Minutes of ISSA Board Meeting March 6, 2004 Seaman’s Church Institute Newport, RI The attendees of the meeting were Kevin Baker (NESSA), Roger Rawlings (NESSA), Roy Williams (VP), Toby Baker (Past Pres.), Jeff Spranger (Past Pres.), JP Fasano (at Large), Tom Monkus (SAISA), Ray Teborek (VP), Don Shea (MWISA), John Vandemoer (Sec'y)), Bill Schneider (MASSA), Andrew Cole (Counsel), Wally Gleekman(Clerk), Bruce McPherson (Dev Chair) and President Larry White. The meeting was called to order at 1014 by President White. The minutes from the previous meeting (NSPS) were motioned for approval by Roger and Seconded by Roy, the motion carried with a unanimous vote. John reported on the Coaching Seminar at the NSPS and stated that there were about 25 participants and that all participants received the new ISSA Certificate for completion of the coaching seminar. Kevin then reported on his talks about High school leagues, he felt that participation was low because of scheduling conflicts but still was pleased with the response from the crowd. Kevin then went on to say how impressed he was with the amount of people wanting to start teams and leagues. Kevin gave one example of a possible league in Maryland. Kevin said he would gladly participate in the NSPS again but would like to be the first speaker of the day to solve logistical issues, he also mentioned that he would prepare his own handouts, as US SAILING’s rendition were inadequate. Larry mentioned that this NSPS was Joni Palmer’s last at the helm and she was being succeeded by Nan Walker, so things might change. President White went over briefly his President’s Report ( appended) but highlighted seven points of concern: 1. Evolving our sense of fitness and direction into strategic plan with goals. 2. Expand our ability to manage growth 3. Developing quality in the program 4. Controlling retention and expanding recapture rate 5. Managing transition 6. Establishing a higher level of funding 7. Retaining our independence President White then recognized Roy Williams for his 11 years of service to ISSA and thanked him for his tenure on the board. Although Roy is stepping down he will continue to help ISSA on certain projects. Roy Williams then recognized the vacancy in the “VP of the East” position and Nominated NESSA President Roger Rawlings, Ray seconded the nomination and the nomination was carried by a unanimous vote. President White then mentioned that there was a vacancy left by Roy on the Racing operations committee and nominated Bill Campbell (PCISA) for the position. Ray seconded the nomination and the nomination was carried by a unanimous vote. President White then mentioned that he had been in contact with Kevin Burnham of Sailing World Magazine and that he was interested in a story and sailing in the 75th Anniversary Regatta. Next was the Vice President’s Reports Ray Teborek (VP of Finance)- Stated that long time treasurer Nancy Healy was looking to retire and that he would step in as interim basis. Ray also said that the finance work was being moved to Chicago and he was working with Larry on the transition. Tim Hogan (Executive VP)- Larry White reporting for him, stated that the online membership system was working well and his team was working out the kinks. Larry White wanted everyone to report any problems before Derek Webster leaves. Roy Williams (VP of Race Operations)- Had nothing to report. Next was the Treasurer’s Report ( appended ), President White was reporting for Nancy Healy. While ISSA is in sound condition at this time, changing operations will require more funding. A preliminary fundraising effort is underway, including donations towards the USNA Crown Center ICSA Hall of Fame and ISSA exhibit. There are USSF pass-though funds available: $6,000 for the BSDRA team race in England this summer to help support two USA teams, and $3,000 towards the internationals schools team racing invitational in St. Pete in December. Next The Districts reported on District news and schedules: President White stated that no district had submitted a written report in advance of the meeting as required, which hampers operations. Districts are urged to comply in future. Bill Schneider reported for MASSA: Bill mentioned that the MASSA board has worked to decentralize their district and start multiple leagues that are divided by geographical area. He said that these leagues are now better organized and offers more events for the sailors. Bill also said that the New York State league needs to be built. Annapolis will remain the center of operations for MASSA but the leagues will take care of their areas. Bill also said there is growth in the Rochester area but not much happening in Canada. Also he expressed some concern that his area was too big geographically and places like Rochester might want to go to the Midwest district. Roger Rawlings reported for NESSA: Roger said that the regatta