores could be carried forward into the next year's zone awards. The Zone Awards committee welcomes recommendations.
VP Development (Sheri Benjamin)
Sheri announced that Vaulting World is available on the members-only section of the Website.
There will be a variety of discussion forums available on the members-only site.
Online AVA registration will be available in time for next year's memberships.
Secretary
RESOLVED (Garrod/Bittenbring): 10 Board seats shall be elected in 2006. Unanimous.
USEF Report
Sara Ike, USEF Vaulting Director, led a discussion earlier in the day. Discussion centered around the relationship between the AVA and USEF and identifying opportunities for the AVA such as multi-discipline competitions and data from the American Horse Council's Economic Impact Study.
Sara discussed the function of the three USEF Committees she supervises - Vaulting High Performance, Vaulting Technical, and Vaulting Eligible Athletes. She encouraged AVA members to make use of these committee members as liaisons between AVA and USEF.
Miscellaneous Business
FEI Games Task Force
The following volunteers were identified as willing to work on a Task Force to ensure the AVA is optimally prepared for the FEI World Equestrian Games to be held in Lexinton, Kentucky in 2010. Emma Seely, Patty Littmann, Sue Detol, Marianne Rose, Connie Geisler, Teresa Keville, Kelley Holly, Jessica Ballenger, Carolyn Bland, Julie Divita, Jan Garrod, Betsy Garrod, Kate Dalby, Priscilla G. Faulkner, Sydney Frankel, Carolyn Beutler, Noel and Yossi Martonovich, Katie Flannagan, Sara Ike, Susan Frankel, Kerith Lemon, Devon Maitozo, Rick and Virginia Hawthorne, Isabelle Parker, Kathy McDonald.
Nancy Stevens-Brown recommended the AVA cast keepsake vaulting medals promoting FEI Games 2010. Such a logo could be used on other materials.
USEF recognition of Bronze competitions (Suzanne Detol)
Sue cited advantages of including USEF recognition for Bronze Competition.
Patty Littmann volunteered to add investigation of the practical ramifications of this proposal into the mandate of her Competitions Committee. She will have a report prepared before the Nationals Board Meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 3:30PM EST.
American Vaulting Association
Minutes of a Meeting of the Board of Directors
July 28, 2006City of Industry, CA
President Nancy Stevens-Brown called the meeting to order at 7PM.
Roll Call:
Board Members attending: Jessica Ballenger, Carol Beutler, Charles Bittenbring, Carolyn Bland, Merry Cole, Priscilla G. Faulkner, Katie Flannagan, Sydney Frankel, Susan Frankel, Connie Geisler (also Region I Supervisor), Rick Hawthorne, Virginia Hawthorne, Devon Maitozo, Nancy MacIsaac, Yossi Martonovich, Marianne Rose, Emma Seeley, Sue Smith, Bob Weber.
Executive Board members attending: Nancy Stevens-Brown (President), Kelley Holly (Executive VP), Jennifer Williams (Secretary), Jan Garrod (Treasurer), Sheri Benjamin (VP Development), Amy McCune (VP Membership), Patty Littmann (VP Competitions) and Noel Martonovich (VP Education and Region IV Supervisor).
Regional Supervisors (not previously named) attending: Teresa Keville (Region II), Penny Maydak (Region III), Rosie Brown (Region IV), Jan Weber (Region IX), Karen Rach (Region X).
Approval of the Minutes:
Resolved (Beutler/Rose): Approve the minutes of the Board of Directors meeting of March 4, 2006.
Secretary
Ballot Committee:
The following Ballot Committee was presented for approval:
Jodi Rinard, Mile High Vaulters, Region IV; Alison Geischen, Vaulting Visions, Region IX; Bonnie Kuki, Mt. Rainier Vaulters, Region III; Shari Stapleton-Smith, Mt. Eden Vaulters, Region II; Ginny Ondaro, Tambourine Vaulters, Region II.
Resolved (Bittenbring/Weber): Approve the ballot committee.
Treasurer
2006 Budget Report
AVA Treasurer Jan Garrod reports the AVA in sound financial condition, with a total of $110,000 in accounts. This balance includes $51,000 invested in CDs.
