2009 Summer Newsletter

USA Gymnastics Region 8 Regional Committee Meeting

Region 8 Congress

June 11, 2009

Omni Hotel – Jacksonville, FL

 

Members present:           

Debby Kornegay – RACC                        Jon Aardema – GA

Marian Dykes – RTCC                        Jackie Latino – LA

Brad Harris – RJOCC                        Nancy Hawkins – MS

Kelly Pitzen – RPECC                        Jennie Adams – NC

Deb Walls – AL                                    Joanne Child – SC

Toni Rand – FL                                    Larry Corrigan – TN

Guest Sheila Ragle, NAWGJ-RJD (9:15)

Chair Deb Kornegay called the meeting to order @ 9:05.

Deb K gave out Regional Congress responsibilities for the weekend to each member.

Kelly – Elite/TOPS Report                        Kelly reported dates of interest to the Region as follows:

·      June 19/20            Orlando Metro hosting clinic and testing

·      July 11/12            Twisters hosing clinic and testing

·      Dec. 12 or Dec. 19, 2009 are possible dates for clinic and testing @ Brandy’s in Orlando.

Developmental camps have really been beneficial. 

Contact Kelly if gymnasts from each state would be eligible. kpitzen@gmail.com

 

Deb K – RACC Report

·      Deb reported that there was a request to have State Meet entry fees as stated in Rules and Policies raised. As of now the fee should remain $50. Any State Meet with an entry fee above $50 must be approved by yearly by RACC.

·      Deb clarified the on-the-floor (meet) Professional Dress Code. The Dress Code is for coaches only. It does not apply to photographers, meet administrative personnel, etc. Foot apparel may now be athletic shoes and athletic sandals. Flip-flops are ok.

·      Deb stated that pre-meet information should not need to have specific birthdays published. Meet Directors may list names and age groups so coaches can check. The log in would need to be secure.

·      Deb reported that USAG will ask National Travel Service to give perks, such as meeting rooms, when the whole Region booked in the same hotel. She also suggested that it would be beneficial to have a standardized spreadsheet for entries from states to Easterns and Nationals. It would also be helpful if each Region would write one check for all entries to either meet.

·      At the RACC meeting the question was asked if it was ok to give Level 9 gymnasts a $20 gift. It was clarified that no additional gifts would be acceptable.

·      Deb reported a clarification to the Operating Code concerning elected Committee positions. If a person is nominated for any elected position, the chair should check to see if he/she wants to run. If the person does not provide a resume by deadline date, the name should be taken off the ballot. If the State Committee has a member who resigns with less than one year remaining on his/her term, the Committee may appoint a replacement. If more than a year remains on the term, an additional election is needed.

·      Deb accepted feedback about the National Invitational (NIT) competition in Seattle. State Chairmen that were present at the 2009 meet gave feedback that some of the parents were not all that positive about the experience. There seemed to be too much additional activity (non-competitive) in the background when gymnasts were competing. Brad H state that the National office is planning on improving the quality of the meet. The idea of the meet was for the exposure of gymnasts abilities to college coaches and that goal was attained. Marian stated that there was more than the usual interaction between the college coaches and the gymnasts’ coaches. It was suggested that Regional Chairmen need to know who had entered, so that alternates could be added. A better entry form will be pursued.

·      Deb reported that over $900 was gathered at the 7/8 Regionals for the Susan B Komen Fund A check for $1000 was mailed in.

Marian – RTCC Report                       

·      Marian reported that the on-line Judge Availability Form for Regional assignments had glitches. By late May all judges who had sent in applications had been contacted, but confusion still occurred. Marian is working with TG and John to correct the process.

·      From the RTCC meetings in Seattle Marian discovered that Region 8’s Regional judging assignment procedure did not strictly follow the R & P. In trying to adopt a more appropriate version for the ’09 deadline, there were some problems encountered by the State Committees. If the Region keeps this procedure, there will need to be timeline adjustments. The reason for this procedure is to place in the judges’ hands the responsibility to demonstrate an extra mile of effort for accountability much like we expect the gymnasts to make the extra effort for quality.

Marian reported that judge availability procedures involved the following:

·      The list was compiled from all sources of different forms submitted.

·      Marian would like an earlier due date. States would be able to work with their judges earlier also. Our proposed date for 2010 for Regional Congress is June 11-13.

·      Each State’s Board did the process a little different. The State Boards may vote to adopt the Regional availability process that had been used in the passed.

·      Marian presented the list of judges who met criteria.

Denise Brumsey, Sandra Carminati, Terri Costa, Gayli Craver, Sharon Doyle, Marian Dykes, Catherine Fariz, Kerma Headrick, Mary Hoagland, Sibby Lane, Mary Moore, Paul Padron, June Seymour, Susan Sommer, Mary Thacker, Mary Ann Wallace and Winnie Witten

 

 

Jennie Adams, Cookie Batsche, Marilyn Bishop, Evelyn Chandler, Mary Lou Dillard, Marian Dykes, Brenda Eberhardt, Janet Efland, Lucy Fox, Joan Gnat, Teri Jenkins, Kathy Kuhn, Rene Niccollai, Paul Padron, Sheila Ragle, Diane Thompson and Winnie Witten

 

Marian reviewed the current policy of the Region 8 board as is applies to the philosophy of how National rated judges might be able to judge a National meet. Nationals may be used if geographically convenient, as when a judge might withdraw at the last minute and a local National might be assigned.

