August 2014

August 2014 USLRA Board Meeting Minutes

USLRA Conference Call Minutes

Sunday, August 18, 2014 – 8:00 PM

Present on call: Troy, Joanie, Polly, Shayna and Mary

1.) Approve July 2014 Minutes

http://www.uslogrolling.com/html/news.html

Shayna motions to approve July Minutes.  Mary Seconds.  All Approve.

2.)  LWC Follow Up

·         Positive feedback has come in from members on Flipping Score Cards and Volunteer Presence on the Docks.

·         Will work towards the addition of coins for falls next year.

·         Troy will offer to completely take over brackets for LWC, and will print an official bracket to reduce errors.   He plans to generate a final version of all brackets after the finals on Saturday.

·         There were 30 more amateurs this year than last.

·         Ideas for streamlining amateur matches:

                        2/3 falls (all members present agree this is not optimal)

                        Start Amateurs on a 2 log for all matches

                        Run the Boom Qualifying at a different time (Wednesday evening?)

                        Run all age groups together on one day (letting people know in advance)

                        Move U7 to a different Day or on 2 separate days

                        Limit the number of competitors by qualifying

                        Hold firm to registration deadline

                        Online Registration

·         How much time should be allowed between pro matches?  Suggested 10 minute recovery period between

·         A policy is needed on being late to matches (for choppers)

·         Discussion on how to resolve the problem of Choppers skipping their back bracket matches

·         Form a Judge Rotation               

·         USLRA should reach out to Ketchican rollers and other remote places - should they receive a discounted USLRA rate?   Need to get them involved in the super series

·         Ideas to enhance show:   Add Championship Amateur matches to the show (halftime?) or Girl vs. Boy champions face off, Add River Pig or Grand Entrance to Open the show back in

3.)  Squamish Results

·         The Squamish tournament is run Co-Ed, thus creating a problem for rankings.

·         Discussion on how women should be awarded points – by gender or actual placement in co-ed, as a minimum of 4 competitors is needed by gender for rankings.

Proposed wording:  Pro-competitors will receive points for the place they earn (regardless of gender) for the Squamish Days Logger Sports co-ed competition.

Polly Motions to Approve.  Mary Seconds.  All Approve.

4.)  Press Release Sample

John Pappadopoulos has written a sample press release with suggestions from a sports writer perspective.  These are available for tournament directors at:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/18DbN7NosVgRn6pWpdrqb3ifPj5RS2sMS8Dr7NrWWFNY/edit

5.)  Volunteer Recognition

·         Board would like to begin recognizing a “Volunteer of the Year”

·         Winner would receive a plaque

·         Members can give nominations, board will review nominations and choose most deserving.

5.) Super Series Discussion

·         Shayna will explore pricing for different award options

It is suggested that Semi-pro rollers will be awarded Super Series points in their respective age groups, according to their placement in Semi-Pro.

Semi-Pro Competitors will be awarded Super Series Points in their respective age groups based on their placement in Semi-Pro.

Joanie makes a motion to approve.   Shayna Seconds.  All Approve.

6.)    Tournament Sanctioning

·         Troy continues to work on Tournament Sanctioning Document for 2015. 

·         Wording will be added about the day fee for non-USLRA members, or a discounted fee for USLRA members.

·         A prize money pay out/break down will be added to the document.

·         Troy proposes a 7 day time limit to report results.   *A form should be included for directors to submit their results on

·         Troy will run the form past all tournament directors to seek their feedback.

7.)  USLRA Brackets

·         Steve Klingemann and Troy continue to work on cleaning up mistakes on brackets

·         They’ve added a variable font size to allow space for full names.

8.)  CAN-LOG

·         USLRA will seek to form a relationship with CAN-LOG.  Troy will reach out to them.

·         Also seek to form relationships with other Lumberjack Associations - perhaps suggesting a discounted rate for members of these other associations.

  

9.)  Log Size Specifications

·         It was brought up to Troy at the Three Rivers Roleo that at tournaments this summer, Log Sizes have not been consistent.   It was suggested that the variance in log size should be changed to ¼ inch rather than ½ inch.  The board will explore this further in the future.