For the year to date, the AVA is $38,684 ahead of budget, having not yet paid expenses for the National Championships or for some committees.
It should be noted that the AVA did not achieve the budgeted sums for Nationals and Membership.
Resolved (Rose/Holly): Approve the AVA Budget and Accounts Report as presented.
2007 Budget Report
Treasurer Jan Garrod presented the 2006-2007 budget. This budget runs approximately $3000 in deficit. It is predicated upon expectations of a profitable nationals in Denver and on reduced expectations for membership - although more membership is expected than was achieved in 2006.
Kelley Holly noted that the AVA may reasonably expect its insurance outlay to increase.
Resolved (Seely/Faulkner): Approve the 2006-2007 Budget (Seeley/Faulkner)
Doris Dyer Memorial Fund
The AVA has received a significant donation to establish the Doris Dyer Memorial Fund. The Fund is currently devoted to the benefit of the AVA Education Committee, especially horse training initiatives. These funds currently placed in a 4.5% investment fund with no withdrawal limitations. The Treasurer recommends placing these funds in a longer-term financial instrument in order to obtain a higher interest rate. The intent is to generate income for current use while preserving the principal.
Resolved (Flannagan/Cole): Honor the request of Del Dyer in authorizing the Treasurer to invest the funds in a high-interest-bearing, low risk account, subject to the approval of the Executive Board.
Executive VP
Technical Committee:
Technical Committee Chair Suzanne Detol reported that rule change proposals were received, including a proposal to clarify the post-competition paperwork requirements of Recognized Competitions. Another proposal concerned changes and clarification of the Event Membership rules. The technical committee recommends maintaining the Event Membership rules as written.
Jan Garrod observed that, as Competition Insurance is no longer available for Recognized Competitions, that insurance is no longer a factor in requiring memberships for competitions.
Resolved (Benjamin/Faulkner): Approve the recommendation of the technical committee to maintain enforcement of the membership rules as written. Approved with dissent.
President
USEF Report
Sara Ike, USEF Vaulting Director, reported that in 2006 the USEF budgeted $70,000 to Vaulting High-Performance. 90% of that was directed toward WEG competitors. Grants were made to the Team and Individuals. It was noted that the U.S.O.C. donated over $34,000 in airfare.
VP Membership
November 2006 Board Meeting
Resolved (Benjamin/Seely): In case a means cannot be found for an online Board meeting, the backup plan for the November board meeting shall be a multiple-session conference call.
March 2007 Annual Meeting
Rosie Brown presented information on 2007 Annual Meeting: March 1-4, 2007.
Rosie presented a proposal encompassing a larger agenda of training events and a charity benefit event. Board members emphasized the need to offer training opportunities for multiple levels of vaulters.
Resolved (Seely/Bittenbring): Approve the 2007 Annual Meeting venue as presented.
Discussion: perpetual awards
It was brought to the Board's attention that the yearly shipping of the AVA's perpetual awards imposes a financial burden on the recipients.
Resolved (Garrod/N. Martonovich): Awards committee to present a proposal at the next Board meeting to ameliorate the financial burden to award recipients of shipping the perpetual trophies.
Move of Kansas from Region X to Region IV
The Region IV Supervisor, Rosie Brown, recommends that affiliating Kansas with Region IV rather than Region X will better support the development of vaulting in Kansas. This move will not cause Region X to lose sufficient members to lose its right to elect its Regional Supervisor.
Resolved (Garrod/N. Martonovich) Pending the approval of the Region X Supervisor, move Kansas from Region X to Region IV.
VP Education
The education committee has sponsored several successful events this year, most notably the weeklong vaulting camp at Fort Robinson, Nebraska.
Discussion was raised about the importance of allowing practice time at competitions, especially National Championships. A subcommittee was proposed to examine the logistics of offering such practice time (e.g. staffing working the arenas, EMTs, time to prepare arenas for competition, etc). Those interested should participate in a subcommittee to examine logistics of offering practice time at competitions. This subcommittee was not established at this Board meeting.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9PM.