Minutes of December 1998 BAOC Meeting

by Meg Gerstner

     Minutes of December 7, 1998 Board Meeting
     
     PRESENT:  Aileen Abernathy, Scott Aster, Everett Beuerman, Jean  Beuerman, 
     Steve Beuerman, Mark Blair, Bob Cooley, Nick Corsano, Evan Custer, Meg 
     Gerstner, Stacy Goss, Thorsten Graeve, Steve Gregg, Gary Kraght, Nancy 
     Lindeman, George Minarik, Joe Scarborough, Ian Tidswell
     
     1.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES - Evan Custer
     The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm at the Alta Bates Imaging 
     Center.  The minutes of the September 21, 1998 board meeting were approved 
     as had been distributed on Bayonet.  
     
     2.  PRESIDENT'S REPORT - Evan Custer
     Evan congratulated Joe Scarborough first for receiving the 1998 Service 
     Award, and second for organizing the orienteering event which was filmed 
     for "Bay Area Back Roads".  Evan also congratulated Thorsten Graeve for the 
     successful A meet at Big Basin, thanked Tony Pinkham for organizing the O 
     "festival" and Social at Stanford on December 5th, and congratulated Gary 
     Kraght on his recent marriage.
     
     3.  TREASURER'S REPORT - George Minarik
     George provided copies of the budget summary which indicated that the 
     budget is in good condition.  The income from the many events in October 
     and November, including the successful Big Basin and Stanford meets 
     combined with our frugal expenses has resulted in the highest bank balance 
     of the year.  Evan requested that any outstanding bills be given to George 
     as soon as possible so that they can be taken care of by year end. 
     
     4.  NEW ENTRY FEE PROPOSAL - Evan Custer
     A new entry fee schedule was adopted and becomes effective January 1, 1999. 
      For white/pink/ yellow courses, the fee will be $6 for the first person 
     ($2/additional adult; $1/additional child over age 8).  For intermediate 
     and advanced courses the fee will be $8 for members, $12 for nonmembers, 
     and $2/additional person.  Students (including graduate students) and 
     youths in groups without an adult are 50% of standard rates.  Second 
     courses are $2 for while/yellow; $4 for other courses.  Maximum member 
     family rate is $20 for one day.  Every participant receives a map.  Points 
     discussed before voting on the schedule were the desirability of giving 
     everyone a map; reciprocity with other clubs (which is currently done); the 
     issue of estimating the correct number of maps and the possibility of 
     running out if maps if everyone gets a map (estimate the number needed and 
     have blanks); the complexity of the fee structure.
     
     5.  1999 BUDGET - George Minarik
     The proposed 1999 budget was passed.  It was based on Evan's proposal for 
     the new fee structure.  The biggest budget variable is mapping.  There were 
     questions concerning contributions (e.g. to the US team); the decreased 
     bulletin expenses (due to a change in printers); publicity in various 
     magazines (at the discretion of the Publicity director); supplying 
     Gookinaid (presently supplied by Ev and Jean at South Bay "wilderness" 
     meets and will be supplied with each registration kit).
     
     6.  WEDNESDAY EVENING PRACTICE SESSION FEES - Bob Cooley
     Last year the Board voted to have a $1 fee for maps for the practice 
     sessions.  Bob suggested that if new copies of club maps are used, and if 
     they come from an official club source (e.g. Bob), the fee should be the 
     same cost as if they were purchased separately, i.e. $2 for a smaller map 
     and $3 for a larger map (e.g. the Joe Grant map).  It was agreed that these 
     sessions should be kept informal, and that for new copies of club maps the 
     appropriate amount ($2 or $3) should be charged.  For maps from other 
     sources, e.g. used maps or photocopies of USGS maps, any charge should be 
     left up to the meet director.  Gary Kraght said that these sessions were 
     club events, although not regulated, and, while he didn't know whether our 
     insurance covered these events, it was quite broad.
     