season kicks off the first weekend in April and that the Team Race qualifier will be at Brown University and the fleet race qualifier will be at Mass. Maritime. Prescott Littlefield has also been enlisted to help NESSA with Judges and running the fall regattas in NESSA. Tom Monkus reported for SAISA: Tom was proud of the 30% increase in participation in his district at regattas also that teams are now buying boats to use just for High School Sailing. Tom also talked about the new region in his district, the Caribbean. This new region will be running one of SAISA’s point regattas and will have regional qualifier for their Mallory qualifiers. Tom also mentioned Puerto Rico as another area that wants to be involved. Tom said that he has been working to change rules on the fly to meet the growing demand in his building district and that it is working well. Tom wrapped up by saying that the district qualifiers will be Mallory at St. Petersburg YC and the Baker at Eckerd College. Don Shea reported for MWISA: Don talked about the board of directors and the development of the by laws for the district. He said that the board of directors had their first true test this winter deciding on an issue of eligibility and that it worked well with all the directors being involved to make a good decision. He also mentioned growth in both MI and WI which were in need of some revitalization. The spring season starts for MWISA the first weekend in April with the Ice Breaker regatta in Chicago. The Mallory qualifiers are set for Chicago and the Baker is set for a new venue Lake Geneva WI. Larry then took a break to look at retention issues; he has prepared lists for each district detailing what schools have dropped out after they participated within the past ten years and when they were registered. The issue is retention : what must we do to keep these schools? How can we help them remain active? Some answers from the group were that some schools will naturally drift in and out, mainly single-handed sailors, especially if no effort is made to develop the team. But another answer is to work within districts to provide feeders for your High schools, mainly include 7th and 8th grade sailors at local events and on teams. Larry did also mention that the net growth rate for ISSA member schools is about 10%. The meeting then turned to a detailed look at the northwest district. The district has been at or below the minimum number schools required to be a district. Larry’s question is do we do anything about it. Larry and a general consensus from the group was to keep the district going with help from ISSA. Kevin said that we should ask Scott Boye (NWISA) for a written list of what he needs help with and what ISSA can do to help. Larry mentioned that one of the problems is that the district really has no center for School sailing and the geography is challenging for travel. Roy stated that we should not use the Mallory 05 as bait to get the district going. The opinion of the group was not to do anything under the bylaws but continue to lend our support to the district. Roger then presented a working paper from NESSA asking the Board’s opinion on school team structure. The two main points of the paper were: 1. It is becoming more common for school districts with more then one High School to combine students to form single athletic teams for each and every sport and sometimes in just some sports. 2. Some districts have combined with other districts for athletic teams but has kept the Academics separate. The state authority has recognized these teams. Tom responded first and warned against conglomerate teams, he has had some experience with this in his district. There then was some lively discussion over this but the general feeling of the group was that if a team could be formed at a school then it must stay with that school but if the school is combining all activities and the sailors have no choice then they should follow the school district’s format of a combined team. There was also mention from the group of maybe having the school’s principles some how verifying that this is truly the case. The issue was left to Roger, John and Bill Campbell to propose a possible Procedural Rule change. The last item before lunch was a discussion of an email that Larry and Bill S. had received from a parent. The parent was upset that at the Cressy this year there were sailors sailing with equipment like compasses and wind indicators not permitted under the NOR and "ISSA did nothing about it". While a procedural error did occur, the controls such as protests by contestants were not employed. The group found this troubling and agreed that ISSA must have a representative at each event to look out for issues like this and others. This representative must not be coaching at the event so he or she is free from prejudice. The group took a delicious lunch break at 1212. The meeting