Meeting Minutes Apr 2006

 

Date: April 30, 2006

 

Place:     Portage Curling Club

 

 

Members meeting called to order at 9:35 A.M. by President, Chris Daly. 

No items were presented.

 

Upon a motion by Judy Maier, Mike Dry seconded and carried, the members meeting was closed.

 

 

Role call was taken with club updates from those present. The following clubs were present at the meeting: Appleton, Arlington, Blackhawk, Centerville, Clintonville, Eau Claire, Green Bay, Kettle Moraine, La Crosse, Madison, Marshfield, Milwaukee, Portage, Poynette, Racine, Tri-City, Waukesha, and Wauwatosa.

 

The following clubs were absent. The number in parentheses represents the consecutive meetings missed: Alpine (3), Loch Wisota (13), Lodi (7), Medford (4), Rice Lake (2), Stevens Point (2), Superior (6), Waupaca (2), and Wausau (2).

 

Appleton - Jim O’Neal reported. Improvements to club included equipment shed in the back, and replaced 1994 gas scraper with battery operated scraper. Conducts a reverse raffle with approximate $9,000.00 profit annually. Looking to increase the membership from 100 to 140. Next focus for improvements is the club room decoration. Membership increase to 140.

 

Arlington - Bernie Dushek reported. Participated as one of the five host clubs for the Senior National Bonspiel. Membership increased by 6 to 7 members. Didn’t experience any break downs during the season. Continues to conduct its reverse raffle.

 

Blackhawk - David Somppi reported. Membership at around 140. Junior program is going strong. Had to cancel Mixed Spiel because not enough teams but the Men’s and Women’s Spiels had maximum number of teams. Conducted two open houses during the Olympics with about 60 people attending. Will use the names for recruitment next season.

 

Centerville - David Russell reported. There was a slight increase in membership for the season. Looking to replace one or two sheets of rock in the future. Talking to Galesville about acquiring their stones. Built a storage addition to the side of the club in which to place training devices. Mentioned having a portable hack such that the juniors could curl across ice rather than the entire length. (David Russell also reported on the demise of the Galesville, Wisconsin Curling Club. The club was hanging on for the sake of the junior curlers. They owed about $17,000.00 in bank loans. The land on which the club was situated was owned by the City. The Galesville Curling Club is now dissolved.)

 

Clintonville - John Williamson reported. Installed new compressor at a cost of about $36,250.00. With electrical added to the installation costs the total costs were approximately $40,000.00. Experiencing efficiencies in utility costs with the new compressor. Experiencing an influx of junior members. The total membership of the club is around 150 members. Conducted first reverse raffle raising approximately $15,000.00 towards the mortgage.

 

Eau Claire - Chris McMahon reported. Membership up a little. Majority under the age of 35. The club is financially stable. A question has been raised about handicapping teams to allow teams to play together in lieu of giving individual players points with teams at a stated maximum of points.

 

Green Bay - William Wilberg reported. Membership approximately 124 to 125. Had a one week open house. Thereafter had a mini league for new curlers with about 14 teams playing in it. 

 

Kettle Moraine - Judy Maier reported. Membership is stable. Had open house at beginning of year and Olympic open house. Conducted a Tuesday night opening curling for the open house participants. Filled up the league. Holds a rummage sale bi-annually. This raises about $3,000.00 for the club. 4 of 5 different groups of school children visited the club. GE Medical has used the club for corporate outings two to three times during the season. Hosted the Badger Senior Spiel. Future discussions will focus on the non-smoking issue in the club room.

 

La Crosse - David Russell reported. No change.

 

Madison - Rich Lepping reported. Membership continues to be flat. Had about 416 attendees at the open house. Next seasons Wisconsin Senior Men’s Spiel is scheduled to be hosted in Madison. Madison also is one of the number of clubs in Wisconsin that the Men’s Scots Tour will be visiting this coming season. Madison refinanced its mortgage at a substantial interest rate savings. Redecorated the club room with new carpeting and paint. At the end of the season ran a two night mini league with 64 people attending. Sent a team to the Rotary International Competition in Scotland. Madison is looking to host the 2008 Rotary Can-Am Playdowns.