     7.  MAPPING DIRECTOR'S REPORT - Bob Cooley
     Wyatt Riley has made a map of Lake Elizabeth in Fremont suitable for white 
     and yellow events.  Bob spent about 15 days at Big Basin prior to the 
     A-meet.  Burton Creek has been field-checked.  The Morgan Territory base 
     map is done.  We have received written permission from Northstar to use 
     their terrain, and are waiting to see if they will provide any funds for 
     the mapping effort.  Bob is looking for a place on the Peninsula to map.  
     Among those places Bob has considered are Skyline Open Space (where he will 
     start mapping) and Russian Ridge.  Other parks suggested for future mapping 
     were Phledger Estate and Tilden Park (although it is in the East Bay where 
     we have many maps).  The plan is to have Tamarancho finished in the spring. 
      The new Bon Tempe map will be used for the first time the weekend of 
     December 12th.
     
     8.  "RUN IN THE REDWOODS" RECAP - Thorsten Graeve
     Thorsten reported that more than 400 people competed in the A meet with 
     more than 225 competitive entries (about 50% more than expected) and more 
     than 50 recreational runners each day.  The result was that the income from 
     the meet more than doubled the projected amount.  Possible reasons for this 
     success were the extensive flyers and advertising, the catchy title and 
     graphics, and the fact that there was no other A meet at the same time.  
     Gary reported that the reputation for BAOC A meets is high, contributing to 
     the attendance.  The meet ran smoothly, in part due to the large number of 
     volunteers (more than 80, many of whom were experienced with A meets).  
     Possible snags included the van shuttles (which did not seem to pose a 
     problem for the competitors) and the map (which, despite major improvements 
     by Bob Cooley, still needs work).  Evan said that it is likely that the 
     1999 A meet at Spooner Lake will likely have X and Y courses on green and 
     red to accommodate the large number of runners on these courses.
     
     9.  UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN POLICY - Nick Corsano (discussion)
     A discussion of a proposed policy on unaccompanied children was held.  The 
     proposed policy would not permit children under 14, with fewer than four 
     previous orienteering experiences, to run a course with difficulty greater 
     than yellow without an adult.  More stringent requirements could be enacted 
     depending on various factors (e.g. terrain), and exceptions could be made 
     with the consent of the meet director and child's guardian.  Points raised 
     during the discussion were the incident at Big Basin in which an adult 
     signed up a group of scouts for orange despite input from Registration; how 
     the four experiences could be determined; who would the policy help; 
     whether this was a common occurrence (Ev and Jean reported no); whether a 
     policy should be adopted based on a relatively rare event; whether the 
     authority should be given to Registration or the meet director to determine 
     what course was appropriate; how we can develop the skills needed to have 
     children run by themselves; how the policy could be enforced; whether there 
     is a legal aspect to the Club assuming responsibility for deciding who goes 
     out on what course; whether there is a need to increase the number of rules 
     and regulations; whether a first-time handout would help people understand 
     the difficulty of the courses.
     
     10.  KIDS PATCH PROGRAM AND LITTLE TROLL PROGRAM - Vicki Woolworth
     As Vicki was not present, and is still awaiting feedback on her proposed 
     program, discussion of this topic was deferred.
     
     11.  COURSE CLOSURE TIME POLICY - Evan Custer (discussion)
     A discussion of a proposed course closure time policy was held.  The 
     proposed policy would have courses closing officially at 2:00 pm unless 
     previously announced, but would have an official at the end until 2:30 pm 
     to record times of late arriving participants.  Control pickup would begin 
     at 2:00 so a late finisher would risk being on a course for which some 
     controls have been collected.  Points made during the discussion included 
     the need for flexibility for late-finishing participants; the desire to 
     ensure that there is sufficient time to do control pickup and, if 
     necessary, look for lost competitors; the fairness of having someone come 
     in early to be back by 2:00 and thus DNF while others have a recorded time; 
     the inconsistency between having three hours to run a course, keeping 
     starts open until 12:30, but closing at 2:00; the need to be clear as to 
     what is the closing time.
     
     12.  AWARDS FOR OPEN CLASSES AT A MEETS - Evan Custer
     Evan reported that there will be awards three deep for all classes, 
     including open classes, at Spooner Lake.
     
