PRESENT: Scott Aster, Everett Beuerman, Jean Beuerman, Steve Beuerman, Mark Blair, Bob Cooley, Nick Corsano, Evan Custer, Harold DeMoss, Meg Gerstner, Stacy Goss, Steve Gregg, Marsha Jacobs, Rosemary Johnson, Jeff Lanam, Robert Lewis, Nancy Lindeman, George Minarik, Syd Reader (Stanford Orienteering Club), Ian Tidswell.
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm at the Allen Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Scott Aster
The minutes of the June 5, 2000, board meeting were approved.
2. PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Scott Aster
Scott reported that vacancies exist on the board, including Bulletin (as of the end of the year), Outreach, Social Director, and North Bay Registration. Any interested candidates for these positions should contact Scott. Jeff Lanam volunteered for Bulletin Editor. Among topics to be discussed later in the meeting are the upcoming schedule (including the 2001 A-meet), and the designation of club ranking events.
3. TREASURER'S REPORT - George Minarik
George reported that our event income increased substantially as a result of more events, more participants, higher fees, and good turnouts at the A-meets. Although the final results of the Sierra 2000 are not in, the estimated profit will be about $12,000. (As agreed, 50 percent of the profits of the Spooner Lake event will go to Gold Country Orienteering.)
The current bank balance is about $36,000, and although expenses are looming (e.g. e-punching costs), George suggested we consider putting some of the funds into a higher interest-generating fund, e.g. a certificate of deposit. The Budget Committee will meet in October and discuss this, along with the proposed budget to be presented at the December board meeting. The Budget Committee consists of the club president, treasurer, mapping coordinator, and any other interested participant (in this case, Evan).
4. SIERRA 2000 UPDATE - Evan Custer
Evan reviewed the O-Fest, reporting it was successful overall, with 13 different O' events, including four days of classic O', mountain bike-O, and trail-O. Among the highlights were the good convention, the nice facilities at Northstar, the many volunteers (including coordination with GCO at Spooner Lake), and the use of e-punching.
Evan's suggestions for future events:
George discussed the highlights of the very successful convention, including the use of great terrain in a variety of ways; the junior camp; top quality people at the workshops. Evan reported that Brunton has expressed interest in sponsoring future conventions (and provided support for this year's).
5. ELECTRONIC PUNCHING - Scott Aster
Scott reported a request from Joe Scarborough that there be a cadre leader, who is responsible for identifying one person to head each event with e-punching. Robert Lewis has volunteered to head the cadre through 2001, after which it would be a normal part of club activities. A suggestion to make the E-cadre leader a board position was deferred until the next meeting.
There was significant discussion as to whether we want to extend e-punching to orange courses on a regular basis, but no conclusion was reached. Other issues associated with e-punching included whether extra e-punch sticks should be provided at the start to accommodate participants who make it to a remote start but don't have a stick; how we keep track of who is out on the course with e-punching for which there is no punchcard stub; and whether the e-punch rental fee for juniors should be 50 percent of the normal fee.
6. MAPPING REPORT - Bob Cooley
George Kirkov has drawn Tamarancho, and then will do Morgan Territory, with Fallen Leaf next summer. Bob has some volunteers to do repair work on some of our existing maps, and has a volunteer to work on Skyline Open Space but has not assigned any professional mapper. He has a potential mapper to work on Briones, but he needs housing for him from January through March.
Shell Ridge is now on O-CAD, and there was extensive discussion about converting the rest of our maps. Everyone agreed that it is desirable to do this, and Ian reported that Scott Donald will convert hard copy maps to O-cad for $38/km2. Mark reported that his software to do such conversion will be completed in about a year. To do such conversion there are three options: find a club volunteer, wait until software is available for conversion, or hire someone to do the conversion.
Proposed parks for conversion were Joe Grant, Indian Valley, Sunol, Las Trampas, and Joaquin Miller. A motion to set aside $500 to have Scott Donald convert 6 to 8 km of Joaquin Miller was passed. Steve Gregg volunteered to field check Joaquin Miller once it was in O-CAD.