10.)  Media

·         USLRA is now on twitter.  @USLogrolling

·         Future planning to update website:  add pages with athlete profiles, archival, update photos and media pages, add online payment system

11.)  Finance

·         4,935.00 in membership dues has been collected.

·         Payments left this year:  Super Series Awards, taxes.

·         Board will look at budgeting for Tournament Grants in the 2015 season.

12.)  Other topics

·       Joanie is exploring the idea of a camp for Amateurs led by Jamie Fischer.  Is working on details and dates.  Funds would go back to USLRA to form potential scholarship fund.  She will type up a proposal.

13.)  Tournament Liaisons for remainder of season

            October 5 - Oconomowoc Rock-n-Roll:  Shayna and Mary

            October 26 – River Rat Roll:  Troy and Polly

            November 8 – November Nationals:  Troy and Joanie

14.)  Apparel

·         Joanie will be meeting with two additional apparel suppliers

·         Logo has been simplified for better transfer

 15.)  Annual Board Meeting

·         Plans will be made to hold Annual USLRA Board meeting on November 8, after the November Nationals Tournament in Hudson, WI.   All USLRA members will be invited to attend.   (Meeting could also be videotaped for members unable to attend.)

16.)  Next Board Meeting will be scheduled at a later date.

Joanie motions to Adjourn.   Mary Seconds.   10:03 PM.

July 2014 USLRA Board Meeting Minutes

USLRA Meeting at LWC

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Present at meeting:  Troy, Polly, Shayna, Joanie, Amber, Sam

1.)  Judging

Troy will attend judges meeting.

Discussion on judging procedure.

2.)  Things to think about at LWC

- Addition of Adult Sport

- Key Log

- Should Semi-Pro use Pro Log times

- U17 vs. Semi-Pro (increase participation in U17)

- Competitor Numbers for Amateurs

- Keep log rolling in direction away from dock in running matches.

- One competitor asked to not be called to roll at the same time he is chopping.

3.)  Future Planning

- Board Members will assemble a list of goals for the remainder of year, 2015, 5 and 10 year goals.

- Continue working to maintain and improve relations with LWC

- Work toward more education:  Education of Instructors (Certification program?), Create DVD, Educating                Judges and helping to gain experience and develop

- Begin a USLRA Logrolling Camp (Joanie will look into the Possibility of developing a lumberjack camp        with Jamie Fischer)

- Sponsorship

- Form relationship with Foundation Board

- Create Online Registration for Memberships.

- Board should utilize Constant Contact for more frequent communication

- President could produce a State of the Association Letter to update members on what we are working on and        our goals.

July 2014 USLRA Board Meeting Minutes

USLRA Conference Call Minutes

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Present on call: Troy, Polly, Shayna, Joanie, Amber

1.) Approve June 2014 Minutes

http://www.uslogrolling.com/html/news.html

Polly motions to approve minutes.  Shayna Seconds.   All Approve.

2.)  LWC Planning

* Dock workers (USLRA Volunteers) will be on hand (one for each dock) at LWC to track fall counts, flip score cards, assist as needed.  (LWC has approved this.)   A schedule will be drawn up for volunteers.

* USLRA will have a table at Registration to check and collect memberships.

*  Effort to be made to streamline judges calls.

Polly motions to approve.   Leah Seconds.  All approve.

3.)  Discussion on Pro Rankings

*  Rankings may not reflect ability of rollers, due to the number of tournaments attended (men’s especially).  How do we tackle this issue to gain a more accurate ranking?  

4.)  Judging Issues

A clear procedure is needed for judging, so that their calls are not misinterpreted by the competitor.   It should be clear that there is no discussion or communication on a fall.

·         Job descriptions can be written up to be presented pre-tournament to judges

·         A coin or flip card on a string (to be worn around neck) to indicate which side took the fall should be used.

·         Judges can look down for 5 seconds to recall the fall.

·         A list of judges will be created to indicate experience (Head Judges, Pro Judges, Amateur Judges.

Some options to review in the future:   Creating judging certification – levels to be passed, Payment of Judges based on their certification or experience.

5.)   Membership Structure

Should we continue to use the day fee?  Should that fee be raised?

Could tournaments be structured to give a discount to members?   (Full tournament fee would include the cost of a day pass.)

