A competitor running under a huge fallen redwood tree at Big Basin State Park, 1996

BAOC Board Meeting Minutes

Date: (Tue.) Mar. 11, 2008
Location: Menlo Park, CA
Event Directors: - 650.906.9672, - 650.248.9595
Type: Quarterly meeting of the Board of Directors -- 7:00-10:00 PM; pizza will be available at 6:30 -- All club members are welcome


Approved minutes of the March 11, 2008 board meeting – Trinka Gillis


The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by President Nick Corsano

Present were: Mark Blair, Bob Cooley, George Minarik, Toby Ferguson, Peter Graube, Steve Gregg, Dan Greene, Scott Aster, Gary Kraght, Jim Fish, Nancy Lindeman, Everett Beuerman, Jean Beuerman, Esther Heller, Terry Farrah, Matthias Kohler, Jeff Lanam, Steve Beuerman, Brad Wetmore, Nick Corsano, Kelly Wells, Van Boughner, Jay Hann, Tony Pinkham, Trinka Gillis

1. Approval of Minutes – Nick Corsano

The previous meeting's minutes were approved with one clarification: Brad Wetmore will purchase insurance for shuttle drivers when needed. The Event Coordinator and/or Event Director should notify him if an event will require shuttles.

2. Email Votes – Trinka Gillis

The club held an online vote January 5th-6th, 2008 to confirm Toby Ferguson's nomination as EPunch Director. He was approved by the board.

3. President's Report – Nick Corsano

In January, Nick Corsano submitted the paperwork and fee to USOF to renew BAOC's charter for one year.
Comparing 2007 statistics to 2006:
The West Point A-meet in May will include a silent auction for benefit of juniors. BAOC donated one entry to the June A-meet.
Nick Corsano offers tribute to Tony Pinkham for the successful Ski-O.
The bylaws revision group has spent a lot of time on the bylaws this quarter.

4. Event Coordinator's Report – Brad Wetmore

Brad has experienced several hiccups in planning early 2008 events, but April is now completely filled, and May through August have at least one event every month.
The Sprint Series is taking place again.
There have been concerns raised about BAOC (and also GCO) holding events on the same weekends as other clubs holding significant events. For example, Pt. Pinole vs. Western States Championships in Arizona. In the case of Pt. Pinole, we polled the members long before the event about whether we should change the weekend. The most-voiced opinions were that this was a simple C meet with limited attendance, anyone who really wanted an A meet would go to AZ, and that the club should have more events, not less. It wasn't until after Steve made the call to continue using that weekend that some people became very vocal against it.
Brad will reemphasize avoiding conflicts to the new Event Coordinator. He will also let this person know when the traditional events are, so that we can avoid them.
Ben Legg is planning a training weekend for Redding on the 5th and 6th of April. Attendance is limited, but some spaces are still available.
A group in Shasta is interested in setting up a new orienteering club or becoming a chapter of ours.
Nothing is new regarding insurance. Brad has not yet submitted the application and fees for shuttle insurance. He will do that when shuttles are needed for an event.
The ranger at Coyote Hills is unhappy about off-trail use. We might use the new Knowland Park map for the National Orienteering Day event, instead of Coyote Hills.
Brad Wetmore is stepping down as Event Coordinator due to time constraints in his personal and professional life.
Nick Corsano thanks Brad for his work as Event Coordinator.

5. Treasurer's Report – Steve Beuerman

Steve Beuerman presented reports on our 2008 budget, and our expenses, as well as a report on event income. It was pointed out that the COOL events look negative, but Bayfront was a COOL event, and that brought in a lot of money that is recorded in a different category.

6. Conflict of Interest Forms – Trinka Gillis

Trinka asked all board members to fill out and return the signature page of the Conflict of Interest form.
Scott Aster asked if an individual can be hired by a private organization to hold a training event without violating the Conflict of Interest policy.
Dan Greene said that, in order to comply with the Conflict of Interest policy, one would need to recuse oneself from voting on a policy that affects one.
All Conflict of Interest forms must be on file by April 4th.

7. Nominating Committee – Dan Greene

The nominating committee was headed by Dan Greene, and includes Rex Winterbottom, Scott Aster, Nancy Lindeman, and Tony Pinkham.
The committee has been brainstorming possibilities and looking at those who frequently attend events.
They are looking at attributes that make someone a successful Event Coordinator, such as diplomacy, persuasiveness, organizational skills. They will have something ready in April. (April 13th is the absolute deadline.)
The Event Coordinator position has been improved in a few ways: George Minarik now does all event coordination for "A" meets, and the Area Coordinators take some work off of the Event Coordinator. Event Directors also have more responsibility regarding permitting than they used to.

