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.