     13.  WHITE AND YELLOW COURSE STANDARDS - Evan Custer
     Course standards for B meets based on distance, not time, were adopted:  
     white 1.5 - 2.5 km; yellow 2.0 - 3.5 km; and orange 3.0 - 5.0 km.  These 
     take into account the steepness of most BAOC terrain.
     
     14.  APPOINTMENT OF NOMINATING COMMITTEE FOR 1999 OFFICERS - Evan Custer
     As previously announced, Evan is stepping down as president, but Scott 
     Aster has volunteered to be president, with George Minarik continuing as 
     treasurer, and Meg Gerstner as secretary.  Harold and Penny DeMoss have 
     agreed to be event coordinators.  We are still looking for an East Bay 
     Registration chair.  The slate of officers presented by the board will be 
     voted on at the annual meeting at Stanford on April 18th.
     
     15.  US CHAMPS AND SIERRA 2000 UPDATE - Evan Custer
     Evan reported that although no decision has yet been made as to the 
     headquarters for the US Champs at Spooner Lake, the dinner will be at 
     Planet Hollywood.  The contract with Norstar for the Sierra 2000 meet 
     should be finalized shortly.  One entry for Spooner Lake has already been 
     received.
     
     16.  1999 SCHEDULE - Scott Aster
     Scott has scheduled 36 days of orienteering for next year, with the first 
     half of the schedule fixed.  Event directors are still needed for May 2 at 
     Briones and July 11 at Nisene Marks.  If the Tamarancho map is complete, an 
     additional day will be added.  Ian Tidswell volunteered to be an assistant 
     director for a May 2 Briones meet if he can be the assistant director of 
     the UC Berkeley meet.  In addition, Ian will set up a course for a group of 
     visiting Swedish orienteers on March 18th, with a party to follow at Evan's 
     house.
     
     17.  DIRECTORS' REPORTS
     Quality (Ian Tidswell):  Nothing to report.
     
     Outreach (Aileen Abernathy):  A search and rescue activity with dogs will 
     be held February 2; Mike Poulsen will coordinate.  Abby has been in contact 
     with some physical education teachers in San Francisco concerning an option 
     to teach orienteering, and has been approached by Camp Concord, a 
     city-sponsored youth camp concerning orienteering.
     
     Equipment (Mark Blair):  Mark will order 50 new controls for competition 
     stands and will put numbers on them.
     
     Publicity (Nancy Lindeman):  Gary Kraght gave an interview on orienteering 
     on a local cable access channel in Petaluma.  As a result of the segment on 
     "Bay Area Backroads", there were about 12 parties of newcomers at Joaquin 
     Miller and Jean Beuerman reported that the hotline had more than three 
     dozen calls.  Large deposits for compasses will not be requested at meets.  
     An electronic running newsletter, "Fastrac" is looking for articles; a 
     suggestion will be passed on to USOF.  It was agreed that Nancy would buy 
     some copies of the teachers' guide to orienteering to be used in our 
     contacts with teachers.  
     
     Membership (Steve Beuerman):  102 memberships expire in December.
     
     Social (via George Minarik):  George accepted compliments for Louise Madrid 
     and Leslie Minarik about the social event at Stanford and reported that the 
     next event would be a picnic at Indian Valley on March 7.
     
     Registration (Ev and Jean Beuerman):  Nothing to report.
     
     USOF Liaison (Gary Kraght):  Gary requested that more BAOC members 
     volunteer for USOF projects.  
     
     Training (Steve Gregg):  A Norwegian visitor who is a coach and mapper in 
     Europe will be here for six months starting in January.
     
     Bulletin (Stacy Goss):  Has extra bulletins for training.  Bulletin 
     deadline Thursday, December 10th.
     
     Permits (per Scott Aster):  Rosemary Johnson has gotten all January and 
     February permits.
     
     Technical (Joe Scarborough):  Nothing to report.
     
     18.  NEXT BOD MEETING - Evan Custer
     The next meeting will be Monday, March 1, 1999, at Stanford.  The meeting 
     adjourned at 9:30 pm.