JULY 16, 2005

The meeting was called to order by Tomek Amborski at 16:15 pm.

Present were Robert Cotter, Maureen Griffin, Glenn Willette, Elizabeth Earls, Chuck Lucasey, Mike Pedersen, Norah Molina, Beau Mitchum, Jane Meinhardt, Eric Dew, Haj Matsukata, Alex Kutznetsov and Valerie Rosenblatt.

The proposed Agenda included (1) Reports from the Chair & Treasurer, (2) Elections, and (3) Comments on the Bay Cup, the bylaws, the new RYC (Regional Youth Coordinator), and miscellaneous business.

The Chair called for the financial report. It was not available at this time, and will be presented by the treasurer at a future meeting. Membership asked for a clarifications as to what revenue the division has, The treasurer indicated that at this time the division’s only source of revenue at this time is the percentage of membership dues we get back from USFA.

Tomek then provided the Chair’s Report. One of the roles of the division is to run the divisional qualifiers. In the past errors have occurred that might put the validity of our qualifiers in doubt. Tomek proposes that the division run the qualifiers in the coming year in an effort to reduce this risk. It would also offer the opportunity to create more consistency from qualifier to qualifier. The number of fencers participating in these events has gone up, therefore it becomes more important to control the quality of the competitions.

Last year there was a problem with obtaining the medals for the qualifiers. This was because there was some confusion about what was needed, and when it had to be ordered. It is anticipated it won’t be a problem in the coming year.

Also brought up was the issue that fencers need to be at the appropriate qualifier. It is up to the clubs to talk to their fencers and make sure that they are in the right division. Currently your membership is determined either by your address, or by the location of your club. USFA rules require that any changes be made by the 1st of January of 2006. The clubs need to educate their fencers that they must change their status with USFA before the deadline if they wish to fence in the Northern California Division.

ELECTIONS

Elections were held. Tomek Amborski, Glenn Willette, and Anna Estrada were reelected to the offices of Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary. Chloe Soroquere was elected as Vice Chair.

DIVISION QUALIFIERS

The discussion then returned to the division qualifiers and how we would like to proceed for 2005-2006.One of the possibilities is for the division to run the qualifiers and pay the club a fee for hosting the event. The upside is if the division runs the qualifier, in addition to giving us more control of the quality of the competition, it will increase the division’s visibility and make the fencers more aware of our existence.

Issues that were brought up with this option were that some sort of bidding process would have to exist for the clubs that wish to host. It was also mentioned that since the division has no equipment, we need to be able to offer the clubs enough to make it worth their while to host.

Another proposed option was that the clubs run the qualifiers, but they will pay the division to have an executive present to make sure everything is in order, both in terms of entries and the fencing out of results where indicated.

I was moved that the division officers draft a resolution on the various options for the qualifier, including how the clubs would be reimbursed for hosting the qualifier were the division to take over running the events. The executive officers will meet by August 10, 2005, and that information will be disseminated to the clubs for consideration. An executive committee meeting will then be held during the second half of September to vote on this. The motion was seconded and passed.

The dates for the qualifiers were then proposed and voted on.

It was moved that JO Qualifier be held on December 17 - 18, 2005. The motion seconded and passed.

It was moved that the Y14/Y16 SNQ be held May 6 - 7, 2006. The motion was seconded and passed.

It was moved that the Div II, III, Veteran, Senior Team, and U19 team be held April 8 - 9, 2006. The motion was seconded and passed.

The hosting clubs will be determined after the final decision on the format is made in September. It was strongly felt that an effort should be made endeavor to make the older event first whenever a tournament occurs.

BAY CUP

A general discussion of the Bay Cup followed. Last year was quite successful. The Bay Cup has grown very quickly, so for the next season the events have been down into smaller events, in an effort to make the competitions more manageable.

It was brought up that Bay Cup has grown so large that it may no longer be serving its original purpose. Therefore it is necessary to think about strategic ideas we could offer to the Bay Cup, in an to make it serve our needs.