continued at 1247 with discussions of this years Spring Championships. John gave a short report that the events were on track. Larry brought up the concerns of 420 sails for the Mallory being even, he also mentioned that maybe PCISA might lend us use of their sails for the event. He also mentioned that for the Baker the event will be sailed with both 420’s and FJ’s and that Gavin O’Hare was working on a rotation that would allow the fairest sailing possible. Larry also mentioned that this year will be the first that the Baker will be fully umpired and asked if Don Becker, the chief judge for the Baker, might write something up for this, especially when it comes to umpire initiated calls. Larry then brought us up to date on the 75th anniversary regatta at Cedar Point. He had mentioned that the 14 original schools had been written to and he had already received a positive response from St. Georges School. Larry also introduced Kevin and Roger as the two who are taking charge of this event. Kevin and Roger had just met with the Atlantic and Cedar Point YC people and had a great discussion about the scheduling of the event and how it would work. Kevin mentioned that there would be an Atlantic owner in each boat that raced and that owner would do anything except steer. Jeff suggested that all boats represent a school. Roger also made mention that we might want to have an ISSA slide show at the event with a possibility of a keynote speaker. The 2004 Great Oaks is set for the 2nd weekend in November at Southern Yacht Club. Larry said that we had thought about changing the venue but as of yet no other venue has offered and the Southern YC is pleased to continue hosting.. Larry also pointed out that in the Annual meeting in the fall the board had voted to change the eligibility for Great Oaks participants, which now allows any team to compete that has not been to the Mallory or Baker within the last four years, and that the Donor of the trophy had agreed to modify the Deed of Gift accordingly. The 2005 Cressy is set in Wayzata, MN and is earlier then normal because of weather concerns. The winners from both the Laser and radial divisions will, as usual;, go on to earn a berth at the 2005 O’Day Championship, which is US SAILING’s adult single-handed championship. The December 2004-International schools Team Race at Eckerd College- John stated that the event seems to be on track, he had contact with Scott from Eckerd and had been told everything is ok, they are working on a preliminary NOR. USSF has granted ISSA $3,000 dollars for this event. This event does need a regatta organizer to put this all together. The discussion then turned to who from the US would compete, Larry stated that the thought would be the winner of the 2004 Baker would compete and that there possibly would be a rule that would only allow that team to compete if they had a certain number of sailors on the team that won the Baker in ’04. The Board also discussed whether to allow College Freshman on the team; Andrew thought it was a fine idea because most likely the winner of the Baker would have some seniors on it. These items were left to John to work with Scott in putting it together in a draft of the NOR. International invitations will be issued when the NOR has been approved. The 2005 Baker will be held at Florida Yacht Club on Memorial Day weekend 2005. Tom said that the Yacht Club has the event booked but there may be a problem with the number of boats they can provide. Larry said that we do have a contract with Vanguard which allows us to have up to 12 420’s. A PRO is also needed for this regatta. The 2005 Mallory is slated to be hosted by the Northwest district, the concern that was whether or not the event will benefit the district. John and Roy stated that they felt the Mallory at this point will not benefit the district and that we also have to protect our National Championship. John also said that the event is a little more then a year away so there needs to be a quick decision on whether the Northwest can host this. Roger then made a motion: To preserve the integrity of the Mallory the Board is now requesting that NWISA provide an acceptable plan for hosting the 2005 Mallory by April 1, 2004, absent any acceptable plan the NWISA and PCISA will exchange Mallory responsibilities for the 2005 and 2007 Championships. The motion was seconded by Kevin and the motion carried by a unanimous vote. Larry also added that he would need to talk to both Tim Hogan and Scott Boye to see what the possibilities were of making this happen. Larry emphasized that PCISA will need to be able to do this and they had offered in the fall. nb – In view the delay in transmitting these Minutes and NWISA's official notification of this action, the 1 April deadline should be extended - LW The 2006 Cressy has been tentatively slated for Hawaii. Larry said that as part of our Vanguard contract