1997 Annual General Meeting
Rundown
by John Bishop
The 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) kicked off April 17th at the Hotel Ridpath in Spokane Washington. Held one day prior to the start of the USQRA National Championships, this years meeting set records for both the fast pace of the meeting and for the number of teams represented and voting by proxy.
With a full days agenda laid out the meeting was called to order shortly after 9 AM with reports from the Executives Committee and the Regional Area Commissioners (RAC). USQRA's President Ed Suhr and Commissioner Brad Mikkelsen reported that while the membership had grown in the last year the number of new teams was minimal. Efforts need to be made to help encourage new team growth by continuing PVA/Action sponsored rugby clinics and by trying to work new teams into tournaments designed for those just getting started and seeking additional playing experience.
Once the state of the association was reported the business of discussing and voting on the issues at hand began. There were several items for voting that could of brought the meeting to a stand still at anytime but remarkably the members moved through the issues at record speed. Because the topics are not real exciting I have compiled them into a brief list elaborating only when necessary below.
| »A proposal to allow Canada to join the USQRA was voted against. |
| »A proposal to raise the USQRA dues by $50 was voted against. |
| »The date for final roster reporting was changed from Jan. 1st to Jan. 15th. |
| »Minutes from the AGM must now be distributed in full within 3 months of the meeting. |
| »A proposal for a 45 second clock was discussed and tabled for a 1 year period pending further studies. Alabama and Atlanta have offered to try the proposal out at their tournaments in the next season and report their findings back to the members at the 1998 AGM. |
| »A proposal to limit wings to a single tube was voted down. "Stacked Wings" are allowed. |
| »Players given an international classification may protest their classification in the USQRA. |
| »All proposed changes to chair design must be submitted to the USQRA Wheelchair Specification Committee by November 15th for approval. The committee will report back to the submitted within 30 days on their decision. |
| »The USQRA choose to adopt the 1996-2000 International Wheelchair Rugby Rules with certain changes that will apply only to the USQRA. The modified rules will be distributed to USQRA members as soon as the changes are made. No major changes or additions were made to the rules that will drastically change the game. |
| »Dave Gould was nominated and approved to be the USQRA liaison on the Athlete Advisory Committee of Wheelchair Sports USA. |
| »The positions of Commissioner, Vice President and Treasurer were all up for vote on the USQRA Board of Directors. Both Brad Mikkelsen (Commissioner) and Dan McCauley (Vice President) ran unopposed and retained their positions while Dave Ceruti stepped down as Treasurer and was replaced by John Bishop. |
Other business discussed at the meeting included the following:
»The structure for the formation of the USQRA Hall of Fame was discussed and approved by the membership. Allen Seals researched the profile and devised a format to be used by the USQRA. Details and ballets will be distributed to the membership shortly.
»The need for additional and new corporate sponsors and funding for the USQRA was discussed. John Bishop offered to head up a committee to work on fund raising along with Terry Gumbert, Todd Kemery and Dave Ceruti.
»Both the officials and classifier's presented brief reports to the membership. While no great changes were made or proposed by either group the need for better communication to the members was expressed. Both groups will try to improve their communications by providing regular written updates for the website and/or newsletters.
»The meeting was adjourned at 3:30 PM. A record 22 teams had representatives in attendance at this years meeting while another 9 teams voted by proxy. As a matter of public record the role call was as follows;
| Teams in Attendance | Teams Voting by Proxy | ||
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While this article is meant to be as informative as possible it is not to be construed as an actual record of the 1997 Annual General Meeting. If you have questions about specific issues from the meeting you should contact your team representative or a member of the USQRA Executive Committee.
