PRESENT: Scott Aster, Bob Cooley, Evan Custer, Meg Gerstner, Steve Gregg, Rosemary Johnson, Gary Kraght, Nancy Lindeman, George Minarik, Syd Reader (Stanford Orienteering Club), Wyatt Riley, Chuck Spalding, Ian Tidswell, Abby Wolfe.
The meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm at the Allen Center for Integrated Systems at Stanford University.
1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Scott Aster
The minutes of the June 4, 2001, board meeting were approved.
2. PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Scott Aster
Scott reported that several board members were absent due to conflicts. Issues to be discussed during the meeting include the A-meet, the 2002 schedule, and new business, including the 2002 A-meet.
3. TREASURER'S REPORT - George Minarik
George reported that our revenue projection is close to the budgeted amount of about $43,000. Our expenses seem to be relatively low. Currently our biggest expense is mapping of Morgan Territory and Fallen Leaf Lake, which may come close to the $29,000 budgeted amount. One of the largest aspects of the mapping expense is housing the mappers at hotels. Wyatt asked why, if we have a budgeted amount of $1500 for media/advertising, we have spent only $150. Nancy reported that in previous years a substantial amount of this category had been spent on advertising in The Schedule, but that that was expensive and provided a poor yield.
It is time to begin the 2002 budgeting with a committee consisting of the club president, treasurer, event coordinator, and mapping coordinator, as well as any other interested members. Club members who would like to participate should contact George. A meeting to discuss the budget will be held on Wednesday, November 7, at George's house.
George reminded board members of the club policy which requires preapproval by a designated board member (i.e. the president, event coordinator, or treasurer) for any meet-related expense of $50 or more if it is to be reimbursed.
4. MAPPING REPORT - Bob Cooley
The mapper working on Morgan Territory will be finished this month; the mapper working on Fallen Leaf Lake will be finished in the next two months, after which he will be working on Alamaden Quicksilver. Housing is needed for this mapper in the South Bay, preferably within 5 miles of the park. Other maps being worked on by volunteers are Vasona Park in Los Gatos (Jeff Lanam) and Skyline next to Montebello (Russell Green and Dennis Wildfogel). We discussed the possibility of having one of the professional mappers spend successive weeks at Vasona Park, Skyline, the Presidio, and other locations such as Briones to provide a relatively quick map. Ian volunteered to look for a coordinator to locate housing for such mappers.
Vladimir Gusiatnikov had suggested on Bayonet that the club hold a ROGAINE at Henry Coe Park. The general consensus of the board was that there was insufficient interest at this time, but that we would reconsider if interested club members came forward.
Other possible sites we discussed for mapping/improved maps are Bon Tempe (which has participant limitations imposed by the Water District board) and Lafayette Reservoir (which was described as having relatively poor terrain and being part of a water district). Although we are not using some of our maps for events this year (e.g. Joaquin Miller, Nisene Marks, Spooner, other Sierra maps), it is possible that we get the most use from "local" maps, so we should consider those in making future mapping decisions.
Bob reported that at Morgan Territory, the map will be offset print at 1:15,000 for the World Ranking Event, but will be printed using a printer at 1:10,000 for the other courses. Finally, Bob reported that our Morgan Territory map is adjacent to 2 km of Contra Costa water district land, on which resides the Alameda whip snake, an endangered species. The presence of this snake means that the land is not available for our use.
5. EVENT COORDINATORS' REPORT - Scott Aster (for Harold and Penny DeMoss)
Scott reiterated the procedure Harold and Penny are using for the 2002 schedule. There will be a list of preferred dates and venues and when a course setter, meet director, and permit have all been acquired, that event will move to the official Schedule. There are 38 days of orienteering on the tentative schedule, with relatively few dates during the summer. Evan volunteered to direct a Tahoe meet in August. Gary volunteered to contact potential meet directors so as to confirm more events, thus making it easier for Rosemary to have time to obtain permits. It was stated that the club ethic should be that all active club members should participate as either meet directors or course setters.
6. 2001 A-MEET "O in the Oaks" - Scott Aster
The 2001 A-Meet will be held at Morgan Territory, and will include a World Ranking Event (WRE). Crew chiefs for various positions have been found, but Scott is still looking for volunteers for child care, search and rescue, and recreational starts and finishes. The formal permit has been received. Issues include the map (which is not yet completed) and the weather. Space for parking has been arranged, and carpooling (from the Walmart parking lot on the south side of the freeway at North Livermore) will be encouraged. Eighteen people have registered; there will likely not be a need for two Green courses. There will be a meeting of crew chiefs the first weekend in October at the event site.