we follow the colleges to their venue in order to get the Vanguard boats. However, Larry said that he had not heard form the colleges for quite some time and was worried about this event happening in Hawaii. Kevin asked if we had heard anything about this from the PCISA. Larry responded that we have not. John brought up a need for a back up plan if the Hawaii venue falls short. Kevin then made a motion that we ask PCISA if they have an alternate plan if the event can not be held in Hawaii, the board also requests a firm response by June 1st. Ray seconded the motion and the motion carried with a unanimous vote. nb- ICSA has since arranged to meet Vanguard's requirements concerning responsibility for the boats and their re-sale or shipment back to Stateside. On confirmation of that arrangement, the uncertainty will disappear. - LW Next the meeting moved on to project reports( Project List appended) with Larry directing the conversation. Larry asked for any volunteers for the International regattas and no volunteers stepped forward. John talked about fundraising using clothing, he made a presentation using a brand named Maax. Larry mentioned that he and Andrew had been working on registering ISSA's trade mark from which licensing agreements foruse of the ISSA logo could be made with suppliers. Kevin then stepped in and said that he liked the idea of the clothing but thought Maax was charging too much for the product. Don Shea wondered if we could something with clothing that the kids would need for sailing. So, Kevin and Don agreed to take up this project and work with Andrew on licensing. Don and Kevin said they would have something for us in time for the June meeting. Larry also mentioned that they might want to get in touch with Tim Hogan because he had mentioned earlier that he might want to be part of this. Kevin then reassured the board that this project would first serve the sailors and then open it to all who wish to buy the product. Bruce McPherson has graciously donated his boat CAYUSE for sale with the proceeds to benefit ISSA and was here to ask the board how he should market the boat? Jeff suggested that he continue what he was doing independently and by using the ISSA newsletter to sell the boat. Don Shea wondered if by ISSA using its members to sell the boat if we break the trust between the members and the board. The answer that came out of the board was no, that Bruce was selling the boat and that the proceeds would go to ISSA. It was then suggested that he use a finder’s fee for the boat for whoever finds the buyer. Everyone though this was a good idea because he would have to pay a brokerage anyways. Kevin then suggested he put the boat up on eBay. Bruce thought this was a good idea and said he would do it. Jeff talked about the refurbishing of the Mallory trophy and building the triptych, he said that the original company that was going to do the job went out of business but he was looking for another company. Kevin then talked about the Yacht Club or Sailing Center thank-you letter and certificate. He said that he was working on a letter and asked the group for any suggestions. Ray responded by saying that we should maybe give the club or sailing center a ISSA burgee as a thank you. The group thought it was a good idea. Kevin also said that he would need good data from each district to know to whom to send the letter and presents.. Jeff said he was working a current history of ISSA. Larry then talked about media relations in general, and how we could help ourselves. In an example he had tried a PR firm for the 75th regatta but found it very expensive. Kevin Baker wondered if we couldn’t find a company that would do it pro bono and said that he might have a contact. Larry then moved them meeting into new business, Bruce brought up the fact that School sailors for both college and High School were not sailing in boats with much tuning ability, which derogates the US Olympic Sailing effort. He suggested that the boats at Nationals have more flexible rigs. John and Roger responded that the courses are too short for tuning to make a huge difference. Larry mentioned that the fragile institutional boats don’t stand up. John also mentioned that the cost is high for schools to bear for that type of boat. The issue was not resolved. Larry said that the next Annual Meeting will be the last Saturday in September and looked to Bill as MASSA is the host district. Bill said that Annapolis Yacht Club might be able to do it and if not East Port YC could do it with the help of Andrew Cole. The next Board meeting will be in early June at ISSA's headquarters in Ninatic, CT, , and Larry invited all to be present. Date and times are tba Kevin Baker made a motion to adjourn and Roger Rawlings seconded the motion, the motion was carried by unanimous vote and the meeting ended at 1512. Respectfully Submitted, John Vandemoer Secretary ISSA