 

Marshfield - Jim Schliesman reported. Membership slightly down from previous year. Juniors are up. Looking to rebuild their compressor this summer. Although their Mixed Spiel was full, they had to cancel their Women’s Spiel.

 

Milwaukee - Jay Packard reported. Club has a one year lease at its current location. It’s relocation plans fell through because of difficulties with the land deal. The club is looking at a new site. Expects to be in the current site two more seasons. Held Olympic open house with approximately 166 attendees. 24 of them signed up for a March curling league. Is offering a deal for the 24 who signed up for the 2006 - 2007 season. 14 of them signed up for the 2006 - 2007 season. Membership is down being a little bit north of 150.

 

Pardeeville - Vickie Griepentrog reported. Both the Watermelon and Red Baron Spiels were oversubscribed for teams. Was one of the five host clubs for the Senior National Men’s Bonspiel. Continuing to have to deal with there being no heat in their icehouse. Membership is approximately 100 curlers. The youth program is successful. Hosted 120 4^th graders at the club during a one week time. Thinks school children hosting activities helps build the base for the club and curling in general’s future.

 

Portage - Bob Daly reported. Has a burner available for any club who needs one. Has Junior’s and Senior’s Leagues and high school play at the club. One of the host clubs for the National Senior Bonspiel. Also hosted the 2006 Badger Women’s, consisting of 24 teams. Locally also runs a Curl for the Cure which is a charity fund raiser and also a membership recruitment tool. In addition hosts an Alumni Spiel. It’s turning into a huge event with 44 teams participating. Looking to use the money raised as a scholarship fund for high school curlers. Ran Olympic open house with about 50 to 60 attendees. During the season two different out of town high schools visited Portage to experience curling.

 

Poynette - Mark Kretzmann reported. Poynette’s season started up with their fall league in September of 2005. Starting in November Poynette runs its winter league through March and from April until the 1^st of June, Poynette runs its spring league. Financially the club is in the black. They also hosted the National Senior Bonspiel with four other Columbia County clubs. There is continuing growth in the cooperation of the Columbia County Curling Clubs with day men’s leagues, women’s leagues and Friday mixed leagues. Conducted its first Alumni Spiel. It had 10 teams. Expects it to grow in the future. The money raised is scheduled to go directly back into the high school curling program.

 

Racine - Mike Dry reported. Started junior curling in February with 20 kids. Ran an open house for 4 hours with approximately 140 people attending. Thereafter ran leagues for the new curlers, two draws, 45 people playing on five person teams, skip not throwing a rock. The cost was $25.00 which would be credited towards the dues for the 2006 - 2007 season. Expects 18 to 24 members out of the activity. Has about 100 members in their fall season and about 80 for their spring season. Curling about six nights a week, exclusive of Sundays. Non-smoking policy is on the agenda for the club for its summer meeting. Right now its only non-smoking during junior activities. Applied for a 501(c)(7) status. Because its total revenue was over $25,000.00 was told by the IRS a Form 990 was required. In filing the back 990's was initially fined $5,000.00 for non-filing by the IRS. The club appealed the penalty and the IRS did ultimately refund the $5,000.00. In the upcoming season is the host for the Senior Women’s National Bonspiel.

 

Tri-City - William McMahon reported. No debt. Raised dues $20.00 a member. Has an internal bond structure which they’ve paid off about $20,000.00. Miles Brundage is coaching the high school curling. Membership is around 60. Had 29 attendees during Olympic open house.

 

Waukesha - Greg Dunlop reported. Was not able to conduct an Outdoor Spiel. Planning Outdoor Spiel for January of 2007.

 

Wauwatosa - Greg Dunlop reported. Membership has declined. Ran an Olympic open house at which approximately 160 persons attended each day of the two day event. Also running Learn to Curl sessions. Hosting the State Men’s Club Playdowns for 2006 - 2007.