6.)  Tournament Sanctioning Update

Sample of what a sanctioning agreement may look like:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cy7gJR8kkOyGfLYOjzVrCSFCdicIQvU27JQg2EweGKI/edit

7.)  Merchandise Update

Joanie is pricing options from different printers.

Looking at a solid color graphic, simplifying logo to print better.

8.) Website

Create a logrolling promo package/press kit to have available on USLRA website.

Put together a description of what logrolling is, and how a tournament works.

Joanie will work on these.

Sample Press releases –

2015 – USLRA can send press releases for each tournament.  (John Pappadopoulos can assist.)

9.)  Tournament Liaison Update

Namekagon River Roll Off(7/20)- Sam and Shayna

Lumberjack World Championships(7/24-26)- ALL BOARD MEMBERS

Grand Marais(8/2) - Shayna

Squamish(8/3-4)- (Shana Martin)

Morton Loggers Jubilee(8/7-10)-

Three Rivers Roleo(8/9)- Leah & Polly

Jack Pine(8/16)- Mary

Oconomowoc Rock n Roll – Shayna and Mary

River Rat Roll(10/26)- Troy and Polly

November Nationals-Troy and Joanie

10.)  Things to think about at LWC for the future

            Semi Pro Log Times – should they be consistent with Pro Log Times?

            Would Adult Sport and/or a Novice Bracket have a place at LWC?

            Would matches at LWC utilize a #5 log?

Could assigning competitor numbers  (jerseys) to Amateurs be beneficial?  (They could be used all season.  This would aid in identifying competitors to the audience.)

15.)      July Board Meeting – at LWC

                        7:00 at Wednesday, July 23 picnic

            August Board Meeting

                        Sunday, August 17 – 8:00 PM

Joanie motions to Adjourn.   Amber Seconds.   9:40 PM

June 2014 USLRA Board Meeting Minutes

June 2014 USLRA Board Meeting Minutes

USLRA Conference Call Minutes

Sunday, June 22, 2014 – 8:00 PM

Present on call: Troy, Sam, Leah, Polly, Shayna

1.) Approve June 2014 Minutes

http://www.uslogrolling.com/html/news.html

Shayna motions to approve May Minutes.  Leah Seconds.  All Approve.

2.)  Rule/Word Change Approval:

If the Logs do not meet the buoyancy standards, the judge has the discretion to finish the match on a 13’ log of the same diameter (if available), the next larger log or to finish the match on the smaller, less buoyant log, as long as the water does not rise above either of the competitor’s ankles.

(Found under “Standards for Log Buoyancy”)

Sam motions to approve word change.  Polly Seconds.  All approve.

  

*  Either 12’ or 13’ logs can be used if the recommended logs are not available.

(Found Under “Time Limits and Log Sizes”)

Polly motions to approve.   Leah Seconds.  All approve.

3.)  Corrected Competition Rules (Updated to USLogrolling.com on June 10, 2014)

Sam motions to approve 2014 competition rules.   Leah Seconds.  All approve.

4.)  Finance

Troy gave a Balance Update.   Deposits have been made ($650 from Charitable Fund for Oconomowoc Log, $560 memberships)

Checks will be written for the Oconomowoc Log ($650), Insurance ($648), and Superseries awards and taxes (Approximately $1000).

Discussion of how much of a cushion to keep in the balance.  (1,000-2,000 dollars)

Shayna will look into less expensive plaques/trophies for Super Series.

5.)   Review of Three Rivers Roleo Tournament and Registration

Board Approves the Three Rivers Roleo as a Level Two Tournament for 2014.

6.)  Procedure Discussion

Discussion on what decisions require a motion and vote.

7.)  USLRA vs ILRA                   

Annual Reports have been filed for both. (At a cost of $10/each.)

For now we will keep both organizations as separate businesses.

8.) Tournament Sanctioning

Troy proposes a more formal Sanctioning Agreement for all USLRA Sanctioned Tournaments in the future.  (Beginning 2015)

Different Fee plans will be explored. 

Proposed wording:

USLRA Sanctioning Agreement

·         Tournament must be run using USLRA Rules.

·         Any variance from the stated rules must be approved in advance by the full board.

·         Tournament entry form must state “All Competitors must be a current member of the USLRA.”

·         Tournament managers must turn in the complete match and tournament results to the tournament liaison.