7. EVENT COORDINATORS' REPORT - Harold DeMoss
Harold and Penny are working on the 2001 schedule. Harold suggested that we have a checklist for meet directors, in particular including new factors occurring as a result of e-punching. He emphasized the need to coordinate e-punching with the meet director. Ian agreed to discuss this with Robert Lewis, head of the E-cadre. Harold also suggested that there be a radio at all remote starts to deal with issues such as running out of maps.
Rosemary requested that she, as permit director, not be the first contact with the park in the event of a change in schedule. Harold will get the proposed schedule and then contact the parks to ensure that the proposed time of year is acceptable for the event, before having Rosemary begin the permit process.
Nick would like to do a trail-O at a few places this year. For National Orienteering Day, the first weekend in May, it was agreed to have two "come-and-try-it" meets on Saturday at Coyote Hills and Spring Lake, with a B-meet at Presidio on Sunday.
8. 2001 A-MEET - Scott Aster
The 2001 A-Meet has been tentatively scheduled for Morgan Territory, with a proposed date of October 27/28. Alternative dates include October 6/7 (Columbus Day) and November 7/8. Event director will be Scott; course setter, George; vetter and map production, Bob; registrar, Steve Beuerman; and course consultant, Eric Bone.
Mark has investigated the parking situation, which is of concern to the ranger. Parking will be available at Morgan Territory and at a nearby ranch. A motion to name the A-meet the "Gold Rush" was defeated and there was insufficient support for the "Diablo Dash." In keeping with past practice, the meet director will select the name and decide on the fees.
9. DIRECTORS' REPORTS
There were no reports for Web Page (Abby Wolfe), Social (Scott Aster, acting), Technical (Joe Scarborough, or Outreach (vacant), and nothing further to report for Permits (Rosemary Johnson).
Juniors (Nick Corsano): Nick reported that Anneliese Steuben, the junior training grant recipient, has been doing very well following her summer training experiences.
Equipment (Mark Blair): The e-punch equipment consists of 51 control units, 2 master units, 120 stands with brackets, and a complete set of codes with appropriate Velcro connectors. New signs are now available. We have 137 non-e-punch controls. It was agreed that Ev and Jean would purchase two portable tables for use at events (cost about $50-60). New clocks will be purchased as the existing ones become defective.
Membership (Steve Beuerman): Steve reported 269 memberships with 553 members. There have been 76 expirations and 47 new memberships this year.
Event Quality (Ian Tidswell): Ian volunteered to help at the Tamarancho event. Harold was asked to point Ian to new course setters who might benefit from having their proposed courses reviewed.
Training (Steve Gregg): Steve would like to use e-punching in a training mode next summer. He also proposed that Neal Barlow's training session (shadowing several orange-level orienteers) be repeated.
Registration (Jean and Ev Beuerman): Jean reported that the club is low on T-shirts and sweatshirts, and will place an order for some.
USOF Report (Gary Kraght): In Gary's absence, Scott raised the issue of whether the board would approve a motion to request USOF to change the competitive level for F50 and F55 from green to brown. The motion passed.
Publicity (Nancy Lindeman): Nancy proposed that we produce a color flier for National Orienteering Day, as well as for other events. Marsha Jacobs and Rosemary Johnson will work on this. Nancy also suggested that other clubs have had good luck with providing tear-off sections at the bottom of standard fliers, and proposed that we have business cards with the web address and the hotline number to hand out. Jeff Lanam volunteered to make some prototypes.
Bulletin (Stacy Goss): As reported above, Jeff Lanam will assume the role of bulletin editor.
10. NEW BUSINESS - Scott Aster
Scott raised the issue of who decides which B-meets should constitute the club ranking events. Scott proposed that any event having a full set of courses on a reasonable map should qualify. It was suggested that the event coordinator may be able to identify appropriate events. Harold will generate a slate of proposed events, and Scott will discuss the issue with Joe Scarborough and Wyatt Riley, who presently compile club rankings. The club policy on advertising (i.e. to accept applications for advertisements) on the BAOC Website will be discussed at the December board meeting.
11. NEXT MEETING - Scott Aster
The next board meeting will be Monday, December 11, 2000, at the Alta Bates Imaging Center in Oakland at 7:00 pm. The meeting adjourned at 10:14 pm.