 

 

The following corrections were requested to be made to the September 27, 2005 Meeting Minutes:

Rich Lepping Director from Madison arrived late. Correct misspelling of “Dunlap” to “Dunlop” and “St. Clare” to “Sinclair.” Also correct reference in unfinished business from “juniors” to “high school students.” 

 

With those corrections, a motion made by Rich Lepping and seconded by Greg Dunlop and carried to approve the Minutes.

 

 

There was disseminated amongst the members attending three reports prepared by Dunlop. One report is a Statement of Revenue and Expenses for the WSCA over a 10 year period from the fiscal year 1997 to the fiscal year 2006. Dunlop noted that the dues have remained constant since 1993 at $1.50 per curler. In 1998, WSCA stopped paying money to play down curlers by way of reimbursing their entry fee. The loss in the fiscal year end 2006 is attributable to paying $3,000.00 to develop the WSCA’s website.   The directory expenses for 2006 were way down because of the late publication date and the limited number of directories printed. For 2005-2006 the directory was printed for historical purposes.

 

Chart B is the USCA and WSCA reported members and dues payments for the 2005 - 2006 season on a club by club basis. Dunlop pointed out that there was over $65,000.00 in dues paid to the USCA from the individual curlers who are members of Wisconsin clubs. 

 

The third document is the Championship Competition Income and Expense Chart also for a 10 year fiscal year period from 1997 through 2006. Approximately 50% to 60% of the dues are being used to support the running of the Championships. There is also a continuing grant program to reimburse clubs for the $300.00 fee to attend USCA membership services meeting. It is also noted that any host fee paid to host the championship if the championship are co-hosted by two of more clubs would be split between the clubs.

 

The WSCA had assets of $11,076.05 in the bank as of April 30, 2006 together with restricted funds in the sum of $200.00 for a junior trophy.

 

Upon a motion made by Rich Lepping and seconded by Judy Maier, the Treasurer’s Report was accepted.

 

 

The USCA budget for 2005 - 2006 year is on a break even basis. The COO, David Garber, is leaving the USCA after 21 years as of June 1, 2006. Garber will remain affiliated with the USCA on a project to project basis. Rick Patzke will take David Garber’s place. In regards to championships, the USCA is dropping the first round. The championships formerly referred to as the Trials are now known as the National Championships. The championships were formerly referred to as Nationals are now known as Club National Championships. The window for junior play downs for the State has been set for between December 23^rd and January 3^rd. These dates are to avoid conflicts with exams and school. U.S. citizenship is now required for any competition leading to world championships. This now includes Juniors and Seniors. Bob Fensen was voted the USCA Coach of the Year. The USCA’s new officers are Georgia West, President, Andy Anderson, Secretary/Treasurer, Vice Presidents are Chris Moore from Ohio, Chris Suey from North Dakota, Jim Pleasants from Seattle, Washington, and Jon Wilson from Mopak (San Diego). Leland Rich and Andy Anderson continue on as WCF reps. The nominating committee consists of the two immediate past Presidents, Bob Fensen and Mark Swandby. Also members of the committee are Richard Maskel as the ACC rep and newly elected members, Peggy Hatch and David Carlson. Concerning the USCA Hall of Fame, Diane Brown’s application remains before the committee. 

 

Note regarding USCA sponsorship. Hilton Hotels is a value in-kind sponsor of the USCA. There is a link to the Hilton Hotel reservations through the USCA website. All individual curlers are encouraged to use this link in booking rooms with the Hilton Hotel chain. It will benefit them in that they are given the best rate available with an additional 10% off if using the site. In addition, the USCA acquires additional value in-kind for each of the bookings. If there is a need to book 10 or more rooms, the curler may contact the Hilton National sales group and identify themselves as associated with the USCA. These bookings can be used not only for bonspiels but for any and all other social functions like weddings, anniversaries, etc. The contact person is Mike Hill at 1-800-823-2327 or mike_hill@hilton.com. The Hilton properties include the Hampton Inn.

