St Moritz ISC 2016 Governing Council: April 2016

Saturday, April 30, 2016

Wrap up

We are in the final minutes of the Governing Council. The remainder of our delegates who have not already done so, will file their reports shortly.

We will have dinner tonight to raise funds for the AAC. It's a fun evening and the athletes always put on a great event.

As SMISC President, I thank our Governing Council Delegates--for giving of your time, money, and enthusiasm. I know all of our members appreciate your efforts.

If you are a SMISC member who has not yet gotten involved in the Governance of our sport--give it a try. You truly can make a difference.

Happy Skating!!

New Business. Referred to committee.

603. Propose the formation of an ad-hoc committee by the President to report to the 2017 Governing Council on the state of Judging in US Figure Skating. Their mission will be of a broad scope mainly focused on the grassroots assets of Judging and their effect on the health of the organization.

New business.

Refereed to committee:

602.

3010 Nonqualifying Competitions-Events
3013 Singles and Pairs:

C. In singles, girls and boys may compete against each other at the pre-juvenile level and lower.

3040 Nonqualifying Competitions - Entries
3045 At non qualifying competitions, if only one eligible competitor/team enters and event,:
A. For pre-juvenile and lower level singles events, such competitors will be allowed to compete in an event against skaters of the opposite gender, with the consent of the one eligible competitor.
B. Should the skaters choose not to compete against skaters of the opposite gender, and for all levels and disciplines not covered in rule 3045 (A), the entry fee will be refunded, and the event will be cancelled.

Rationale: To allow boys who often rarely have the opportunity to skate in actual free skate competition the opportunity to compete against other competitors.

Financial impact: Perhaps a small increase in revenue due to increased entries from boys who do not want to perform only in exhibitions.

New Business

Approved:
2725 Draw for the Starting Order of Final Round after a Qualifying Round - Singles, Pairs and Ice Dance
2726 As soon as possible after the determination and certification of results from the qualifying rounds, the officials selected by the chief referee will complete the draw for the final round. The starting order for the final round will be drawn in two subgroups:
A. The 1st and 2nd place finishers in each group in the initial round will be the last to skate in the final round and will draw from the first subgroup. If the skaters encompass a portion of a warm-up group, they will skate in the latter portion of said warm-up group.
B. The remaining qualifiers from the initial round will be the first to skate in the final round and will draw from the second subgroup.

Implementation date: July 1, 2016

Rationale: To reward the skaters placing 1st and 2nd in the qualifying rounds.

Financial impact: None

Item 353 (interim report #1)

Amended to read:

Juvenile Free Skate: +1.0 bonus for each double Axel achieved (under-rotated or full value).

Good Morning Columbus!!

My morning started with breakfast with members of the Adult Skating Committee. Adults are probably the most excited members of our sport. Their enthusiasm is infectious.

Adults Skate too!!! What a great group of individuals!!!

Friday, April 29, 2016

I think my fellow delegates covered the meeting news well. But, I do want to add that there were some honorees recognized throughout the day. First and foremost, our own Vonie Dondero was honored with her 40 year pin as an Accountant. We received the pin during the sectional meeting this morning and will deliver it to her as soon as we get home.

Other honorees from the Bay Area:
Joyce Burden, 50 year judge
Rosalie Hauer, 40 year judge
Capital City FSC, 75 year club

Item 337 (interim report 1)

Amended A. to read "Pattern dance tests may be taken with a partner of the same gender."

Item 320 (interim report 1) amended so that the title is National Vice Chair of Technical Accounting. (was Accountants)

Items 307, 308, 309 isolated and amended so that the lower level dance for the Final Round in Adult Pre-Silver, Adult Bronze, Adult Pre-Bronze will be the one selected.

Amendment approved to item 502 (Interim report 2)

Adult pair test pre-requisites now only include the corresponding MIF, mirroring the changes made in the standard track. This is to encourage participation in this discipline.

Letting you know I made it (Melissa on the left, next to Susan.)

Athlete Services

Doug Williams, Athlete Services Group Coordinator leads this group.
We will hear from each of the committee members that fall under Athlete Services.
Each of their reports can be found in the "Members Only" section of the USFS website.
Thanks Bill Coyle for the shoutout about the Memorial Fund--the Memorial Fund is a Project that is very near and dear to my heart.

An amendment to the bylaw change has been approved striking "athlete members of the Nominating Committee are eligible for service as an athlete member of the Board of Directors and/or as chair of the Athletes Advisory Committee."

The Council Session begins

President Sam Auxier precedes over the Governing Council.
Each item that has previously approved by the board must be ratified by the body. Items that are questioned by the body are isolated and voted on individually by the voting body. This is a time consuming process but truly a function of the democratic process. I hope that by writing this blog, our club members could become interested in participating in the governance of our sport. Please feel free to chime in and ask questions of any of our club delegates. We are here to represent you, SMISC members. Our delegates are:
Susan Bonn, SMISC President
Phillip DiGuglielmo, SMISC Vice-President
Lisa Erle, SMISC Treasurer
Jean Fahmie, SMISC 2nd Vice President, Membership Chair
Melissa Bowman, SMISC Member and Delegate

Financial Reports

Dr Paul George presented the financials to the body. While some people's eyes glaze over with all these numbers, this presentation indicates the health status of our foundation. Thanks Paul for handling this with great intellect and dedication--in a manner that is easily understood by those who may not be financially savvy.