·         Published results should include all competitors who are in the tournament.

9.)  Discussion of Day Passes for Membership

Official wording for day pass structure needs to be added for 2015.  

This issue will be discussed more after further exploration and data collection.

10.)  Wikipedia Page

Board will explore updating page to explain and enhance understanding of the sport.

11.)  Merchandise Update

Update unavailable from Joanie.   Merchandise will not be available at Midwest.

  

12.)  Property Owned by USLRA

Troy has taken a photo inventory of USLRA property and conditions.

Jamie Fischer is interested in purchasing docks.   Will investigate how much the docks actually cost and who they were manufactured by.

12.)  Lincoln, NE Update

Sam sent initial proposal.  Has had no response as of yet.

13.)  Things to watch this season:

Should semi-pro use pro log times?

Would Adult Sport/Masters work at LWC, or would competitors rather stay in semi-pro?

How many matches would actually use a #5 log?  (It is noted that Hayward is looking into obtaining a #5 log.)

Would USLRA tournaments benefit from having competitor Jerseys with numbers?

14.)  Pro-Log Roller Declaration Form

Add to form:   I understand I will not be able to return to amateur status.

Polly will update and send via email for board approval to be ready for Midwest Championships.

(Email approval was obtained.)

Form will be signed to obtain eligibility to boom  run.

15.)  July Board Meeting

          8:00 Sunday, June 13, 2014

Board will also plan to have a meeting at LWC – date/time to be determined.

Sam motions to Adjourn.   Shayna Seconds.   9:05 PM.

May 2014 USLRA Board Meeting Minutes

USLRA Conference Call Minutes

Sunday, May 18, 2014 – 8:00 PM

Present on call: Troy, Polly, Shayna, Sam, Joanie

1.) Approve April 2014 Minutes

http://www.uslogrolling.blogspot.com/2014_04_01_archive.html

Shayna moves to approve April  Minutes.  Joanie Seconds.  All Approve.

2.)  Rusty Ankle Recap

- Ideas to get less experienced rollers to competitions:

          Add a novice bracket?

          Add a consolation bracket?

3.)  Use of Google Docs

- All agree to usage of account and website to communicate

- Board website has been created for important documents

4.)  Discussion of USLRA owned property

- Listing of all rental property available

- Board owns many docks – perhaps not necessary to keep them. 

- Board will explore selling some docks with a contract to rent them back from new owner if needed

5.)  Lincoln, NE USLRA Event

- Interest in holding an event in Lincoln, NE for summer of 2015

- RFP will be created, including mileage, types of logs, minimum number of competitors (10 women, 10 men – minimum), tanks, mileage for transportation of USLRA equipment from Hudson

- Sam will draw up a proposal

6.)  LWC – Hayward Priorities

- Use of #5 Log

- Some feel this may be unfair to use, as some programs do not own #5 logs to practice on

-Troy will collect data on how many matches could actually make it to a #5 log

          - Recommended to add to yearly survey to get member feedback

- Recommend addition of an Adult Sport or Master’s Category

- Schedule USLRA Members to be present on Dock to aid in brackets, fall counts, etc.

- Could USLRA take over the bracket formation and keeping for LWC, using USLRA bracket generator, and live updates of brackets online.

-Troy and Shana will draft a letter to be sent.

7.)  Merchandise Update 

- Some clothing merchandise samples were displayed at Rusty Ankle

- USLRA Logo is too complicated to reproduce onto clothing etc.

- Could the Logo be updated or a portion be used?  Do we need a new logo?

- Joanie will look at Waterbottles and small items to sell at Midwest Championships.

8.) Website

- Add a description of what Log Rolling is and how a tournament works

- Create a logrolling promo package/press kit that can be used with potential sponsors

-Equipment Rental items listed on website

-Marketing our athletes – Create a page to include bios of Elite Athletes with photos of them rolling.   Athletes could fill out these bios with their membership forms.

- Make merchandise available in the future.

9.)  Finance

- $500 could be put towards merchandise purchase

- QuickBooks has been purchased

- Membership dues continue to come in and deposits have been made

10.)  June Board Meeting

          8:00 Sunday, June 22, 2014

Joanie motions to Adjourn.   Shayna Seconds.   9:35 PM.