7. DIRECTORS' REPORTS
There was no report for Technical (Joe Scarborough).
E-Punch Cadre (Evan Custer for Robert Lewis): In Robert's absence, Evan reported that the San Diego and Los Angeles clubs would like to rent our e-punch units for their meets on December 1st/2nd and December 8th/9th, respectively. The charge will be $1/unit/day plus shipping. Meg will draft an agreement setting forth the terms for the rental. It was suggested that we put our club's name and e-mail address on each unit, in case they are misplaced.
Juniors (Scott Aster for Nick Corsano): In Nick's absence, Scott reported that the recipient of this year's junior training grant, Anneliese Steuben, attended the Junior World Orienteering Championships (JWOC). She will be providing a report of her experience.
Equipment (Scott Aster for Mark Blair): In Mark's absence, Scott reported that Mark has purchased new self-setting radio clocks.
Membership (Scott Aster for Steve Beuerman): In Steve's absence, Scott reported that membership is up slightly.
Event Quality (Ian Tidswell): Ian had nothing specific to report. Chuck asked whether some of our White courses were too difficult, based on comments he had heard at recent events. Ian said that he might do something on this topic for the bulletin. Evan volunteered to look at the long White course from the Presidio and the Yellow course from Golden Gate Park, and provide comments.
Training (Steve Gregg): Steve reported that he had recently participated in some local cross-country races on Saturdays with Wyatt, and that he thought they could be helpful training.
Registration (Scott Aster for Jean and Ev Beuerman): In Ev and Jean's absence, Scott reported that we are still looking for a permanent North Bay registration director. There are many people who are willing to volunteer to help, but anyone who is interested in assuming the position should contact Scott.
USOF Report (Gary Kraght): Gary reported on the recent decision to move F50 and F55 to brown, and said that an unofficial questionnaire has been sent to women who may be affected by this move. Evan suggested that we have Green X and a slightly shorter Green Y course, and then leave the F50/F55 entrants on green. BAOC's application for the US Champs in 2003 will come before the USOF board in November.
Publicity (Nancy Lindeman): Nancy reported that most new orienteers contact the website. She will be putting our club events in City Sports, possibly under the heading "Adventure Racing", as this category seems to appeal to people who would like orienteering, and the skills in orienteering are useful in adventure racing. Abby will be doing an intermediate skills clinic on September 13 at REI, and (as part of outreach) five introductory clinics will be held at various REI locations.
Website (Abby Wolfe): Abby reported that our BAOC website is crosslisted on some other websites. We may want to actively seek to be crosslisted on some adventure racing websites.
Bulletin (Scott Aster for Jeff Lanam): In Jeff's absence, Scott reported that Jeff had submitted his report electronically. Jeff said that he would like to send a copy of the bulletin to all first-time orienteers with their results but there are problems with this: he often does not get the entry forms with addresses from the meet directors; he does not know if this is a "first" attendance; we may not have enough extra copies of the bulletin for all first-timers; and he may not have time to mail the copies. He would like to know whether someone would volunteer to address/distribute the copies. Jeff has also bought a copy of Microsoft Publisher 2002, which has helped with bulletin production. He has solved the problem of photo blurriness, and seeks other pictures.
Permits (Rosemary Johnson): Rosemary is seeking someone to take over the South Bay permit process. Any interested volunteer should contact her.
8. NEW/OTHER BUSINESS - Scott Aster
Scott reported that, in addition to a South Bay Permit Director, and a North Bay Registration Director, we also have a need for a Social director and South Bay Publicity director. Interested people should contact Scott. Also, Scott reported that he will be stepping down at the end of his term (in the Spring), and we will be looking for candidates for the board positions. (George will run for treasurer again next year.)
Wyatt suggested that a discount be given to those who register for events by using Active.com. As it currently is set up, it is more expensive to register online than at a meet, exactly the opposite of most road races and other events. Preregistration might help to determine how many maps would be needed, and may help with easing the burden at registration. An issue to be considered is the potential effect on income of lowering the cost of on-line registration (thought by George to be minimal). More information will be sought, especially from Registration. Another suggestion was an annual pass.
Greg Hannum is working on his Eagle Scout project by constructing a permanent orienteering course at Shell Ridge. He is seeking help with the construction, as well as donations. Any interested club members should contact Greg directly. Ian suggested that the other permanent orienteering course at Joaquin Miller be reviewed, and that the map be reprinted.
9. NEXT MEETING - Scott Aster
The next board meeting will be Monday, December 3, 2001, at the Alta Bates Imaging Center in Oakland at 7:00 pm. The meeting adjourned at 9:52 pm.