 

T.V. coverage through the Olympics was fantastic. Plans continue to be explored about doing the “ICE 2006" program. There will be a men’s and women’s championship wrap-up show on ESPN for the year later in April, 2006.

 

 

From a competitive standpoint for the year based upon a point system for the various world competitions, the United States finished 3^rd. We were behind Canada and Sweden. The USCA continues to be the national governing body for Para Olympic curlers provided the same continues to be funded by the USOC.

 

World University Games are slated for January of 2007 in Italy at the Olympic curling site in Pinerolo. Play downs will be in November, 2006 at Centerville, Wisconsin. The Continental Cup, in which one women’s and one men’s team from the USA are scheduled to compete, is set for Thanksgiving weekend, 2006. The Continental Cup is North American teams (Canada and USA) vs. teams from Europe. 

 

The USCA is looking into a screening program to screen instructors for junior camps.

 

The WCF has had a change over in its officers. Les Harrison of Canada is the new President. Warren Lowe of the USA continues as Director of Finance and a member of the Executive Committee. Kate Caithness of Scotland is Vice President. It is believed that new President may be more receptive to change. It is expected that the IOC will be paying from the 2006 Olympic games to the WCF approximately $12,000,000.00. USCA is optimistic that the WCF will continue to fund T.V. coverage for curling in the USA. Also, there may be monies available for new club development in the future through the WCF loan program. The program loans monies from the WCF to the USCA and from the USCA to the individual clubs. The Nutmeg Club is the most recent beneficiary of such a loan program.

 

Based upon the Olympics, NBC was happy with the CNBC curling viewership. It was estimated that there was approximately seven times the normal audience as a result of the curling broadcast on CNBC. NBC was otherwise disappointed with the lack of viewership for the other sports. 

 

Mark Swandby was recognized by the WSCA Directors for his two years of leadership as the USCA President.

With funding from the USOC, an extensive study was done of the USCA operations by Pros Consulting. For more information on report see USCA website. Maier referenced that the Men’s Scots Tour will be taking place in the United States during January of 2007. There are a number of clubs in Wisconsin that are slated to host the Scots.

 

The USCA sponsored championships’ schedule has been set. The same may be found on the website for the USCA. In regards to hosting National Championships leading to the Worlds, the women’s qualifiers sites have been reduced from four to three. In the event any site approved for qualifiers is cancelled, there is a $250.00 cancellation fees payable to the club. The clubs are paid at the rate of $250.00 per day up to a maximum $1,000.00 payment. There needs to be a minimum of five teams per site. It is anticipated that the men’s qualifiers will need sites with at least four sheet minimums. However, the women’s qualifier sites may be less than four sheets.

 

 

Curling was the sport that the Disney producers chose to highlight in its recently released animated movie “The Wild.” McDonald’s has a tie-in with the movie including adding as a toy in the Happy Meal the lion throwing the turtle “curling stone.” 

 

 

Women have been picked for the Scots and Canadian exchanges. There are equipment grants available to provide equipment for junior curling programs. To date, USWCA has provided approximately $8,000.00 worth of equipment.

 

 

 

 

As a wrap-up, it is observed that the strategy of the USCA has been to seek to have the men’s and women’s World and Olympic Teams become more competitive and thus acquire greater T.V. exposure. With the greater T.V. exposure, the interest in curling increases. This is now bearing fruit with the U.S. Men’s Olympic Curling Team winning a bronze and the report of in excess of 9,000 individuals showing up for open houses in 60 curling clubs across the nation.

 

 

Because the WSCA is an organization of volunteers, one can only ask volunteers to complete tasks one cannot require them to do anything. The 2005 - 2006 directory was very late in being disseminated. This was due to difficulty in obtaining the information. When the information was obtained, it was in less than complete form. A decision was made in light of the lateness of the directory to reduce the number of printed directories from 1,200 to 400 copies. 

 

 

David made some comments based upon the history of the organization. The WSCA was organized in 1964 for the purpose of promoting curling.