The criteria for Judge Education in order to judge a Regional meet are as follows:

·      Training Camp either hosted or attended within last 2 years.           

·      Current Level 10 or higher rating

·      In-gym card reflecting 9 hours per year

·      Clinic at Regional level or higher

·      Date for submission of In-gym card and Regional availability is May 15, 2010.

Sheila left 10:45.

Marian reminded the Committee that when each state is selecting judges for State Meets, keep in mind that the new ratings need to be in place by end of Dec. 2009. The State Selection needs to be sent to Marian by Nov. 1, 2009.

Brad – RJOCC Report

·      Robert Dillard was selected as the Region 8 JO Coach of the Year. The National Coach was Mark Folger from Texas.   Much discussion was given to the way the coaches were selected. The National office thinks that the nominee (gym) needs to be involved in the JO program, displaying excellence in all levels of JO competitions in the current year. The timing of each state’s selection needs to be coordinated. It was suggested that the vote be taken at the end of the Optional State Meet. Regional introduction of the nominees shall be at the 9/10 Regional Meet. 

·      Brad reminded the State Chairs that there was a need to monitor mobility of gymnasts who move from Prep Optionals through Compulsories to Level 7.

·      National age groups are determined from percentages of ages from the whole country. Eastern and Western ages were very different fro each other. The percentages for Eastern Nationals will now come from only Eastern athletes. Region 8 had a better showing at Easterns. The young trend from Region 8 is exciting.

·      Training camps were well received last year. Sites for Training camps are on the planner.

·      The Regional gymnasts’ trip is planned for Cancun, Mexico this year. They have a good training facility and it’s a beautiful venue. Brad would like to alternate a national and international trip each year. The Region buys coaches jackets every other year. The National trip will be on the year jackets are purchased and the more expensive international trip will be on the year Region 8 does not purchase jackets. Perhaps we can create an apparel package that can be sold to the gymnast for a nominal cost. It was discussed that each state could purchase the apparel package for the Level 9’s.

·      Brad encouraged the Board members to go to the JO Rule Change session for the updates. The philosophy of the JO Committee is that the levels need to be rational. De-emphasize the skill and re-emphasize the execution. Set the rules for the masses so the sport can grow.

Marian – RTCC Report continued:

·      Marian reminded the Board that the CPE coordinator sends summary of judges’ certification to Marian and Rachel @ USAG. National due date is June 30^th. A judge may submit late and be reinstated for assignments.

·      The Tech Committee spent a lot of time for the new Code. It’s out and is ready for delivery from the USAG Merchandise. 

·      It is the meet director’s responsibility to cover the cost of one checked bag added to flight costs, as long as it is not overweight. Also remind meet directors and judges that travel to/from airport must have the 30-mile deduction also.

·      National Congress will have the first testing opportunity for Levels 7-10. 

Deb K passed the address list around to members. A link to each State Competitive calendar needs to be sent to Deb K. Planning calendar was presented. Deb recorded dates of each states’ Optional State Meet weekend.

Bids were presented for Level 7/8 Regionals in 2011. One bid was from Pam Kitchen’s, to be held at Edgewater Resort in Panama City, the other from Becky Oppenheimer, meet to be held in a high school in Woodstock

 

Deb K led a discussion about the competitive order at Level 9/10 Regionals. Must the Level 9’s always go first? Could the Level 10’s compete first? Deb will look into the possibility.

With the increase in entry fees for Regionals, the $10 per gymnast fee to the Region 8 account will remain the same.

Deb K led a discussion about whether the Region wanted to continue the charity format used last year for Breast Cancer with donations to the Komen Foundation. The Board liked the cause and the resulting benefits for the athletes. The format will remain the same.

Deb K asked Jackie L to coordinate the team leotards for 2010 and she indicated that she’d be happy to do that. It was suggested that all gymnasts have the same warm-up again, but that each state could decide how much bling to add. It was also suggested that the Level 7’s from each state were not required to wear a long sleeved leotard or required warm ups and that each state could decide if it wanted to follow the breast cancer theme.

Deb K asked that all states pay for gymnasts entering Level 7 & 8 Regionals with one check. This procedure would eliminate the financial check-switching problems created when gymnasts pull off the meet and alternates need to replace the ones who withdrew.

Deb K reminded the Board of Regional qualifying criteria:

·      Level 9/10 Regionals – 34.00 w/ petitions

·      Level 8 Regionals – No petitions           

·      The # of gymnasts @ a 32.00 determines the % eligible from the Region. (look at bottom of planner calendar for March)

Discussion:                        The meet could become too big to be able to accommodate the gymnasts who might deserve to go in this growing division. Perhaps the meet site should be able to host two full sets of equipment.