8. Bylaws Review Committee – Kelly Wells

Kelly Wells presented the changes to the bylaws that the committee recommends. He moved that the board recommend to the membership the approval of the amendments to the bylaws.
A 2/3 vote is required.
Much discussion followed, with further recommendations for changes.
A motion was moved and seconded that we postpone the vote on the amendments to the bylaws until one week after Kelly's posting of the amendments, as changed tonight. Motion passed.

9. Mapping Projects – Bob Cooley

Vladimir Zherdev is coming in June to work on the Pacheco map. He will also work on Calero, Almaden Quicksilver, and part of Joe Grant where grazing has stopped and brush is now growing. Bob is repairing the Joe Grant map for the sprint and Trail O.
The Knowland Park map is about 1 square mile, with lots of fight.
Bob is looking at several new projects.
Access is a problem everywhere.

10. A-Meet Committee – George Minarik

Planning for the June 20th-22nd Tahoe A-meet is coming along fine. Online registration will open tomorrow.
O' in the Oaks V will be held November 14-16, 2008, with sprint, middle and classic distance events, and the Trail-O Champs.
May 1-3, 2009, an A-meet event is planned at Bogg's Mountain. This will include a sprint on Friday, and the U.S. team trials. They will apply for World Ranking Event for the Saturday and Sunday events.
Fall 2009, an A-meet is planned for Pacheco State Park.
A club would hold a World Ranking Event to allow their elite runners to be ranked internationally, and to draw international runners to the event. The club does need to provide lodging for the IOF coordinator. A motion was moved and seconded that we approve an application to USOF for WRE status for the Bogg's Mountain event in May 2009. Motion passed.

11. Event Pre-registration – Mark Blair

Mark Blair proposed a plan for online registration for all events. The purpose is to relieve workload for the EPunch crew. The software is 2/3 written already. Runners who pre-register won't have to stop at the EP table before going to the Start on the day of the event.
The current EPunch system is too stressful on volunteer staff.
The GeBe printer has been used successfully at several events. It provides fast and accurate splits, little staff time is needed to oversee it.
The negatives:
The general feeling is that the GeBe printer is fine for C-meets, but not for B-meets yet.
Safety was discussed.
Prepayment (Bay-O-Bucks) was brought up.
It was moved and seconded that discussion be closed. Motion passed.
It was moved and seconded that BAOC adopt a long-range goal to provide online registration for all BAOC events of B and C level. Motion passed.

12. EPunch Strategy – Toby Ferguson

Report submitted by email, with discussion at the board meeting. Summary below.
Recommendations:
We should reduce the number of events where the full EPunch system is to be deployed, and use the GeBe printer at the others.
Consequences:

13. BAOC COOL Update – Jay Hann

Jay Hann presented the results of the 1st interscholastic league.
There was no difference in attendance at Saturday or Sunday events. Open meets (with non-COOL courses) had higher attendance.
He saw an improvement in COOL participant skills over the course of the season, and is happy with the results.
There were many newcomers toward the end of the season.
The Junior Training Camp has been cancelled. Jay Hann has no time to plan it.

14. Update on Uniforms – Nick Corsano

Ben Legg had given Nick a status report. He has chosen Axis (Canada) as supplier. Uniform pieces will be pants, long-sleeve shirt and short-sleeve shirt. Malcolm Wyatt-Mair has developed some possible logos. Next steps are to solicit feedback on the logos, get an updated quote from Axis, and order a "fit kit".

15. Directors' Reports

a. Equipment – Mark Blair
The faded Brunton bags have all been replaced by new bags.
A club radio disappeared at Bogg's Mountain. (Someone in the room reported seeing it in an equipment box.)
b. Outreach – Scott Aster
The ranger at Foothill Park in Palo Alto enjoyed the orienteering event that Warner Haag planned at that park, and is interested in having a map made of the entire park.
A discussion followed about access to Foothill Park. This is a private park, only open to residents of Palo Alto. It was posited that our event fees might give us access to the usually-private park.
c. Website – Van Boughner
The BAOC website is stored on a new server, with weekly backup of files and daily database backup. Van shared statistics on site visitors:
  • 6000 visitors in the last 30 days, half were one-time visitors. Most visitors stay an average of three minutes and visit three pages.
  • 51% used IE browser, 30% used Firefox, 19% used Safari.
  • 85% were on Windows, 13% on Mac, 2% on Linux (2 accessed using Wii).
  • Most visitors were from English-speaking countries.
  • 40% go directly to the page, 35% found the page using Google.
  • The FAQ, Route Gadget, and event schedule were most popular.
d. Ski-O – Tony Pinkham
The Ski-O was a big success. Tony is planning another multi-day event.

16. New Business – Nick Corsano

The next meeting will be held in Millbrae on June 10th.

Meeting adjourned at 10:04 PM.


Minutes approved June 10, 2008.


Trinka Gillis
BAOC Secretary