 

 

The Wisconsin Junior Women’s, Nina Spatola’s Team, won the Junior National Championship. The Wisconsin Junior Men’s, Willie Wilberg’s Team, were semi-finalists at Nationals. The Women’s Club National Champions were from Wisconsin (Nina Spatola Rink). The Men’s Club Nationals had a Wisconsin team as a semi-finalist (the Lemke Rink from Medford) and the silver medalist was the Roe Rink from Madison. In Mixed Nationals, the Wisconsin mixed team (Rhyme Rink) tied for 5^th place.

 

 

State Men’s Club Championships: Wauwatosa

State Mixed Championships (tentatively): Eau Claire

State Women’s Club Championships

(subject to number of teams): Wauwatosa (determined after meeting)

 

Need to explore with a committee to create a format for Men’s State Club Championships. Based on last year, Men’s teams are not interested in competing on an extra weekend for districts prior to state. Also looking to coordinate with Junior’s, High School, Senior’s and State Men’s and Women’s on schedule rotation for host sites for the various events. He thinks that the Women’s Club State Championships duplicate the USWCA event which is also based upon club level teams. He will follow-up on the production of a WSCA sponsored championship event poster to be distributed to the WSCA member clubs.

 

 

There is a growing number of senior curlers. The National Senior Bonspiel hosted by the five Columbia County clubs went well. It takes approximately nine sheets of ice minimum to run the event. The Wisconsin State Senior Spiel for 2005 - 2006 was at Rice Lake. They are trying to set-up a rotation for host sites in the state based upon regions of South, Southeast, Northeast, Northwest, and Central. For 2006 - 2007, State Senior’s is set for the third weekend in January in Madison, Wisconsin. The 2007 - 2008 State Senior’s will be held at Arlington.

 

WISCA League consisted of 20 teams. In addition, there is a day league in Columbia County consisting of 13 teams that play in the Columbia County clubs Tuesdays and Thursdays. There is also a Monday day league with 13 Columbia County teams with a possible expansion to 17 next year. There is also a Friday afternoon mixed league hosted by the Poynette Curling Club. The National Senior Bonspiel will be hosted by the Mankato/Mapleton, Minnesota Curling Clubs. The dates are February 15^th to 19, 2007.

 

High School Curling - Vickie Griepentrop reporting: 

 

Held High School Championships in Madison. Approximately 28 teams participated. The High School Championship is scheduled for Wausau in 2007. Portage is hosting it in 2008. Looking for host sites for High School Championships for later years. Needs a minimum of four sheets. Another option is to have the boys at one club and the girls at another club, therefore can hold it at a smaller two sheet club. Suggest that Senior Men’s, Junior Men’s and High School Championship should be coordinated amongst themselves. Suggests that the various representatives of these groups meet to coordinate host sites for the championships.

 No changes.

 

 

 

David Carlson has been appointed by the Executive Committee as Acting Secretary to replace Janusiak.

 

 

In regards to the WSCA website, the funds were paid to create the site. Now it’s needed to populate the site. Jim O’Neill reported that there is ongoing problems with the current host for the site. Jim is exploring the decision to move the host for the website to Jim’s company. Discussion was had concerning populating the site with contents. The following content suggestions were made:

 

1.   Bonspiel Calendar.

2.   Listing of WSCA Reps and Presidents of Clubs.

3.   Posting of WSCA Meeting Minutes.

 

President Daly appointed a committee for the purpose of developing and implementing content for the WSCA website. The committee consists of Mark Hartman, Jim O’Neill, and Greg Dunlop. The initial reporting date for the committee was set for July 1, 2006. A report is to be made to the Executive Committee at that time. The consensus was that for the 2006 - 2007 year, the WSCA will compile and print a directory. The number of directories to be printed will be consistent with previous years.

 

A request was made that a hard copy of the Meeting Minutes be supplied to the clubs for posting.

 

Discussion was had concerning the purpose of the WSCA and is it being served. The general purpose is to promote curling. Implementing that purpose the following activities are undertaken:

 

1.   Organize club bonspiel calender;

 

2.   Populate website;